Behind the Moon

By Hsu-Ming Teo

“Behind the Moon is a satisfying, original and thought-provoking pleasure.”—Good Reading Magazine
 
“Neatly balanc[es] betrayal and real drama, with farce and macabre, biting humour. . . . Highly recommended.”—Australian Bookseller & Publisher
 
Outsiders and misfits in their Australian school, three friends form a mutual bond: Justin Cheong, an only child and the idol of his Singaporean-Chinese parents; Tien Ho—daughter of a Vietnamese mother who stayed behind and an African American soldier she has never met—who lives with indifferent relatives; and Nigel “Gibbo” Gibson, an oddity: an Australian boy who, to his father’s chagrin, dislikes sports.
 
When Tien Ho’s mother arrives, the adjustment for mother and daughter is extreme. Gibbo is strongly attracted to beautiful, dainty Linh, to whom he is a kid, her daughter’s pal. And Justin discovers that he likes Gibbo as something more than a friend.
 
The three draw apart as they grow up, only to be reunited once more on Saturday, September 6, 1997, for the dinner Mrs. Cheong hosts for them and their parents, to watch the funeral of Princess Diana on television. This Dead Diana Dinner turns out to be a more explosive event than any of them would have dreamed possible.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jan 1, 2007
• ISBN: 9781569476710

Reviews for Behind the Moon

[mbmackay · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a delight of a read. The writing is so vivid that the images fly off the page! Plenty of humour from page 1, mixed with enough of the ugly bits of life to make the whole thing compelling and relevant.Realistically portrays the lives of first and second generation Asian migrants in Australia - especially the gap between the parents, who bring expectations from their home culture, and the kids growing up and trying to fit into a different world.I loved it.