Reviews

Black Waters, Pink Sands by Ng Yi-Sheng

goose_friends's review

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3.75

i thought this was a very cool medium - transcribed performance lecture, so cool! the topics were extremely new to me in the sense that i have not encountered anything quite like it. i would love to see these live. like reading a play, there is a flatness to it on paper that i think is unavoidable. 

my only qualms were the hint at support of japanese imperialism and fascist communist regimes in the first lecture. i think the conversation around these topics could have been either more nuanced or not included. also, they said that chinua achebe is kenyan but he’s nigerian. 

otherwise i am really happy to have stumbled across this :)

cakereads's review

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3.0

pretty much would read anything ng yi-sheng writes, even a book of 2 plays, when i hate reading plays.

this is an interesting look into local cultural history! wish it were longer and more in-depth, but well, they are plays.

sumi3wow's review

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challenging informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

gelicoidal's review

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hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

I didn't think I'd enjoy a written text when I know a live version exists somewhere, but this surprised me. Ng Yi-Sheng brings to light a country's marginal histories in a cheeky, engaging, and thought-provoking way. If you don't have access to the live performances, this is a worthwhile read, but even if you've already watched the performances live, I would bet that this is still a great read regardless.
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