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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
I meant to leave a review for this sooner, but I was having a new graphics card installed and was anxious to test it out so, whoops. Anyway here goes. I picked this book up because the author followed me, and being nosy and curious I decided to check his work out. The first couple of pages indicated that the collection might just be right up my alley, since I have a predilection for magical realism and absurd opening sentences.
Things I really liked about this collection:
- References to Singapore/SEA were actually relatable and served to further anchor the story in a specific location rather than act as a trite means of pandering to locals.
- Self-aware characters! Very pleased to see how many of the stories played out as a consequence of clashing personalities rather than a one-sided blame & shame game.
- The suspense! The buildup is well-paced and several stories left me with a lingering chill, even when I saw what was coming due to the inspiration for it still fresh in my memory. (e.g. in A Fleeting Tenderness...) I had a hunch and I was right but that didn't stop the dismay and the held breath.
Things I feel could have been better:
- Falling back onto tropes all too common in local/regional fiction (e.g. the cheating husband in The Finger), albeit good attempts to subvert them by inserting that element of suspense. I did enjoy it a lot in the end.
- Some of the content in the obituary in Death of a Clown would probably never have seen print in the actual Straits Times. Call me a cynic if you like, but that was the most unbelievable part of the story.
Overall, a collection of stories I would gladly recommend to friends both living in Singapore and overseas.
Things I really liked about this collection:
- References to Singapore/SEA were actually relatable and served to further anchor the story in a specific location rather than act as a trite means of pandering to locals.
- Self-aware characters! Very pleased to see how many of the stories played out as a consequence of clashing personalities rather than a one-sided blame & shame game.
- The suspense! The buildup is well-paced and several stories left me with a lingering chill, even when I saw what was coming due to the inspiration for it still fresh in my memory. (e.g. in A Fleeting Tenderness...) I had a hunch and I was right but that didn't stop the dismay and the held breath.
Things I feel could have been better:
- Falling back onto tropes all too common in local/regional fiction (e.g. the cheating husband in The Finger), albeit good attempts to subvert them by inserting that element of suspense. I did enjoy it a lot in the end.
- Some of the content in the obituary in Death of a Clown would probably never have seen print in the actual Straits Times. Call me a cynic if you like, but that was the most unbelievable part of the story.
Overall, a collection of stories I would gladly recommend to friends both living in Singapore and overseas.
Once you get used to the style, it's a pretty engaging collection. Gresham's style promises tension and tenderness, wrapped with (more often than not) abstract dialogue. At first, I thought the exchanges between the characters were too abstract, but what is fiction if not for these versatile and creative styles? I bought this from Books Actually in Singapore, and this indie collection does not disappoint in being a distinct artistic vessel for Singaporean literature.
Disclaimer: I'm a friend of the author.
I really didn't enjoy this book and had to force myself to keep reading it out of loyalty to my friend Jon. Alas I left it half unread in a BnB in Shark Bay, WA where perhaps it will get the readers it deserves. I can see it now, happily sitting amongst a collection of truly awful Dan Brown novels and a terrifyingly complete collection of Readers Digest condensed books, awaiting someone with time to kill.
I tried to like it, I really did. The various stories are, on the surface anyway, interesting. But they just don't work, either as speculative fiction, allegory, or mystery. They evoke no sense of drama, no feeling of surprise, and reveal nothing at all about the human condition.
Sorry Jon, don't hate me; But I've given this review an extra star because you are my friend. Please keep at it though. I'm sure there's a great novel in you, just be sure to have characters a reader can plausibly care about.
I really didn't enjoy this book and had to force myself to keep reading it out of loyalty to my friend Jon. Alas I left it half unread in a BnB in Shark Bay, WA where perhaps it will get the readers it deserves. I can see it now, happily sitting amongst a collection of truly awful Dan Brown novels and a terrifyingly complete collection of Readers Digest condensed books, awaiting someone with time to kill.
I tried to like it, I really did. The various stories are, on the surface anyway, interesting. But they just don't work, either as speculative fiction, allegory, or mystery. They evoke no sense of drama, no feeling of surprise, and reveal nothing at all about the human condition.
Sorry Jon, don't hate me; But I've given this review an extra star because you are my friend. Please keep at it though. I'm sure there's a great novel in you, just be sure to have characters a reader can plausibly care about.
In these stories worlds fall apart and the complexities of reality confront romantic ideals, cultural bias and concepts of perfection.
Six of these stories are set in Singapore, three in Australia and one in Jakarta. 9 of these stories were written over the last 5 years and the title story was written 18 years ago with only 33 minor revisions since.
The stories are a cornucopia, a mash up, a mongrel, that reflect my own hybrid origins, identity and experience living in Singapore.
As gravity leaks away, a young couple have to decide whether to rise up slowly. A young man, kicked out of home by his mother, stays in his brother’s luxury condominium at The Sail trying to work out what to do with his life. A strange beast lurking in the jungle on Bukit Timah Hill transforms the lives of a civil servant and a teacher. In a nursing home in Johor Bahru a son finally meets his dying father, a famous clown. In Adelaide, a young electrician begs his Singaporean Australian girlfriend to take in a stray dog. Outside one of Singapore’s oldest night club, Zouk, a taxi drives away from a wealthy businessman and a hostess.
More information on the book can be found on my blog here.
Six of these stories are set in Singapore, three in Australia and one in Jakarta. 9 of these stories were written over the last 5 years and the title story was written 18 years ago with only 33 minor revisions since.
The stories are a cornucopia, a mash up, a mongrel, that reflect my own hybrid origins, identity and experience living in Singapore.
As gravity leaks away, a young couple have to decide whether to rise up slowly. A young man, kicked out of home by his mother, stays in his brother’s luxury condominium at The Sail trying to work out what to do with his life. A strange beast lurking in the jungle on Bukit Timah Hill transforms the lives of a civil servant and a teacher. In a nursing home in Johor Bahru a son finally meets his dying father, a famous clown. In Adelaide, a young electrician begs his Singaporean Australian girlfriend to take in a stray dog. Outside one of Singapore’s oldest night club, Zouk, a taxi drives away from a wealthy businessman and a hostess.
More information on the book can be found on my blog here.
My interest died down quickly with each story, another case of a Singaporean author trying to sound abstract and flowery.
I enjoyed it very much for its expressive style (so rhythmic!) and its intimate depiction of various kinds of detachments. The stories are very affecting. The great stories here are the dream-like title story, "A Long Bicycle Ride Into the Sea," "Finger" and "Death of a Clown." It's a book to sink into: one is in the hands (or shall we say "fingers?") of an excellent storyteller.