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A review by jelundberg
Sugarbread by Balli Kaur Jaswal
5.0
In addition to being a compelling and empathetic portrayal of a young Punjabi Sikh girl growing up in Singapore in the 1990s, Sugarbread is also a celebration of women, and it doesn't shy away from the complicated relationships between them. Each of the main female characters—Pin, her mother Jini, and her grandmother Kulwant (Nani-ji)—are evoked with such affection that it’s hard to believe after finishing the book that they are fictional. Jaswal does not shy away from showing us how flawed and human they are, and the small (and not-so-small) tragedies that they suffer through, as well as the triumphs that make the reader let out woots of joy.
All of this, plus an examination of Singapore’s endemic racism, especially toward its South Asian community. Pin has to brook taunts by Bus Uncle, an old man who collects money from the students on the school bus (and attempts, and fails, to keep order), as well as vile comments from classmate Abigail Goh. Pin’s outrage and how she deals with these encounters do more to illustrate how the Chinese majority tends to treat South Asians and Malays than a hundred Racial Harmony Days. This casual racist bullshit has consequence, and Pin’s endurance of it is a social justice punch right to the gut.
Sugarbread is an important book, especially right now, when it seems that public policy seems to be regressing in the wake of LKY’s death last year. And while I can’t claim that the novel would eradicate racism in Singapore if it were assigned to schoolchildren here, I do believe that it could easily become Singapore’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
All of this, plus an examination of Singapore’s endemic racism, especially toward its South Asian community. Pin has to brook taunts by Bus Uncle, an old man who collects money from the students on the school bus (and attempts, and fails, to keep order), as well as vile comments from classmate Abigail Goh. Pin’s outrage and how she deals with these encounters do more to illustrate how the Chinese majority tends to treat South Asians and Malays than a hundred Racial Harmony Days. This casual racist bullshit has consequence, and Pin’s endurance of it is a social justice punch right to the gut.
Sugarbread is an important book, especially right now, when it seems that public policy seems to be regressing in the wake of LKY’s death last year. And while I can’t claim that the novel would eradicate racism in Singapore if it were assigned to schoolchildren here, I do believe that it could easily become Singapore’s To Kill a Mockingbird.