Chocolate's Brown Study in the Bag

The Narrator of CHOCOLATE'S BROWN STUDY IN THE BAG is a thirty-three month old chocolate-coloured toy poodle, born in Australia and flown to Hong Kong for sale in a pet-shop. He has become a well-loved addition to a middle-class Hong Kong Chinese family who take him everywhere, sometimes (when the place is forbidden to dogs) hidden in a bag. Paradoxically, when zipped up in the pitch black darkness inside the bag and naturally entering into a brown study, he enters the colourful world of dreams, reviewing in them his past and present life. As Chocolate tells his tale, we learn his human family's habits, history, hobbies, education, professions, relationships, aspirations and thoughts. We meet his doggie friends and learn about the special world that Hong Kong dog-owners inhabit. Unexpectedly, we also partake of the small dog's wisdom and learn the secret of happiness. The star of this book is the toy poodle, Chocolate, who appropriately seems set to graduate as a Doctor Dog in the last few pages of the book. He reflects on life and gives his views on the middle-class Hong Kong Chinese family he loves, revealing a route to happiness. "Delightful. Witty. Rupert Chan has a light and humorous touch."──Proverse Prize Judges.