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title: Shadow Theatre, Fiona Cheong
started: 12/19/21
ended: 12/28/21
thoughts:
- has an unusual narrative structure that's hard to describe. at the heart of the novel are two incidents that occur in a Singapore neighborhood during a time of transition/gentrification: a mentally disabled woman disappearing, and the night an unwed woman gives birth. the story is told through several characters who recount what they were doing in the days leading up to these two events, which are implied to be related in a vaguely supernatural way. all the characters "speak" to the reader, and the overall effect is that you are a participant in this neighborhood gossip. often the characters meander on, relate events out of order, make assumptions about others--no one is a reliable narrator here.
- really delves into how...suffocating Asian mother-daughter dynamics can be. even the positive relationships display some toxic codependency. hit uncomfortably close to home in many ways, but i appreciate how real these relationships felt.
- i really enjoyed the book--it captures the very specific tone of southeast asian conversation that felt familiar to me. i think the somewhat abrupt ending and its deliberate lack of clarity and closure was a little unsatisfying, though.
started: 12/19/21
ended: 12/28/21
thoughts:
- has an unusual narrative structure that's hard to describe. at the heart of the novel are two incidents that occur in a Singapore neighborhood during a time of transition/gentrification: a mentally disabled woman disappearing, and the night an unwed woman gives birth. the story is told through several characters who recount what they were doing in the days leading up to these two events, which are implied to be related in a vaguely supernatural way. all the characters "speak" to the reader, and the overall effect is that you are a participant in this neighborhood gossip. often the characters meander on, relate events out of order, make assumptions about others--no one is a reliable narrator here.
- really delves into how...suffocating Asian mother-daughter dynamics can be. even the positive relationships display some toxic codependency. hit uncomfortably close to home in many ways, but i appreciate how real these relationships felt.
- i really enjoyed the book--it captures the very specific tone of southeast asian conversation that felt familiar to me. i think the somewhat abrupt ending and its deliberate lack of clarity and closure was a little unsatisfying, though.
