by Tash Aw
16. Discuss the symbolic significance of the characters’ names: Johnny, Snow, Jasper, Wormwood, and Honey. In some cases clues are provided, such as Peter’s reference to Jasper, “Clear as crystal, the foundation of a new Jerusalem.” Peter alludes to the fact that wormwood is a known hallucinogen, and also describes the meaning of his surname from a Bible passage he was forced to repeat as punishment in school: “the name of the star is called Wormwood, and the third part of the waters became wormwood and many men died of the waters because they were bitter.” Are names important to our understanding of the characters, or are they red herrings in the way that Johnny’s name may have been for Jasper?
Tash Aw was born in Taipei and brought up in Malaysia. He moved to England in his teens and now lives in London. This is his first novel.