Sweet Mandarin By Helen Tse: Chapter Analysis

“The practicalities of opening a Chinese restaurant in Middleton were a challenge too. There were no Chinese supermarkets or wholesalers in Manchester and Lily’s nearest source was Liverpool, over 30 miles away” (Tse, 183). The novel “Sweet Mandarin” by Helen Tse recounts the journey of three generations of Chinese women and how their love for food changed their lives. “Sweet Mandarin” gives an account of how the family came from an impoverished, callous village in China to eventually settling in Hong Kong- a more enriched and prosperous area during the 1930s- and ultimately living in the United Kingdom. The novel begins discussing Tse’s grandmother- Lily Kwok. Lily was born in a small-scale village better known as Guangzhou. Since birth, Lily has displayed the characteristics of strength and independence. Following the gruesome death of Lily’s father, Lily was forced to work as an amah- a maid. Eventually, she crossed the ocean in Hong Kong and opened one of the earliest Chinese
The novel affirms “…Lily was the only Chinese person in Middleton in 1959… The practicalities of opening a Chinese restaurant in Middleton were a challenge too. There were no Chinese supermarkets or wholesalers in Manchester and Lily’s nearest source was Liverpool, over 30 miles away” (Tse, 182-83). Lily faced so many adversities. Not only was she the only Chinese person in Middleton during the time, but there weren’t any supermarkets to supply for her restaurant. The nearest place was over thirty miles away. If there aren’t any Chinese people around, who would enjoy her food at the time? In addition to that, she didn’t have a vehicle, so how could she successfully run a restaurant if she doesn’t she have a way to get to the source in Liverpool that could supply consistently for her restaurant? The novel asserts “In Middleton, money was tight” (Tse, 188). All of the odds were against