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A Certain Exposure
Selected by The Business Times as one of the Best Books of 2014
Satirical and sympathetic, political and personal, A Certain Exposure traces the adolescences of twin brothers Andrew and Brian, culminating in the explosive events leading to Andrew's tragic death. A classic coming-of-age tale doubled across two vividly individual brothers, who struggle to navigate a complex tangle of relationships and coercive forces, cinematically interwoven with the yearnings and fears of an ensemble of mothers, fathers, cousins, friends and lovers both false and true. This wide-ranging debut beautifully presents the resonances and the ghosts of lost possibilities, as well as a gripping story of hope and betrayal.
Praise:
"I very much enjoyed A Certain Exposure. An immense achievement, with absolutely beautiful passages of description."
— Sarah Howe, T.S. Eliot Prize-winning author of Loop of Jade
"A Certain Exposure is a quiet, powerful tale about the dangers of unthinking conformity…[It is rare] in Singapore that we are made to face recognisable portraits of our society and acknowledge the distortions.”
—Akshita Nanda, The Straits Times
“One of the best debuts of 2014, this sometimes strident but largely effective novel begins with the suicide of a government scholar and proceeds to dissect elitism, racism, homophobia and other taboo topics in Singapore.”
—Helmi Yusof, The Business Times
“One of the best novels I’ve read recently…a haunting story about elitism and prejudice in a society which recites daily pledges to maintain equality for all.”
—Balli Kaur Jaswal, author of Inheritance
“A Certain Exposure is an intimately layered story about twin brothers forging different paths through the intricacies and prejudices of Singapore society, but will strike a chord wherever the struggle between personal values and social pressures is experienced.”
—Ovidia Yu, author of Aunty Lee’s Delights
“[A]n exciting debut novel that delves beneath the surface of Singapore society, questioning the dominant value systems and asking if there’s a better way for us to live.”
—Jeremy Tiang, writer and translator of Durians Are Not the Only Fruit: Notes from the Tropics , in “My Book of the Year”, Singapore Poetry
About the Author:
Jolene Tan is a writer and activist who lives in Singapore. She has also lived in the UK, the US and Germany. A Certain Exposure is her first novel.
Satirical and sympathetic, political and personal, A Certain Exposure traces the adolescences of twin brothers Andrew and Brian, culminating in the explosive events leading to Andrew's tragic death. A classic coming-of-age tale doubled across two vividly individual brothers, who struggle to navigate a complex tangle of relationships and coercive forces, cinematically interwoven with the yearnings and fears of an ensemble of mothers, fathers, cousins, friends and lovers both false and true. This wide-ranging debut beautifully presents the resonances and the ghosts of lost possibilities, as well as a gripping story of hope and betrayal.
Praise:
"I very much enjoyed A Certain Exposure. An immense achievement, with absolutely beautiful passages of description."
— Sarah Howe, T.S. Eliot Prize-winning author of Loop of Jade
"A Certain Exposure is a quiet, powerful tale about the dangers of unthinking conformity…[It is rare] in Singapore that we are made to face recognisable portraits of our society and acknowledge the distortions.”
—Akshita Nanda, The Straits Times
“One of the best debuts of 2014, this sometimes strident but largely effective novel begins with the suicide of a government scholar and proceeds to dissect elitism, racism, homophobia and other taboo topics in Singapore.”
—Helmi Yusof, The Business Times
“One of the best novels I’ve read recently…a haunting story about elitism and prejudice in a society which recites daily pledges to maintain equality for all.”
—Balli Kaur Jaswal, author of Inheritance
“A Certain Exposure is an intimately layered story about twin brothers forging different paths through the intricacies and prejudices of Singapore society, but will strike a chord wherever the struggle between personal values and social pressures is experienced.”
—Ovidia Yu, author of Aunty Lee’s Delights
“[A]n exciting debut novel that delves beneath the surface of Singapore society, questioning the dominant value systems and asking if there’s a better way for us to live.”
—Jeremy Tiang, writer and translator of Durians Are Not the Only Fruit: Notes from the Tropics , in “My Book of the Year”, Singapore Poetry
About the Author:
Jolene Tan is a writer and activist who lives in Singapore. She has also lived in the UK, the US and Germany. A Certain Exposure is her first novel.
