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olivcho's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I’m not sure how to rate this collection of stories. It’s rare that a short stories collection feels like an even experience and this anthology is no exception to this rule. I definitely enjoyed some stories more than others with the highlights for me being “Laundromat” and “Carousel & Fort”. “Carousel & Fort” really brought me back to art school days - I know just THAT guy! Overall, the biggest appeal of these stories is the feeling of familiarity - I know these people or I have been these people even if just for a brief moment. The universal human experience of loneliness, yearning, love, pain, suffering, anxiety and the multitude of perverse ways those can manifest. Especially in the “othered.” The low points of the book for me were “Two Ways To Do This” and “Fourteen Enteries from the Diary of Maria Hertogh”. Whilst the latter I simply found rather dull and a bit of a strange choice stylistically among all the other stories the former was far more jarring and rubbed me the wrong way. While I really enjoy Koe’s writing style, in this particular story it felt sterile and their lyrical rawness didn’t feel quite as genuine. I don’t like playing into “Americanisms” but part of me couldn’t help but wonder whether Koe, as a Chinese Singaporean, was in a position to convincingly write from the persecution and experience of a domestic worker. Their ideal of radical empathy didn’t seem to completely showcase itself for me here. I ,at least, wasn’t impressed with the result. I guess that’s the one moment in the book ,perhaps, which awakened some form of “moral panic” in me; thus on that… good job, I suppose? In an anthology which deals a lot with race, ethnicity, class and social standings as they manifest themselves in Singaporean realities, I guess, I expected more something different when confronted with this particular perspective. However, it’s something that is close to my heart therefore I recognise that perhaps I am not judging it fairly… Overall, despite this brief criticism, I do really see why Ministry of Moral Panic deserves its place among the modern canon of Singlit and I will definitely explore Koe’s other works in the future! For now it hovers in the 3,5-4 territory for me!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, and Self harm
Moderate: Cancer, Colonisation, Death, Confinement, Dementia, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Trafficking
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