Scan barcode
A review by beebottoms
Impractical Uses of Cake by Yeoh Jo-Ann
2.0
The use of a cardboard cake is perfect for this novel, because it has a whimsical feel and, to me, it tries to be more than it ultimately delivered. At least for me! I wanted to read this novel because it won the 2019 Epigrams Books Fiction Prize in Singapore, where I live, and I saw quite a number of favourable reviews. But I couldn't get into both the story and the characters. It tries to be and tackle a lot of things - there's (supposed) romance, a little spotlight on the Singapore homeless community, commentary about our education system and how it's like being a literature teacher, and then an abrupt bit about mental illness. I didn't know about the Singapore homeless community (those who voluntarily left their homes and sleep on the streets) so that was interesting, and I like that the author didn't make it sensationalised nor pity them. The teacher parts were interesting too, and real, from what I remember as a student. The romance and mental illness parts, though, the novel could have done without.
The premise sounds like a romance: Sukhin is an anti-social literature teacher in his mid-thirties who finds his job very unfulfilling and a huge chore. One day he stumbles upon Jinn, his ex-girlfriend from junior college living in a makeshift cardboard house, and they reconnect over cake. But I say it's "supposed" romance because there's zero romantic development between them after their chance reunion. And I couldn't imagine that there was ever anything romantic between them because they don't talk or behave like they're close; it's like Sukhin is just pining for Jinn and it's an unrequited love.
The story doesn't really have a plot; it's more character-driven and based. Yet one of its two main characters was not fully developed. I wanted to know so much more about Jinn than the story gave. The Jinn arc - why she's homeless, how she suddenly turned up again in Sukhin's life - is basically created in service of Sukhin. The story is from his perspective, but it's still a third-person narrative that could have given us more about Jinn beyond how she affects Sukhin's life and personality. In the end, she felt flat and even what makes her interesting - her independence, which helped her to fend for herself and lead the homeless community after running away from her affluent family - became what makes her ~quirky~. She felt disappointingly like a manic pixie dream girl. We don't even find out why she chose to run away from home until nearing the end of the novel!
On the other end, Sukhin was much more developed but I struggled to connect to him. Our main protagonist is an irritable, always grumpy, misanthropic and anti-social person. He's unlikable, but that's not a problem. He's real - there are definitely Singaporean men out there like him - and relatable. But the author gives us too little to help me understand why he's unhappy, why he finds his job unfulfilling... and it's confusing especially because he clearly loves books and literature, and he has the power as the Head of Department to improve the syllabus but choose not to! As with the manic pixie dream girl trope, Jinn re-entering his life makes him open up a bit more, but the change doesn't get developed further or endure, which makes it seem superficial. It's so strange, because he goes to great lengths to do things for her he'd never do for other people, just to please her, yet he still scolds her "Damn this woman" inside his head... ugh, what?
Sorry this review kinda turned into a rant! I think the novel is a solid debut effort, one that I'm not surprised to know is a debut novel, but I'd still be interested in reading future works by the author. The writing is good and vivid most of the time, with many lines and moments that made me stop and re-read them to savour them again. I enjoyed reading about the homeless community and the teaching. However I wish the characters were stronger, the narrative less one-sided between the two main characters, and the overall tone of the novel more consistent. The whole novel felt a little bit too whimsical and quirky for me, especially when it's dealing with some serious and complex topics.
Thank you to Epigram Books for sending me copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.
The premise sounds like a romance: Sukhin is an anti-social literature teacher in his mid-thirties who finds his job very unfulfilling and a huge chore. One day he stumbles upon Jinn, his ex-girlfriend from junior college living in a makeshift cardboard house, and they reconnect over cake. But I say it's "supposed" romance because there's zero romantic development between them after their chance reunion. And I couldn't imagine that there was ever anything romantic between them because they don't talk or behave like they're close; it's like Sukhin is just pining for Jinn and it's an unrequited love.
The story doesn't really have a plot; it's more character-driven and based. Yet one of its two main characters was not fully developed. I wanted to know so much more about Jinn than the story gave. The Jinn arc - why she's homeless, how she suddenly turned up again in Sukhin's life - is basically created in service of Sukhin. The story is from his perspective, but it's still a third-person narrative that could have given us more about Jinn beyond how she affects Sukhin's life and personality. In the end, she felt flat and even what makes her interesting - her independence, which helped her to fend for herself and lead the homeless community after running away from her affluent family - became what makes her ~quirky~. She felt disappointingly like a manic pixie dream girl. We don't even find out why she chose to run away from home until nearing the end of the novel!
Spoiler
And the revelation just dumps in something about mental illness that feels little-researched by the author and needed a LOT thoughtful more delving into. To me, Jinn's mental illness was pretty much treated like another of her quirks.On the other end, Sukhin was much more developed but I struggled to connect to him. Our main protagonist is an irritable, always grumpy, misanthropic and anti-social person. He's unlikable, but that's not a problem. He's real - there are definitely Singaporean men out there like him - and relatable. But the author gives us too little to help me understand why he's unhappy, why he finds his job unfulfilling... and it's confusing especially because he clearly loves books and literature, and he has the power as the Head of Department to improve the syllabus but choose not to! As with the manic pixie dream girl trope, Jinn re-entering his life makes him open up a bit more, but the change doesn't get developed further or endure, which makes it seem superficial. It's so strange, because he goes to great lengths to do things for her he'd never do for other people, just to please her, yet he still scolds her "Damn this woman" inside his head... ugh, what?
Sorry this review kinda turned into a rant! I think the novel is a solid debut effort, one that I'm not surprised to know is a debut novel, but I'd still be interested in reading future works by the author. The writing is good and vivid most of the time, with many lines and moments that made me stop and re-read them to savour them again. I enjoyed reading about the homeless community and the teaching. However I wish the characters were stronger, the narrative less one-sided between the two main characters, and the overall tone of the novel more consistent. The whole novel felt a little bit too whimsical and quirky for me, especially when it's dealing with some serious and complex topics.
Thank you to Epigram Books for sending me copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.