Reviews with content warning for Death - How We Disappeared

these are the stories that need to be told! fuck war and colonialism!

i love the subtle nods to language here, wang di communicating with the girls in broken bits of various languages, kevin learning traditional chinese, it just adds a bit more richness and color and helps highlight how much of a melting pot singapore really is.

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enmcurrie's review against another edition

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emotional informative sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

I didn’t know much about Comfort Women, or the Japanese occupation of Singapore prior to reading so it was so interesting to learn more about that time period. A beautiful book with different POVs that end up interconnected. Wang Di’s story is harrowing, her trauma remains with her for years and her refusal to delve into the past is saddening. The storyline is based on very real events that many vulnerable young women had to face, which makes it even more emotive. And although the overall tone of the novel is sad, the ending is quite heartwarming. I love this book, it’s a great read.

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myiesha_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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margueriteleech's review against another edition

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challenging emotional medium-paced

5.0

Harrowing in all the right ways. Beautiful prose and evocative writing.

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thomasdj's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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chnfrng's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’m so happy I found this book. It tells a story that many of those living in Japanese-occupied Singapore / Malaya know but rarely tell.

World war 2 is often told from a European and male perspective. How we disappeared tells us about horrors of the war rarely told in the western world - and from a female perspective. This book is incredibly important and I urge everyone to read it. It’s not a light-hearted read by any means. The main characters are so human and gracefully written, I see so many elements of family members I know in Wang Di, her family and Kevin’s father which made this reading experience even more emotional and important.

I disagree with many of the reviews on here saying that Kevin’s part was unnecessary / interrupted Wang Di’s tale. I thought it was important for many reasons:
- this story would have been extremely heavy to read without the contrast of Kevin.
- Kevin represents hope, a new generation, our generation, who doesn’t want to bury the past in the past. His willingness to search for Ah Ma’s lost history contrasts the typical mindset of older Asian generations to never speak about trauma and let the past die.

- without Kevin, Wang Di would never have got the closure she sorely needed and deserved. According to the book’s narrative, she would have never even told her story. And despite all of the injustice done to her in her life, finally she can grow old with a loving family that chooses her, and helps her to deal with her trauma.

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