Reviews

Eating Air by Ng Yi-Sheng

emburger's review

4.0

This book is a fun throwback to the 90s, where sightings of bengs and lians were more rampant lol. (Haven't seen much of them recently, but maybe we've all just grown into Lao Bengs and Lao Lians.) The characters here are almost corny in their predictability but i think that's the charm?

Is it just me, or did the author intend for Ah Gu to be just a little bit gay? Hahaha I'm gonna assume yes.

I like that the author suggests that the love between Girl and Boy was borne out of chance, boredom, and desperation, and in the end it dawns on Girl that Boy could've been anyone.

apollosmichioreads's review

4.0

This is Ng Yi-Sheng’s novelisation of the award-winning Singaporean film by Kelvin Tong and Jasmine Ng, titled Eating Air (1999). It tells the story of the romance between a plain photocopy girl and a gangster who spends most of his time participating in inane shenanigans with his bunch of gangster friends. The book gives me the vibe of Singapore in the 2000s, when pagers were still in use and gangs were prevalent. Although a little confusing due to the lack of inverted commas, this is still a rather interesting and nostalgic local read I recommend.