Complex sentence: The book discusses the author's childhood in Hong Kong and the term "gweilo" is cantonese for ghost, but has been applied as a racial ephitet for caucasians (as in white ghosts).
Split into simpler sentences: The book discusses the author's childhood in Hong Kong. The term "gweilo" is Cantonese for ghost, but has been applied as a racial epithet for Caucasians (as in white ghosts).