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[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “On the Verge with Claire Lee: Where Objects Become Literature” by Susan Blumberg-Kason

Claire Lee, On the Verge, Independently published, 2025. 120 pgs.

Claire Lee is an accomplished visual artist who has exhibited her work around the world, from Hong Kong to Taipei to Tokyo, as well as in the United States and England. She is also a celebrated poet and has recently published On the Verge, a striking book of short prose that explores everyday objects, events, and places across the globe.

In her visual art, Lee demonstrates how ordinary objects often acquire meanings that extend beyond their intended use. She achieves the same effect in the short prose of On the Verge. The book’s cover features an image of her multimedia work, “Out of Touch”, a set of ten cloth glove tips of varying lengths, each punctured by two holes that resemble eyes. It is an intriguing artwork and offers an apt prelude to the diverse prose pieces contained within the book.

One of my favourites is a longer piece entitled “The Old Radiator”. I admire the way Lee takes an object such as a radiator, seemingly designed for a single purpose, warming a home, and transforms it into a layered and compelling narrative. The piece opens as follows:

“In an interior magazine, I spotted an old radiator in a residence in Montevideo. The sturdy pipes elegantly stood against the wall, evoking the presence of a butler, played by Anthony Hopkins in the film The Remains of the Day (1993). The radiator’s presence, though cold and melancholy, hinted at a loyal spirit beneath its iron exterior.”

Lee imagines the life of a butler, moving through his day while attending to the minutest of details, the very details that constitute the essence of the home. Yet she does not wish to inhabit this space herself, choosing instead to appreciate it for its transitional state and its distinctive qualities. What is particularly compelling is the way Lee takes something as ordinary as a radiator and uses it to raise a series of philosophical questions about both the object and the imagined figure who tends to it.

Lee is from Hong Kong and maintains a strong presence within cherished cultural institutions such as the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, the Hong Kong Book Fair, and Kubrick Poetry. I searched for traces of Hong Kong in the book and, upon encountering “Mind the Gap” early on, initially assumed it referred to Hong Kong’s MTR or perhaps the London Underground. Instead, the piece is set at the Berlin Wall Memorial and reflects on how walls continue to be constructed around the world in areas of conflict, suggesting that the lessons of history remain unlearned.

Hong Kong does appear in “Blankets”, a short piece that reflects on how blankets can offer both security and a sense of home.

I observe individuals navigating Hong Kong’s bustling streets, going about their daily routines with a strong sense of collective aloneness. Despite the distance, the city’s beauty lies in its ability to foster a sense of togetherness among strangers. I am left pondering the true desires and aspirations of these strangers.

When Lee writes about places around the world that may not be immediately recognisable, she often includes a brief statement at the end indicating the setting. Berlin in “Mind the Gap” is one such example. She also addresses the war in Ukraine in “Snowflakes in the Basement”, a piece she dedicates to “the people in Ukraine who are hiding in bunkers during the war”.

“Petrushka” is another short work that stands out. Set on the New York subway, it follows Lee as she observes an eccentrically dressed older woman who reminds her of the puppet from the Stravinsky ballet. Although Lee knows she must leave the train at her stop, she finds herself unable to stop thinking about the woman and the many journeys she may have taken over the decades.

Lee’s book is a treasure. Readers and writers drawn to short fiction and poetry will find much to admire, as will those who appreciate unconventional structure.

^{How to cite: Blumberg-Kason, Susan. “On the Verge with Claire Lee: Where Objects Become Literature.” Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 23 Dec. 2025, chajournal.com/2025/12/23/the-verge.}

Susan Blumberg-Kason is the author of Bernardine’s Shanghai Salon: The Story of the Doyenne of Old China, a 2023 Zibby Awards finalist for Best Book for the History Lover. She is also the author of Good Chinese Wife: A Love Affair With China Gone Wrong and the 2024 Zibby Awards winner When Friends Come From Afar: The Remarkable Story of Bernie Wong and Chicago’s Chinese American Service League (University of Illinois Press, 2024). She is the co-editor of Hong Kong Noir and a regular contributor to the Asian Review of Books, Cha and World Literature Today. Her work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books and PopMatters. Visit her website for more information. (Photo credit: Annette Patko) [Susan Blumberg-Kason and ChaJournal.]