Word: harbour
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...ARTS & SOCIETY Cinema: Hooray for Bollywood Books: Fragrant Harbour...
...Fragrant Harbour, John Lanchester's new novel of Hong Kong, begins with a map; two actually. Unless the book in question is Treasure Island, this is rarely a good sign. A map sends a warning signal that what lies ahead may be so complicated that readers will be unable to keep their bearings without graphic aids. But this is a book that seeks to map the heart of a city. In its geography lies its spirit. Stretching over seven decades, and narrated by three different characters, Lanchester's novel tells the story of Hong Kong: its murky past, its riotous...
...three-star Harbour Plaza North Point hotel in Hong Kong, every solo guest is greeted this way?a swimmingly successful gimmick launched in March 2000 to generate word of mouth for the newly opened hotel. "We looked at the rooms and thought, 'Let's put some life into them,'" says general manager Dean Schreiber. "We were going to try it with a bird, but that just didn't fly." Even though the hotel doesn't advertise its fish, the in-house quirk has generated waves. Return guests are asking for fish even when they don't check in alone...
...Harbour Plaza, some guests don't go with the flow. Fish fanatics complain the hotel is violating sea-life rights. "One guest faxed us about the cruelty of keeping fish in captivity," says Schreiber. Others take it all too personally. One Hong Kong visitor who checked in solo but was actually staying with his wife called the front desk in a rage. "Does the hotel think I need a fish because I can't talk to my wife?" he barked. "How did you know we were having marital problems...
Take the tracks to pieces, and they don't seem like much. The lyrics are average, the instrumentation capable. But Moby's great gift is for feeling. He tailors 18's melancholy cuts, Great Escape and Harbour, around vocals from the female singers Azure Ray and Sinead O'Connor. Both songs start almost a cappella, and Moby surrounds each voice with keyboards that rise like warm bathwater. The music gains tension yet never overwhelms the sad beauty of the voices. On 18's playful radio hits--We Are All Made of Stars and Jam for the Ladies...