- GenresFictionContemporary
224 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2014
5 people are currently reading
175 people want to read
About the author
Jolene Tan
4 books13 followersJolene Tan is a writer from Singapore who lives in England. She has also lived in Germany.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
May 7, 2020
SPOILERS AHEAD
I had a lot of expectations for this book, I really did. It promised so much, that it was going to address elitism. homophobia, racism etc in Singapore, and I was particularly intrigued by the premise of the LGBT Raffles scholar.
This book managed to disappoint me in every promise it made. Frankly, the prose was never to my style, and it felt like the author was trying to write a PSLE essay to impress the markers rather than to write a novel. Examples of some scintillating prose I encountered:
"As if his guts were being scarped out with a spoon (he saw the large grey coils), and the air was being pressed out of his lungs (he saw empty, gasping bags), and his innards were now deposited in an ignominious public heap, The result was not an interview but fleshy puppetry, limp and grotesque."
What was this supposed to mean? What grey coils was he seeing? What the hell was 'not an interview, but fleshy puppetry' supposed to mean? Altogether, it added up to purple-prose for me. It seems to me that the author is fonder of vomiting the thesaurus rather than thinking of how words value-add to a work at all.
Anyways, I was willing to overlook it as a matter of style. I thought that perhaps it was just that her writing style did not suit my tastes, so I soldiered on through the novel, lured by its premise of addressing societal issues.
Boy, was I disappointed by the end of the book. As another reviewer said, the author seems to have put all her energy into heavy-handedly painting the societal issues and creating shock value. And none into addressing them with the subtlety and humanity that these issues required. Her "villains" were two-dimensional and unrealistic, and fond of going on monologues about their views on life, elitism, and women. (Yes, this is about Ming Wei). Does the author think this is how racism and homophobia plays out in real life? She put absolutely no effort into exploring the system structures and mindsets that shape such discriminatory views, and instead, took every opportunity to hit us with heavy-handed, one-dimensional characters.
And there's absolutely no resolution for any of the characters. Not for Brian, who struggles to reconcile his overachieving brother he's grown distant from, with issues he has never thought about. We have no idea how Andrew, the protagonist of this novel, overcame his internalized homophobia other than a 2-liner about cheating the game or something. We have no idea about the feelings of Hwee Leng, Andrew or Brian's parents, or anything really.
All we know is that Singapore is an evil, backward and discriminatory country, which is all the author put effort into describing in the book. Having taken a quick look at the author's bio, she seems to be of the "cosmopolitan" mold that she decried in the book, being of the well-traveled, overseas educated, Chinese mold. I do not want to make this an ad-hominem attack, but perhaps this is the issue here, lmao.
1 star because this tried to address some important issues, -4 stars because it failed.
I had a lot of expectations for this book, I really did. It promised so much, that it was going to address elitism. homophobia, racism etc in Singapore, and I was particularly intrigued by the premise of the LGBT Raffles scholar.
This book managed to disappoint me in every promise it made. Frankly, the prose was never to my style, and it felt like the author was trying to write a PSLE essay to impress the markers rather than to write a novel. Examples of some scintillating prose I encountered:
"As if his guts were being scarped out with a spoon (he saw the large grey coils), and the air was being pressed out of his lungs (he saw empty, gasping bags), and his innards were now deposited in an ignominious public heap, The result was not an interview but fleshy puppetry, limp and grotesque."
What was this supposed to mean? What grey coils was he seeing? What the hell was 'not an interview, but fleshy puppetry' supposed to mean? Altogether, it added up to purple-prose for me. It seems to me that the author is fonder of vomiting the thesaurus rather than thinking of how words value-add to a work at all.
Anyways, I was willing to overlook it as a matter of style. I thought that perhaps it was just that her writing style did not suit my tastes, so I soldiered on through the novel, lured by its premise of addressing societal issues.
Boy, was I disappointed by the end of the book. As another reviewer said, the author seems to have put all her energy into heavy-handedly painting the societal issues and creating shock value. And none into addressing them with the subtlety and humanity that these issues required. Her "villains" were two-dimensional and unrealistic, and fond of going on monologues about their views on life, elitism, and women. (Yes, this is about Ming Wei). Does the author think this is how racism and homophobia plays out in real life? She put absolutely no effort into exploring the system structures and mindsets that shape such discriminatory views, and instead, took every opportunity to hit us with heavy-handed, one-dimensional characters.
