A review by nicothyun
Ministry of Moral Panic by Amanda Lee Koe

4.0

The wistful flâneur of city living is subdued by a thick heady fog of moral discomfort – issues of transgender, incest, xenophobia (…) are explored unabashedly. In the atmospheric style of 12 Storeys, the HDB flats and heartlanders’ lives are pried open to subtly reveal the intimate problems and frustrations of navigating a judgemental society. Local myths and the state’s historical narratives are re-imagined. As we follow the characters sprawling and blundering through Amanda Lee Koe’s Minotaur’s labyrinth, we are confronted with a lacunae belief that what guides the characters may not reside in our ideas of moral righteousness and conventions. Maybe, our empathy is their Adriane’s thread.