This week I’m speaking to the wonderful Wharton ( wizwharton?hl=en) , who is of Chinese and white European heritage. Wiz’s debut nove, Ghost Girl, Banana (uk.bookshop.org/a/11685/9781399700337) follows Sook-Yin in 1960s England, exiled from Kowloon, and her daughter Lily in 1990s, embarking on a secret pilgrimage to Hong Kong to discover the lost side of her identity, following a mysterious letter telling her she has inherited a LOT of money from a stranger. It’s no surprise that this sweeping story is being adapted for TV, and it is such a brilliant read.
Wiz Wharton was born in London of Chinese-European heritage. She is a prize-winning graduate of the National Film and Television school, where she studied screenwriting under the filmmakers Mike Leigh, Stephen Frears and Kenith Trodd. Her debut novel Ghost Girl, Banana deals with issues of identity, belonging and familial secrets.
In 2023, she was named by the Scottish Government Expo Fund as one of the 40 writers predicted to set the literary world alight. I’m so glad she's my guest today.
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