And there's absolutely no resolution for any of the characters. Not for Brian, who struggles to reconcile his overachieving brother he's grown distant from, with issues he has never thought about. We have no idea how Andrew, the protagonist of this novel, overcame his internalized homophobia other than a 2-liner about cheating the game or something. We have no idea about the feelings of Hwee Leng, Andrew or Brian's parents, or anything really.
All we know is that Singapore is an evil, backward and discriminatory country, which is all the author put effort into describing in the book. Having taken a quick look at the author's bio, she seems to be of the "cosmopolitan" mold that she decried in the book, being of the well-traveled, overseas educated, Chinese mold. I do not want to make this an ad-hominem attack, but perhaps this is the issue here, lmao.
1 star because this tried to address some important issues, -4 stars because it failed.
January 10, 2015
Maybe it's because I'm tired of people exposing the hypocrisy of Singapore. Because by now, something in society should have changed. Since it hasn't, I hope young people read this book & stop placing too much impt in joining Raffles ( yes, I said it, the book is too scared to even use that word), becoming a Govt scholar, at the very least . Also the characters are all one dimensionally Chinese. How dull is that? Only Gaurav is fleshed out ( like how this name is NOT hidden & hints directly at the real person. Why so selective?) Ironically, while the book attempts to expose elitist behavior, it's written in that familiar elitist way. Can't help it you see. Unnessarily I'm drawn to conclude based on the author's own credentials. And the gay theme, before the guy is described in detail as a gay man, it's shrouded in secrecy & he's killed off. In the end, I didn't sympathize with Andrew. I said, so what? The story could have been a whole lot more hard hitting. His gayness should have been fully explored. Some lame conversation in JC seems juvenile. Spore writers need to stop this hinting business. If you want to say the Singapore system is lousy, be decisive about it, don't skirt around it. otherwise don't waste the readers time. We have better things to read.
August 30, 2016
Parts of it were difficult to get through, because of things that were all too familiar and as old memories tend to throb searing pain when they surface, I took longer than expected to finish this. Beautifully written, with the exception of the colloquial Singaporean speech here and there that I found rather jarring when you return to the main text. The epilogue was devastating but the scene before that, the one with the 3 asshats, that was just excellently-executed. I went for the book launch in Singapore and hearing the author speak of the motivations, ideas behind the book got me to appreciate it more. It's converting me into a book-pusher. I'll push this book and make people read it.
March 31, 2014
A scathing indictment on elitism in Singapore. A brilliant read that will cause some readers to squirm uncomfortably in their seats, or on their pedestals. The year’s still young, but I suspect this will be THE local title of 2014, or at least the most talked about.
May 12, 2020
“Andrew felt sorry for him. But he couldn’t afford more than pity. From a distance, pity. Andrew was going places, and he wasn’t going to risk sharing that fate.”
Local writing which examines elitist culture and the tight circles of Singaporean Oxbridge students is long overdue. I had some technical issues with structure/language for this one — perhaps personal differences with the narrative style, but the structure was hard to follow — I appreciated how Jolene Tan surfaces private conversations which happen behind closed doors on sexual orientation and race. She touches on a variety of realities (albeit briefly)— from orientation camps to anti-browness to middle-income gay couples trying to save up and access housing in Singapore (as portrayed by the protagonist’s aunt and her girlfriend). An important read if one is looking for a bare-all on the ugly side of our society.
Local writing which examines elitist culture and the tight circles of Singaporean Oxbridge students is long overdue. I had some technical issues with structure/language for this one — perhaps personal differences with the narrative style, but the structure was hard to follow — I appreciated how Jolene Tan surfaces private conversations which happen behind closed doors on sexual orientation and race. She touches on a variety of realities (albeit briefly)— from orientation camps to anti-browness to middle-income gay couples trying to save up and access housing in Singapore (as portrayed by the protagonist’s aunt and her girlfriend). An important read if one is looking for a bare-all on the ugly side of our society.
December 21, 2019
Loved the simple but vivid language that evoked the 1990s easily. Loved the way the characters' struggles with emotions were woven into the story. The mention of the often unspoken aspects of Singapore's ethnic relations and 1990s moral panics was notable.
