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A review by jessica_lam
Sarong Party Girls by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan
4.0
Synopsis: a book about three ethnically Chinese Singaporean women who set out on a quest to find rich white husbands so they can have maids and highrises. You'd think I'd hate it.
It's really a 3.5 star, but I rounded up since this book managed to surprise me. There comes a time, I think, in every woman's life when she realizes the degree to which systematic misogyny pollutes every part of her life and through this quest, Jazzy, at 26, is coming to realize that she's not as okay as she thought with the gender roles assigned to her in Singaporean society. She runs into problems with her job (the threat of being put to pasture where all late-twenties assistants go); her friendships; her romantic and sexual relationships as well as the issue of consent in situations where it's not so obvious the way a woman may feel pressured into sex. Jazzy has agency and is deeply, deeply flawed. She makes terrible decisions, but feels badly about them. She has prejudices and greed and throughout the book, she gets into situations that lead her to the realization that she deserves more than an okay guy who can provide for her; that happiness comes in different forms and perhaps their initial goal was not as much of a slam dunk as she thought.
Written in first person, Tan uses a lively Singaporish that takes some getting used to (think Clockwork Orange kind of slang), but once you do, it really sets a fun and fast rhythm in her cadence.
It's really a 3.5 star, but I rounded up since this book managed to surprise me. There comes a time, I think, in every woman's life when she realizes the degree to which systematic misogyny pollutes every part of her life and through this quest, Jazzy, at 26, is coming to realize that she's not as okay as she thought with the gender roles assigned to her in Singaporean society. She runs into problems with her job (the threat of being put to pasture where all late-twenties assistants go); her friendships; her romantic and sexual relationships as well as the issue of consent in situations where it's not so obvious the way a woman may feel pressured into sex. Jazzy has agency and is deeply, deeply flawed. She makes terrible decisions, but feels badly about them. She has prejudices and greed and throughout the book, she gets into situations that lead her to the realization that she deserves more than an okay guy who can provide for her; that happiness comes in different forms and perhaps their initial goal was not as much of a slam dunk as she thought.
Written in first person, Tan uses a lively Singaporish that takes some getting used to (think Clockwork Orange kind of slang), but once you do, it really sets a fun and fast rhythm in her cadence.