Recently I was fortunate enough to be in Singapore for the third time in less than two years and on this most recent trip I decided it was about time I read some local literature. I asked Singaporean editor and translator Xiangyun Lim if she could steer me in the right direction and she kindly obliged with a long list of diverse recommendations.
Diversity here is a key word. Singapore is a place of many cultures, contrasting, juxtaposed, co-existing. Reflected in one of the country’s various nicknames, the garden city, which seems like an oxymoron, Singapore’s physical space is a manifestation of its contrast, with high-rise uber-modern buildings competing for space with tropical plants. A concrete jungle in the sense that it is literally a city built on a rainforest. An oppressive combination of ceaseless heat and humidity, coupled with being in a constant state of building and renovating, add to Singapore’s intensity and sense of being alive and happening.
Singapore’s abundance of variety shines through in its food with fantastic results; I tell anyone that asks that the best thing about Singapore is the food. It takes influence from cuisines including Malay, Chinese, Indian, Arab and Western. Often many of these options can be found side by side in hawker centres or food courts. Nasi lemak, char kway teow, beef rendang, chili crab, roti prata, Hainanese chicken rice, biryani, laksa, mee goreng, nasi goreng, kaya toast, chai tow kway…I could go on and on: its gastronomy alone really does make Singapore worth a visit.
From now on, though, I can also recommend Singapore’s literature, which is similarly diverse and exciting. I selected three books to accompany me on my trip and each was very different but all were very enjoyable.
The Last Lesson of Mrs de Souza – Cyril Wong
This debut novel from one of only two persons to have won the Singaporean Literature Prize twice offers plenty to think about in its less than 150 pages. The eponymous Mrs de Souza narrates her final day as a teacher before retirement, where she tells her class, and us the readers, the story of a former student of hers that continues to haunt her. Along the way there are reflections on society, education, her childhood, her marriage and more besides. With crisp, clear, meditative prose, Wong has excellently crafted the voice of his narrator and one can hear the soothing yet weary tones of Mrs de Souza with all her experience, wisdom, certainties and doubts. She is presented as complex, conflicted and ultimately very human and in the reader she generates a mixture of sympathy, respect, admiration, frustration and criticism. The way she tells Amir’s tale to the class is not the way she tells it to the reader and she is not always certain of exactly what happened or how she related it, offering a lesson in the reliability and function of stories and memory. The themes of responsibility, growth and forgiveness are key, as are the nuances of doing what it is right and trying to make a difference. This short novel is a quick read but will stay with you for a long time.
Ministry of Moral Panic – Amanda Lee Koe
This multi-award winning and eclectic debut collection of short stories perhaps, rather than defining Singapore, undermines any notion that Singapore can be neatly defined. Its characters come from all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds and take us on an extensive tour of Singapore, its possibilities and its restrictions. The stories are by turns moving, comical and surreal in this collection that is at once a celebration and a critique of the nation. Recurring themes include gender roles, patriarchy, privilege, folklore, love, loss, and isolation. There are unlikely connections and improbable reunions in this exciting and surprising book. The stories feature a jaded former singer, a ladyboy merlion, a laundromat with a karaoke machine, the girl who inspired race riots, the mysterious suicide attempt of a TV star, unlikely lovers and more.
State of Emergency – Jeremy Tiang
Probably the best of the three and one of the best books I have read this year. It is another debut novel and it won the 2018 Singapore Prize for Literature in the Fiction in English category. Tiang – who is also a translator from Chinese and this year was the inaugural Literary Translator of the Fair at the London Book Fair – writes excellently and this novel covers some important moments in Singaporean history, dealing with leftist rebellions and Singapore’s relationship with Malaysia and Britain, pre and post-independence. The story is told in the third person but with each of the six chapters focussing on a different character: Jason, Siew Li, Nam Teck, Revathi, Stella and Henry. We will learn what connects them and most will appear in more than one chapter. Each has their own story, self-contained, but only fully understood in the wider context. The novel deals with themes including colonialism, post-colonialism, leftist politics, labour movements, capitalism, guerrilla warfare, political detention, human rights and more. Not only a tremendous literary accomplishment in its own right, but arguably a must-read for anyone wishing to better understand the region.
Have you read any books from Singapore? Would you recommend them? At a time when Asian literature seems to be quite popular in the UK, it would be great to see some of these works and writers gain a bigger profile outside of Singapore. All three are certainly names to look out for in the future too.