June 1, 2014
The story revolves around the death of Brian's twin Andrew. Starting with the news of the suicide and Brian bringing the body back to Singapore, moving to different memories of the different people in both Brian and Andrew's life telling a story that will resonate with many Singaporeans. The actual reasons for the suicide appear vague at first and the story builds slowly but then as we learn more and more about the two brothers and how Brian is dealing with death, the story quickly hits the climax and reveals the reason that Andrew took his life. Ending the book in a rather sad and horrific note.
In my opinion, well written, reflects a lot of prejudices about our community in Singapore in the past, much has changed now. I love how the story builds up, throwing us back into memories, and then forward again to the present and especially how the book builds to the reason of death and quickly bring the entire thing to the close and leaving the reader in suspends and reflection on how our actions can destroy another person so much that they would resort to end their life.
In my opinion, well written, reflects a lot of prejudices about our community in Singapore in the past, much has changed now. I love how the story builds up, throwing us back into memories, and then forward again to the present and especially how the book builds to the reason of death and quickly bring the entire thing to the close and leaving the reader in suspends and reflection on how our actions can destroy another person so much that they would resort to end their life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2014
After a few stop-starts, I finally read this in an afternoon. Beautifully written, with several precise jabs at all that is wrong with the Singaporean society. The scene with the three goons as depicted in their working lives made me laugh so hard.
Also, I can't shake off the need to compare this book with Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowlands. (TWINS! DIVERGENT PATHS! DEAD BROTHER!)
ALSO, freaky, but I know a pair of twins who have the exact same names as the twins in this book. :O
Also, I can't shake off the need to compare this book with Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowlands. (TWINS! DIVERGENT PATHS! DEAD BROTHER!)
ALSO, freaky, but I know a pair of twins who have the exact same names as the twins in this book. :O
May 11, 2014
A literary delight. Good vocabulary I guess and creative style of writing. Some parts were confusing though but after re-reading the book I kind of understood it. Still, I enjoyed this Singapore classic.
October 6, 2014
Wow. Not in the sense that the issues raised are startling or shocking, but it personalizes all the stuff that we so often only discuss intellectually. (Why we should all read more fiction!)
July 6, 2019
A Certain Exposure discusses, with wit and prose, the nuances of Singaporean life and our unique experiences with school, examinations, racism, bullying, suicide, and homophobia. Jolene paints a dreary picture on what is it like to fall out of the subscribed way of life. Andrew and Brian are twins - both were born in a Chinese middle-class family. Brian is ushered along an average life with average grades, a safe group of friends, the occasional Chinese girlfriend; Andrew is brilliant, except for the fact that he's gay and he killed himself (no spoilers).
I love that A Certain Exposure approached the topic of living as a gay person in Singapore through many different scenarios - the middle-aged aunt with her Muslim girlfriend, who grew up in a time and surrounded by people who still think violence towards gay people is acceptable; the young scholar navigating a highly competitive school environment; a young boy being sexually assaulted by his classmates.
I laughed so hard when I read this because I've actually heard it in real life. Jolene has a talent in pulling your heartstrings - I found myself amused, vindicated, horrified, sick to the stomach, all through this short novel. and I love reading her characters' inner monologues because they're one of the most realistic and relatable ones I've come across. She comments on social issues through deft manipulation of her characters and sarcastic, wry prose. Great read!
""Senior Minister also agrees with me."
"What?" The improbability of Singapore's pre-eminent elder statesman weighing in on his brother's teenage love life startled Brian out of indifference."
I love that A Certain Exposure approached the topic of living as a gay person in Singapore through many different scenarios - the middle-aged aunt with her Muslim girlfriend, who grew up in a time and surrounded by people who still think violence towards gay people is acceptable; the young scholar navigating a highly competitive school environment; a young boy being sexually assaulted by his classmates.
""Anyway, where does it stop? Today, change the Penal Code; tomorrow, they will want to adopt children. Human rights -" (she made air quotes with her fingers) "- may be the fashion on the West, but that doesn't mean they should trump everything else.""
