Reviews

After The Inquiry by Jolene Tan

hugo's review

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

nixiethepixie's review

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challenging reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Just finished reading - the ending makes me so mad, my blood boils and insides gently twist with frustration, but I totally get it. I enjoyed the format of this unravelling investigation (foot notes etc), light mystery of who done it, what happened. But more so, I enjoyed the Singaporean antics of the book, and getting insight into a host of characters within that context. Like many other readers, I’d love to know the story from Nithiya’s perspective. 

sometimes_iread's review

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It’s been a while since my last singlit read and I’m so glad that I picked this up. After the Inquiry by Jolene Tan was an engaging blend of compelling characters, mystery, and a cynical look at the way Singapore is run. Plus, the political events mentioned are barely veiled from their real world counterparts, giving the entire story a sense of realism. 

After an unfortunate shooting in the police force, Teck, a civil servant in an unnamed ministry that sounds a lot like what I imagine the Ministry of Home Affairs is like, and his junior colleague Nithya are directed to take a closer look into the case after it has been closed. This leads to a lot more questions, especially difficult ones that our characters have to grapple with, most of all, what does it mean to be a civil servant?

I think a large part of what kept me so engaged even before the reveals started coming fast and furious, was Teck. Our main character and narrator was written with great nuance that I could practically see him come off the page. An experienced civil servant who has been savvy for the most part in throwing his lot with the right politicians and has no qualms about doing what is necessary to keep the edifice of government going. An efficient man, he disdains emotion and sentiment, even scorning reports by colleagues that stray into flowery. Yet, and this is what tickled me the most, these rules seemingly do not apply to him as I plough through the reports peppered with superfluous language that he penned. Blind spots are so real. 

Plot-wise, I was very captivated by the central question of what is a civil servant, and on a larger scale, what is a government? What is it that those in service actually serve? And can we expect all civil servants to serve selflessly without thought to self-service? The questions explored here do not have straight answers, especially when one doesn’t fall back upon idealism. In the end, all that remains is a vague sense of disillusionment and cynicism. 

Diversity meter:
Singaporean characters 

c3rem0nials's review

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informative tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Thought this was a very quick, digestible read in spite of its content -- exploring the messy systems of the Singapore government was not something I expected to be invested in. Jolene's writing is accessible and I enjoyed the viewpoint of a civil servant, who is so far gone into his job that he values his career over anything remotely human. The rating is less for quality, and more for just the general feeling, I suppose. I did think that the flow was a bit too... serene, for lack of better word. The plot twist was unexpected, but immediately fell flat with the decision to just delete the video of the russian roulette . Everything from there just felt like it immediately when on a low note, and the ending felt a bit lackluster. I wish the negative overtones were just more felt, though I did not expect Teck to find any humanity or learn from the experience. 

marsicecream's review

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

4.5

nini23's review

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  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I admire the boldness of sociopolitical commentary in Jolene Tan's writing and the crafting of the character of Boon Teck. The writing is sharp.

alv1nn's review

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

pamshenanigans's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

After the Inquiry is an exploration of what it means to seek justice and how being part of a bureaucratic system that has its own world of work politics and corruption where people mostly care about climbing the ranks and making a name for themselves.

I think that’s the beauty of After the Inquiry. You’re thrown, as a reader, into a perspective of a Ministry employee, Teck, investigating what happened between two Sergeants after what seemed to be a closed book for Internal Affairs. The way it was written was a draft of a Ministry report after interviewing parties involved and Teck, from the very start, was proving to be such an airy and dispassionate employee. So you try to read the “report” a.k.a the novel in as much precision and technicality as the two investigators did. 

I truly empathized with Nithya because I felt just how disappointed and heartbroken she was when she thought she was working towards justice and unknowingly played a role in the shameful investigation that went against her morals and vision of what it means to be part of the force. 

The writing took some time for me to get used to and the plot picks up around the halfway mark but this is a book I’ll certainly always remember when I see news about bureaucratic corruption and injustice.

Trigger/Content Warnings: gun violence, police intimidation, injustice

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pandancake's review

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challenging mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A ridiculously good book. Vocabulary was hard but extremely worth it.

kixes's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75