Singapore Literature reviewed by an Angmoh

Asger Daugbjerg
  • 5.0 (1)
  • BOOKS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

I am a Dane living and working in Singapore. I love to read, but sad to say I haven't read much Singapore literature in the past. I am however now, and I want to share my experience with you. So what does an angmoh (Singapore slang for a white man - or Westerner) think about different Singapore fiction books? In every episode I will review one book: what is it about, what do I think, and what in particular do I find interesting as a non-Singaporean.I have selected all books from The Straits Times article from Dec 2021 'The 50 greatest works of SingLit'.

  1. 05/12/2022

    Episode 16

    Imagine that Singapore one day just disappears from the surface of the planet. Here one moment, gone the next. 'No other city' is one of 16 short stories by Ng Yi-Sheng. And it is one of the stories in his book 'Lion City' which I really recommend, It is a fascinating story - a fascinating thought experiment.

    10 min

  2. 04/28/2022

    Episode 14

    'The Art of Charlie Chan'. The best Top 50 SingLit book I have read so far. By far! This is episode 2. This time I discuss Charlie Chan's harsh criticism of Singapore politics and political leaders since independence.

    14 min

  3. 04/21/2022

    Episode 13

    'The Art of Charlie Chan.' The best Top 50 SingLit book I have read so far. By far! This episode is Part 1. Next week I will do one more episode about this book. It is this good - it deserves two episodes.

    15 min

  4. 04/14/2022

    Episode 12

    This week Jee Leong Koh's 'Steep Tea' - a collection of poems. I am not normally a big poetry fan, but I am trying my best to understand 'Speep Tea'. And in this episode I discuss how one should actually read poems.

    13 min

  5. 03/25/2022

    Episode 9

    This week the book 'The Widower' from 2015 by Mohamed Latiff Mohamed. We follow Professor Pak Kahman as he grieves the loss of his wife because of a car accident. There is not much of a story in the book, but 'The Widower' is beautifully written. It takes an effort to read it - but the beauty will stay with you when you finish the 120 pages.

    10 min

  6. 03/17/2022

    Episode 8

    My review of Noraliah Norasid's book 'The Gatekeeper' isn't much of a review - simply because I didn't finish the book. In this episode I will tell you why.

    10 min

  7. 03/04/2022

    Episode 6

    This is my review of 'Sugarbread' -  Balli Kaur Jaswal’s book from 2016 Set in the 1990s, in 'Sugarbread' we follow Pin – short for Parveen – a young girl from Singapore’s Sikh community. Pin lives with her somewhat withdrawn, but elegant mother Jini and her hotel-security guard father Ram. Pit wonders why her mother, whom she adores, repeatedly tells her she must not grow up to be like her.  Jini is almost obsessed that her daughter does not become like her mother. She wants Pin to have a better life. When you read the book you will understand why.

    12 min

  8. 02/10/2022

    Episode 3

    In this episode I will discuss the book titled 'Unrest' - written in 2002 by Yeng Pway Ngon.  We follow four people - who in the 1950s were young radicals in Singapore - and who some 30 years later are disillusioned middle aged. So what happened? Listen to find out more and learn about a very interesting story about a Singapore of the past. A Singapore which no longer is.

    14 min

  9. 02/06/2022

    Introduction

    A brief introduction to my podcast series 'Singapore Literature - reviewed by an Angmoh'. What is this podcast about, why am I doing it, what is the plan - and what's in it for you as a listener?

    5 min

  10. 02/06/2022

    Episode 2

    In this episode I review the book 'Fistful of Colours' by Suchen Christine Lim written in 1992. We follow the young teacher Suwen, and her struggles as a woman and an artist. Even more interesting are the many stories - and Suchen Christine Lim is indeed a great storyteller - of Singaporeans. The Singapore of yesterday. The focus here is on identity and what it means to be a Singaporean.

    16 min
See All (11)

Trailer

About

I am a Dane living and working in Singapore. I love to read, but sad to say I haven't read much Singapore literature in the past. I am however now, and I want to share my experience with you. So what does an angmoh (Singapore slang for a white man - or Westerner) think about different Singapore fiction books? In every episode I will review one book: what is it about, what do I think, and what in particular do I find interesting as a non-Singaporean.I have selected all books from The Straits Times article from Dec 2021 'The 50 greatest works of SingLit'.

Information