I laughed so hard when I read this because I've actually heard it in real life. Jolene has a talent in pulling your heartstrings - I found myself amused, vindicated, horrified, sick to the stomach, all through this short novel. and I love reading her characters' inner monologues because they're one of the most realistic and relatable ones I've come across. She comments on social issues through deft manipulation of her characters and sarcastic, wry prose. Great read!
May 23, 2023
I really enjoyed this book because it spoke of issues most Singaporeans can identify with, mainly race, elitism, politics, LGBT and religion. Published in 2014, many of the pain points still hold true today, which make you wonder how far we’ve progressed. It was an easy, almost unassuming read, but I loved how Tan managed to tackle society’s deep flaws through the lens of family and friendship, of casual conversations and character reflection.
One thing though, I felt that certain characters or storylines could have been expanded a little more. Lay Choo, Priya, Hwee Leng and Mabel were all intriguing people but barely made a dent in me. It felt a little unsatisfactory that these characters were introduced and then disappeared without much of an impact. I wondered what was the point of them besides serving as a brief commentary or example of what was wrong with society.
I might be over-stretching but maybe it’s the author’s way of depicting life, where things often don’t tie up nicely with a bow. People come and go, serving nothing more than just an anecdote in someone else’s lives. Things ebb and flow, and sometimes even the most crucial of relationships at the time taper off with no significant conclusion or resolution. Still, in the interest of a novel, I would have liked to know more.
One thing though, I felt that certain characters or storylines could have been expanded a little more. Lay Choo, Priya, Hwee Leng and Mabel were all intriguing people but barely made a dent in me. It felt a little unsatisfactory that these characters were introduced and then disappeared without much of an impact. I wondered what was the point of them besides serving as a brief commentary or example of what was wrong with society.
I might be over-stretching but maybe it’s the author’s way of depicting life, where things often don’t tie up nicely with a bow. People come and go, serving nothing more than just an anecdote in someone else’s lives. Things ebb and flow, and sometimes even the most crucial of relationships at the time taper off with no significant conclusion or resolution. Still, in the interest of a novel, I would have liked to know more.
November 17, 2019
Short but sharp in its account of Singaporean society, with its elitism, claims to meritocracy, and moral conservativeness (especially for the time in which the novel was set). The book was uncomfortable at places precisely because you could easily identify the various prejudices it speaks to. The epilogue was succinct and poignant - knowing that Andrew’s hope for/towards life was obliterated by insensitivity and unkindness. I hope this book can guide us to interrogate the easy stereotypes in our society, and their devastating consequences.
As a side, also liked seeing so much Singlish throughout the book - thought it was very vernacular and relatable. A dimension that I was interested in but not portrayed, though, was the parents’ point of view. Would have been interesting to see how the author explored the rawness of parental grief/loss/guilt/doubt.
As a side, also liked seeing so much Singlish throughout the book - thought it was very vernacular and relatable. A dimension that I was interested in but not portrayed, though, was the parents’ point of view. Would have been interesting to see how the author explored the rawness of parental grief/loss/guilt/doubt.
March 23, 2019
This is a must-read for anyone who has an interest in social equality and how privilege and prejudice impact families, communities and the choices we make in life. I absolutely loved the pace and subtle but powerful messages communicated through the various events in the story. The characters are relatable and they confront issues that still plague society today (both in Singapore and abroad). I also appreciated the many local references and the unique dialogue that really brings the Singaporean characters to life. The story is honest, raw and provocative in a way that reveals the hidden flaws in any wealthy, privileged and conservative community.
August 9, 2021
💗: I deeply enjoyed how thorough her character conversations were. She successfully describes the societal issue so well through them as though she truly empathises with their situation. 🧐 It also impresses me how Jolene injects sarcasm and dark humour into her relatable characters which made this book not only devastatingly tragic but tied my emotions completely to it. With so many key issues, some may say it’s overly ambitious to mention this many in a short novel but I felt IT WAS JUST SMOOTH AND PLAIN 🔥AWESOME🔥!!
😫: I felt strong emotions for the characters: e.g. intense angst for Andrew’s shitty friends, found beauty in Hwee Leng’s strength to defend for herself and for Andrew. Not forgetting to mention, we can find tender relatability towards Brian as he shares good moral values but has fear of expressing them due to stigmas. This book opened my eyes to some of the unknowingly toxic habits we may have picked up from when we were younger.
