BOOK REVIEW: THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

I loved fairy tales when I was young. Fairy tales, ancient legends and horror. And a huge dose of anything Enid Blyton. These were the staples of my reading diet as a primary school pupil. If you, like me, also like fairy tales, then this is the book for you.

John Connolly may be more famous for his Charlie Parker private detective series of novels but his 2006 The Book of Lost Things is a totally different kettle of fish. The Book of Lost Things is set during World War II and centres around David, a twelve-year-old boy. Not long after David lost his mother who died after a long illness, his father remarried a woman Rose whom he met in the hospice where David’s mother had stayed and a new half-brother came along, further displacing David from his old life, a golden age which he came to associate with his dead mother, domestic bliss and carefreeness.

Probably because of his unhappiness, David began to change. He started to have seizures during which he would pass out. The only thing was during the periods when he was knocked out, he didn’t really lose consciousness. He would have visions of a strange world and he knew that because vignettes of his hallucinations would return to him when he was lucid but these tattered fragments made no sense to him.

Another eerie change was that he began to hear the chatter of books. Yes, books talk. And the tone and content of their conversations depend on the contents between their covers. David was worried and frightened by these weird changes but there was no one he could talk to because his father was occupied by his efforts for the war and trying to adapt to the new family, and David’s relationship with Rose was highly antagonistic.

A Short Story - Stall No. 51

We just posted a short story set in Singapore on A Quiver of Quirks.


This story was runner-up in a Writing The City competition. Head over, read it and let us know if you like it.  :)

BOOK REVIEW: BALIK KAMPUNG

Balik Kampung by Verena Tay

Balik Kumpung is a collection of short stories centred around local neighbourhoods. They are written by authors who have lived in these neighbourhoods for considerable lengths of time – at least a decade. All these stories were edited by Verena Tay, which is why only her name is reflected in the title of the post.

‘Balik kampung’ is a Malay phrase which means to go home, and it is a most apt title for this anthology. Each author has chosen a place that is dear to him/her as the setting of his/her story; each tale is an ode to the neighbourhood in which the author has called home at one time or another, and so when penning the story, the author is in a sense ‘returning home’. As a whole, this anthology is a fine addition to Singapore’s literary collection. It is one more identity marker for all who call Singapore home, one more drop in our cultural ocean pond (but it is growing), reminding Singaporeans to look harder at this island we call home.

The stories are set in neighbourhoods that Singaporeans would recognise easily: Marine Parade, Changi, the Holland Road area, Nee Soon, Redhill, and the Dunearn-Bukit Timah area. Some of the stories – Lighthouse, Tahar and Seven Views of Redhill – easily transported me back to the past and a couple of others are very powerful and evoked a strong emotional response in me.

It is great to realise that there are so many fine writers in Singapore. We may be a small country and although there has been no international award-winning writer from Singapore yet, we are not lacking in literary talent. And you know what, if we want the world to take notice of our writers, we need to support our writers and give them the courage and motivation to continue writing. So do grab a copy of Balik Kampung or borrow one from your neighbourhood library.

(To keep the review within reasonable length, I’ll only be reviewing three stories out of eight.)