Scan barcode
cosmiccloudbird's review
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
zhelana's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This book was weird. Like part of it was a story about a break up of a relationship, told through art. And another larger part was these random vignettes about the main character's family and the immigrant experience in Singapore. I was really frustrated. It kept introducing characters that I liked and wanted to hear more from, but each of them got 10-15 pages worth of story and then were never heard from again. It was actually really frustrating. Any one of these stories could have made a book by itself but instead they were tossed in for a few pages and then disappeared. But there were enough of them that I never figured out what was the main plot line until the very end. I didn't remember the main character until I reread the book description and it told me what name to look out for. I understand that this is considered the best of Singaporean literature, but i just didn't get it, and was very frustrated by it.
tripleheaven's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
judithhuang's review
5.0
I’m so glad I pushed past judging this book by its (hideous) cover and bought and read it. A landmark work in Singapore literature, it tells the tale of an artist in her late thirties as she comes into her own in her art and struggles in love. So much about this book resonated with me because of the accurate portrayals of race and gender relations in Singapore as well as the history of our ancestors. The particular dynamics of the two interracial relationships were very well observed and illuminating. Lim does show some teething problems with awkward transitions between the present day and stories from the past, but overall the prose is beautiful and nuanced and the characters well drawn. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope more people read it!
More...