💭: With an quote from the book said by the protagonist: “Difficult… But the right thing!”. It made me think…. if everyone in the book stand true to this, could this book have an alternate ending? 😌
📚ITS A REALLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READ~ my 🇸🇬 folks!
😫: I felt strong emotions for the characters: e.g. intense angst for Andrew’s shitty friends, found beauty in Hwee Leng’s strength to defend for herself and for Andrew. Not forgetting to mention, we can find tender relatability towards Brian as he shares good moral values but has fear of expressing them due to stigmas. This book opened my eyes to some of the unknowingly toxic habits we may have picked up from when we were younger.
💭: With an quote from the book said by the protagonist: “Difficult… But the right thing!”. It made me think…. if everyone in the book stand true to this, could this book have an alternate ending? 😌
📚ITS A REALLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READ~ my 🇸🇬 folks!
October 20, 2019
This is Jolene Tan’s first novel, but her writing feels matured and competent, generously providing the reader peeks into the conservative Asian society that is Singapore, and how this conservatism affects her denizens. Featuring the coming of age of a pair of twins in 1980s Singapore, until the death of one of them, this is a story that can resonate well with those who feel marginalised in society. A thought-provoking local read that feels like a necessary addition to the canon of Singaporean literature.
May 8, 2022
Well written prose but quite very self conscious. It captures a bit of the Singapore context but I sense a bit of disconnect there. The jump between Singlish dialogue and the rest of the narrative is really distracting and makes it seem somewhat schizophrenic in tone.
Bravely addresses LGBT issues in Singapore. We should have more books like this one.
Bravely addresses LGBT issues in Singapore. We should have more books like this one.
March 20, 2025
this book was so hard to read because it hit all the right points. the author did a great job representing the climate and what it was like to grow up queer in singapore in those times. heart wrenching.
the fact that i wasn’t even born during most of the times she refers to yet am alive to see the penal code only just abolished kinda speaks how far we still have left to go tbh
the fact that i wasn’t even born during most of the times she refers to yet am alive to see the penal code only just abolished kinda speaks how far we still have left to go tbh
April 1, 2019
I enjoyed the observant prose which reminded me of Jhumpa Lahiri.
I however felt that there was room for more character development, and felt that Andrew's fragility was not sufficiently explored.
Still a good debut, and much to look forward to from Jolene.
I however felt that there was room for more character development, and felt that Andrew's fragility was not sufficiently explored.
Still a good debut, and much to look forward to from Jolene.
March 14, 2020
fucking good piece of work, almost flawless execution of delicately interwoven storylines, and a slow, gentle peeling back of social issues so prevalent in those times, still echoing now. definitely enjoyed it more as a singaporean with social context.
May 22, 2024
Rage porn for the Singaporean liberal (making me the ideal reader, in principle). But like so much literature produced in/about Singapore, we have to content ourselves with it being socially-relevant instead of being particularly good art.
August 2, 2025
:( 3.5
Singlish, rozumiem zabieg, ale jednak wybijał z rytmu w trakcie czytania. Również przeskoki w czasie czasem były mało oczywiste i dopiero po kilku stronach sie orientowałam (być moze moja wina)
smutna historia, która uwierzyłabym, ze wydarzyla sie naprawde - all i have to say.
Singlish, rozumiem zabieg, ale jednak wybijał z rytmu w trakcie czytania. Również przeskoki w czasie czasem były mało oczywiste i dopiero po kilku stronach sie orientowałam (być moze moja wina)
smutna historia, która uwierzyłabym, ze wydarzyla sie naprawde - all i have to say.
December 30, 2018
Compelling prose, and generally a page turner. I did think the characterisation was exaggerated though and that the author did sound a bit preachy.
June 14, 2022
while the book deals with important social issues, the writing felt very heavy-handed and moralizing. there must be more nuanced ways to treat these issues without preaching to the reader.
