Scan barcode
ohsoreads's review
5.0
Angie, Anna, their parents & Nai Nai (grandmother) lived together happily in a humble apartment until one day Angie went missing. When asked by her parents where Angie had went, Anna told a lie to avoid getting reprimanded. Su Lai felt like her world has crashed with the sudden loss of her oldest daughter. For a period of time, the family put blame on one another which caused high tension in the household. If Anna never lied, will Angie avoid going missing?
This Singapore Lit. includes themes of loss of loved one, family, some essence of an average Singaporean household.
I sincerely loved this novel. It is so complete, I feel fulfilled reading it. I found myself getting weaved into the story as I could relate to little details such as the grandma with tattooed green eyebrows, the drinking of ash water for cleansing, my mum’s thoughts of how fish is so expensive and we can do without it, the special Saturday outings and more. This is the kind of heartfelt storyline that a middle-class Singaporean can thoroughly get into. Thank you for making me laugh, cry and have heartache together with Anna and her family.
The gods will hear us eventually — no, the gods HAVE TO hear us eventually. Especially with all the Su Lai had desperately done just to find Angie.
This Singapore Lit. includes themes of loss of loved one, family, some essence of an average Singaporean household.
I sincerely loved this novel. It is so complete, I feel fulfilled reading it. I found myself getting weaved into the story as I could relate to little details such as the grandma with tattooed green eyebrows, the drinking of ash water for cleansing, my mum’s thoughts of how fish is so expensive and we can do without it, the special Saturday outings and more. This is the kind of heartfelt storyline that a middle-class Singaporean can thoroughly get into. Thank you for making me laugh, cry and have heartache together with Anna and her family.
The gods will hear us eventually — no, the gods HAVE TO hear us eventually. Especially with all the Su Lai had desperately done just to find Angie.
tinycl0ud's review
4.0
as i was reading this book i remembered the saying, “a mother’s love knows no bounds,” and the song that goes “世上只有妈妈好，有妈的孩子像个宝.” in my heart I wished and wished for a happy ending, given how allergic to happy endings some local writers tend to be, but tbh I knew that given the context a happy ending would be trite, or even any kind of a definitive ending. of course it’d be great and a lot less depressing if angie was found, if spirit mediums worked, or if there really was a kidnapper who could be apprehended by the police, but the fact of the matter is that tragedy can be extremely mundane. this book is a stark reminder that faith doesn’t necessarily bring about miracles, but that’s what it means to keep it. i was touched by the portrait of su lai, a mother so torn by grief and so driven to desperation she fails her remaining family members over and over, but honestly i cannot find it in myself to berate her. i think it is too utilitarian to say that she should be grateful she still has her other child, as if children were objects you had spares for. losing either of them would have driven her nuts because that is the kind of mother she is; human lives are not substitutes for one another. (btw this theme was also explored in picoult’s ‘my sister’s keeper’!) and if there is even a sliver of a possibility that her daughter can be saved, i think i would agree that the ends justify the means.
pagesofelly's review
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
More...