A review by 14bellini
Impractical Uses of Cake by Yeoh Jo-Ann

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

enjoyed the writing style, and the use of recurring motifs and characters throughout the books. the two main characters were strongly written and characterised, but a few of the other side characters lacked more depth that i wish they could've had. the protagonist's sardonic tone and how it softens in the face of certain situations and people was very nicely done. wish some smaller plotlines could've been wrapped up and expanded on with a little more clarity. also, in the first few chapters, while it becomes more evident later on, i felt that i had no idea where the book was going, and there wasn't really much attempt at detailing this. while i appreciate that the story unfolded bit by bit, and that it's ultimately character-driven and slice-of-life/stream of consciousness in style, i wish there could've been slightly more direction. otherwise, though, i quite liked this book and how it discussed various topics in singapore that deserve more attention. at the same time, though, i feel like more depth is required for better dialogue to happen. despite this (and contrary to many of the reviews here), i liked the open ending. in fact, if you read the parts between chapters, i think you'd find that the ending is not quite so open after all.