Jews, in spite of centuries of circumcision, are born foreskinned like the men of other races.

Of course there are some kids who get stuck into him, and sometimes that′ll make him curl up like a poked snail. But they don't do that very much anymore, because most of the other kids get stuck into them when that happens.

a deep-water harbour

Shenyang is a sprawling industrial and financial center, the largest city in northeastern China, with a reputation as the region’s crime capital. The city was overrun with violent gangs and controlled by corrupt public officials who were regularly purged by the government in Beijing, only to be replaced by new ones. The developers Hongwei knew in Shenyang were all gangsters, and when they weren't making shady deals, they were spending their nights in private gambling parlors.