Scan barcode
A review by crookedspider
The Ayam Curtain by Neon Yang, Joyce Chng
3.0
The anthology is split into 2 parts: the first part, titled “Speaking Bird Language”, features 20 different “bite-sized microfiction pieces” that are about a page long, while the second part, titled “The Ayam Curtain” features 17 longer pieces that span a few pages.
The reason why it took me so long to read this anthology was due to the fact that I was rereading the first part of this anthology multiple times. Unfortunately, probably due to how short the pieces were, the first part was enjoyable but mostly forgettable. I would say that many of the pieces in the first part feel more like thought experiments to me, which was a pity because I wished some of these were more fleshed out and explored further in greater detail. Most of the pieces in the first part had a futuristic sci-fi element to them, and out of those many had post-apocalyptic/dystopian theme, which I thought was an interesting coincidence. With so many stories that shared these similar themes though, the voices of the 20 writers were luckily distinct enough that the stories did not risk seeming like regurgitations of each other.
For the second part of the anthology, my favourite stories were Her Name Was Jane by Joses Ho, Taungaruda by Ivan Kwan and The Goldfish Bowl by Liana Gurung. I loved the twist (no spoilers!) in Her Name Was Jane; the suspense was done very well and I did not see the final reveal coming at all. I love detective/crime/mystery shows, so Taugaruda was right up my alley, and I wished I could have read the whole thing, the ending felt like such a cliffhanger. The Goldfish Bowl was surprisingly poetic, and the language used hit me in the right places. I think it will resonate with people who had close family members with Alzheimer’s.
The strength of the collection, which was clearly present in the stories in the first part as well (despite my gripes about their lack of impact), was that most of the stories had something very Singaporean threading through them, whether it is the characters and their voices, the language used, the setting, or even the scenarios described that are so familiar to locals but which may seem strange to others. I think this really pulled the stories together into a coherent collection and became something easily identifiable as a common quality to all the otherwise vastly different fictions. As I entered this anthology wishing to discover more local writers that I like, I am really glad that I picked up this anthology in the end because this anthology helped me do just that. I think this is a great anthology for people who want to get into local lit but have no idea where to start, and I would recommend it to anyone who would like a taster of Singaporean literature.
The reason why it took me so long to read this anthology was due to the fact that I was rereading the first part of this anthology multiple times. Unfortunately, probably due to how short the pieces were, the first part was enjoyable but mostly forgettable. I would say that many of the pieces in the first part feel more like thought experiments to me, which was a pity because I wished some of these were more fleshed out and explored further in greater detail. Most of the pieces in the first part had a futuristic sci-fi element to them, and out of those many had post-apocalyptic/dystopian theme, which I thought was an interesting coincidence. With so many stories that shared these similar themes though, the voices of the 20 writers were luckily distinct enough that the stories did not risk seeming like regurgitations of each other.
For the second part of the anthology, my favourite stories were Her Name Was Jane by Joses Ho, Taungaruda by Ivan Kwan and The Goldfish Bowl by Liana Gurung. I loved the twist (no spoilers!) in Her Name Was Jane; the suspense was done very well and I did not see the final reveal coming at all. I love detective/crime/mystery shows, so Taugaruda was right up my alley, and I wished I could have read the whole thing, the ending felt like such a cliffhanger. The Goldfish Bowl was surprisingly poetic, and the language used hit me in the right places. I think it will resonate with people who had close family members with Alzheimer’s.
The strength of the collection, which was clearly present in the stories in the first part as well (despite my gripes about their lack of impact), was that most of the stories had something very Singaporean threading through them, whether it is the characters and their voices, the language used, the setting, or even the scenarios described that are so familiar to locals but which may seem strange to others. I think this really pulled the stories together into a coherent collection and became something easily identifiable as a common quality to all the otherwise vastly different fictions. As I entered this anthology wishing to discover more local writers that I like, I am really glad that I picked up this anthology in the end because this anthology helped me do just that. I think this is a great anthology for people who want to get into local lit but have no idea where to start, and I would recommend it to anyone who would like a taster of Singaporean literature.