December 31, 2023
An incisive commentary on the callousness of not speaking up, the novel manages to toe the very fine line between recognisable characters and the broader social commentary she sneaks in precisely because of the wide-ranging cast of characters, which span a diverse section of the Singapore population both in terms of gender, sexual preferences, age, education level, and for lack of a better word - likeability. Credit must go to the author for sketching each character with such vivid strokes that they are immediately recognisable. The soapbox was cleverly placed only for these characters to mount and make their perspectives, however appalling (the roundtable of civil servants was especially chilling), heard. My only minor gripe with an otherwise sobering critique of Singaporean society told in an astonishingly engaging narrative is the slightly unnerving bulk of the story unfolding with Andrew's perspective in the middle of the story, given that his death was established from the first page on. It would just have been more congruent with the earlier parts of the novel, in which the story was told through the eyes of passive bystanders (the sister of Christian proselytiser, the cool detached view of the surviving twin, the distant aunt whose friend is more than a friend). Nevertheless, a stellar contribution to the growing field of SingLit!
August 5, 2015
As startlingly brutal as it is beautifully written, Jolene launches an unequivocal critique against the prosaic clockworks of the Singaporean dream. A book written with unflinching and measured resolve, it sketches the perniciousness of academic elitism in the Singaporean society, and the cost of surrendering our imagination to a traditionalist stranglehold of success for cheap, materialistic reassurances. Through the tragedy of the twin brothers, we are led-painfully- to observe the fulfilment of lives led within our very own Singaporean gaze; lives indelibly emptied of any trace of emotional sensibility. Arguably, the most devastating crunch to Singaporean readers is that the fictional characters, brought to life by Jolene’s masterful strokes, are not mere spectres of her imagination: they are earnest reflections of our lives which we have all been too afraid, and too embarrassed to confront.
February 5, 2015
Very, very good...
There are, unfortunately, perhaps inevitable lapses in character explorations in some parts, particularly as the novel's pace picks up and rushes towards the denouement.
The effort to draw links between societal discrimination and high-end political brutalizing (the 1987 arrests) as part of a more general culture of intolerance and apathy were interesting if speculative. Perhaps unnecessary in the end though, given the ability of the rest of the content to stand on its own, and what is already publicly known (and felt) about the injustice of the detentions.
I loved the gentle, angry, textured, sensitive explorations of societal faultlines; this was particularly jaw-clenchingly hurtful in the middle sections. But this is partly because I have young children, and I worry for them too....
There are, unfortunately, perhaps inevitable lapses in character explorations in some parts, particularly as the novel's pace picks up and rushes towards the denouement.
The effort to draw links between societal discrimination and high-end political brutalizing (the 1987 arrests) as part of a more general culture of intolerance and apathy were interesting if speculative. Perhaps unnecessary in the end though, given the ability of the rest of the content to stand on its own, and what is already publicly known (and felt) about the injustice of the detentions.
I loved the gentle, angry, textured, sensitive explorations of societal faultlines; this was particularly jaw-clenchingly hurtful in the middle sections. But this is partly because I have young children, and I worry for them too....
July 2, 2015
A necessary read. Lyrical, fluid and tightly controlled writing of the sort rarely seen among Singapore literature, it was a quick read, even for a slow reader like me. The novel is a tad didactic, but most political novels are, and it's been too long since we had such an unabashedly political novel about this country and the awful ways in which we treat people. Despite the subject matter, the novel manages to steer away from a fatalistic depressing ethos, and even lightly suggests possibilities for other ways of overcoming hurt and discrimination through connection and solidarity. This one will stay on my bookshelf for awhile.
January 10, 2015
Local writer Jolene Tan's attempt to deal with the issues of elitism in the school, homosexuality, family obligations etc is admirable and makes this book a pretty compelling read. I am, however, not at ease with the style of writing, at the juxtaposition of dialogues rendered in Singlish against convoluted sentences with bombastic vocabulary in the rest of the prose. I prefer writing that is simpler, that can appeal to the average reader for I believe Jolene has a message that needs to be heard. Still, this is a decent debut and I look forward to more of her work.
June 16, 2014
Characters looking for a plot to make sense of their presence.
Sprawling and not in a good way.
Okay. Gave it a second read. (16 June 2014) Still didn't like it. It's just seeded with so many issues (pertaining to Singapore) that the main characters feel half-baked.
And honestly, Mabel is the most irritating character.
Sprawling and not in a good way.
Okay. Gave it a second read. (16 June 2014) Still didn't like it. It's just seeded with so many issues (pertaining to Singapore) that the main characters feel half-baked.
And honestly, Mabel is the most irritating character.
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