Lockdown Lovers is a story set across two continents, six humans and a pangolin, the mammal reportedly at the root of the virus. Pushed to the limits of their endurance in lockdown and then quarantine conditions, John Ryan, a Hong Kong academic, and Phoebe Ho, a Hong Kong district councilor, decide to break the rules of their quarantine and rediscover what has been denied them for too long – impassioned human contact. The novel alternates between the perspectives of John, John’s wife Sue, his son Sam, Phoebe, Kwok-ying, a Government Health official, Princess Selina, a millionaire’s heiress, and the pangolin, as they all find their own way to deal with the dramatic changes in their lives environments. John even travels back to Ireland, desperate to assist his parents in their lockdown. The story ends in Hong Kong in 2022, two years after the first appearance of the virus in the city. The novel reminds us of our undying capacities for contact and closeness even at times of pandemic, when they seem threatened like never before.

Michael O’Sullivan is a writer and academic based in Hong Kong. He has published 12 books on literature, philosophy and education. His most recent book Cloneliness was published by Bloomsbury in 2019. His poetry and essays appear in Times Higher Education, Voice and Verse, Asian Cha and PEN Hong’s Kong’s recent Hong Kong 20/20.