Reviews

After The Inquiry by Jolene Tan

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eliistewartt's review

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

left me simmering

pretty straightforward book expressing disillusionment towards a bureaucracy riddled with inhumane and corrupt practices, and the people who mechanically and spinelessly uphold it under the guise of deference to the established order. the banality or evil... or something. the narrator is reminiscent of the self-deluding butler in Remains of the Day, except he's a civil servant with some unsaid elitist and racist views and a tendency to rationalise some very questionable behaviour. the book also contains some thinly veiled references to Teo You Yenn, Li Hongyi's email and other news topics.

the criticisms that the book makes can seem kinda repetitive or one-note as the book goes on, especially since the plot itself is also kinda flat. verdict: agree with kelly on this one.

xcinnamonsugar's review

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5.0

I’d give this 6 stars if I could.

wordburger'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.