Singapore Shelf: Delving into racism, friendships, self-discovery and fund-raising
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Karma Of The Sun by Brandon Ying Kit Boey (left) and Freddy The Dogged Rescuer by Swapnil Mishra.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF BRANDON YING KIT BOEY, EPIGRAM BOOKS
In this week’s Singapore Shelf, The Straits Times looks at four works of Singapore literature fresh off the presses. Buy the books at Amazon
If Only They Knew scratches the surface of conversations around racism towards Singaporean Malays
clonly17 - Source:PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE SEA Rights Usage: Multiple Use
PHOTO: PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE SEA
If you could pass for a different race for wider opportunities, would you?
Singaporean-Malay author Anita Othman poses the multilayered question in her sophomore novel, If Only They Knew, in which Malay protagonist Saloma Salem strives to prove that being part of a minority race in Singapore cannot keep her from being successful.
The novel attempts to unpack a history of microaggressive comments and attitudes towards Malays, such as comments about skin colour and stereotypes of lesser education and marital expectations.
Four Singapore poets in Scandinavia co-create prismatic collection in Lilla Torg
shtorg17 - Lilla Torg: A Scandinavian Journey is the result of an expedition that four Singapore poets (Heng Siok Tian, Yeow Kai Chai, Yong Shu Hoong and Toh Hsien Min) undertook in 2007. PHOTO: DAKOTA BOOKS
PHOTO: DAKOTA BOOKS
The art of travelling with friends, unlike solo travel, is finding that golden mean between one’s ego and the collective interest. Friendships, after all, are forged and broken on the road.
The same principle applies to co-writing a book, which a quartet of Singapore poets – Heng Siok Tian, Toh Hsien Min, Yeow Kai Chai and Yong Shu Hoong – undertook in 2007 as they embarked on a road trip from Copenhagen to Stockholm.
The creative problem at the heart of collaboration is, as Yong puts it, “we stroll at different speeds. / And whether one leads or plays catch-up, our lines / are written separately as we cross different streets”.
The solution is to cook up a few constraints.
Karma Of The Sun, a young adult fantasy set in the Himalayas, needs more spark
shkarma17 - Karma Of The Sun is the debut novel of Brandon Ying Kit Boey. PHOTO: COURTESY OF BRANDON YING KIT BOEY
PHOTO: COURTESY OF BRANDON YING KIT BOEY
For lovers of post-apocalyptic young adult fantasy, Karma Of The Sun’s biggest selling point is that it takes the genre to a different place with its Himalayan setting and its mix of Buddhist philosophical and eschatological traditions.
It is not exactly language that flies off the page, but it is an otherwise interesting bildungsroman following a shunned Sherpa boy, the titular Karma, on his journey to bring humanity back from the brink of extinction.
Taking reference from a Buddhist prophecy in the Pali Canon that the end of the earth will be marked by the destruction of seven suns, Brandon Ying Kit Boey sets his novel in the ghastly aftermath of the sixth explosion.
Freddy The Dogged Rescuer offers kids a pragmatic view on pet adoption and fund-raising
lcfreddy - Freddy The Dogged Rescuer by Swapnil Mishra PHOTO: EPIGRAM BOOKS
PHOTO: EPIGRAM BOOKS
A 10-year-old boy attempts a near-impossible feat of raising $20,000 to save a dog shelter in the latest children’s publication from Epigram Books.
Written by Singapore Management University (SMU) adjunct teaching mentor Swapnil Mishra and illustrated by Quek Yu Qing, this is a sequel to Freddy The Eager Fundraiser, published in 2018.
The first book, for children aged nine and above, introduced the altruistic Freddy, who puts playing football aside to raise funds for the Singapore Red Cross.
The second book follows Freddy’s journey in managing the responsibilities and expectations of adopting a Singapore Special – a term for a local mixed-breed dog – named Wally from a dog shelter.
The Straits Times’ Weekly Bestsellers June 17
bestsellers04 - Dog Man Source: COURTESY OF SCHOLASTIC & PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE
PHOTO: COURTESY OF SCHOLASTIC
This week’s bestsellers list marks the 10th consecutive weeks of Dog Man #11: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under The Sea by Dav Pilkey being in first place for Children’s Fiction.
