A review by seeyf
騷動 by 英培安, Yeng Pway Ngon

4.0

Unrest centres on four characters whose lives intersect as they participate in the leftist movement in pre-independence Singapore, but then diverge as they grow up and betray or are betrayed by ideologies and each other. Yeng’s postmodernist prose parallels the uncertainty and powerlessness in the aftermath of the Communist dream, foregrounded by universal human experiences of love, loss and regret. I liked how the book focuses on an often unmentioned part of Singapore’s history and suggests how its effects still resonate today in some way. However, Yeng’s literary devices, such as having a character speak back to the author, felt excessive at times.