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A review by st0bbit
It Never Rains on National Day by Jeremy Tiang
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
To start of, this book is rather easily digestible – the first book i've read in a while that i finished so quickly. i liked the writing style, and the descriptions of seemingly mundane details which actually reveal more about the characters. 'show not tell' was a phrase frequently appearing in my mind as i read this.
a problem i had is that the arranging of stories confused me – perhaps this is the nature of short stories introducing multiple characters that i'm still unused to, but i found myself having to flip towards the front again to remember who certain characters were. considering i read this book in 2 days though, i don't think it's an issue of me simply not remembering who's who. also, some of the characters feel inconsistent, and perhaps this is because they are abruptly arranged throughout the book. i felt the dissonance most with calvin's character, especially in the last passage. sometimes i'm unable to differentiate between characters as well, though that may be because the nature of short stories prevents us from getting to know particular characters in depth. additionally, issues described that feel uniquely singaporean were compelling to me, namely the myriad of conflicting emotions often felt towards our national day parades and patriotism.
on the note about arranging though, i particularly enjoyed 'national day', and would say that it's my favourite out of the whole book. the fact that it was placed towards the end made it jarring, in contrast with the portrayed lives of characters who were clearly privileged thus far. it took me by surprise, and left a deeper impact on me for it. it's also the passage that feels the most 'singaporean' to me – of course singaporeans are not a monolith, and everyone has a different expression and experience as one. but for a book which, from the title and synopsis, have such a strong emphasis on our national identity, i was disappointed that some of the characters felt like they could've been from anywhere else, with no ties to singaporean society, and that wouldn't have surprised me. perhaps it's a matter of relatability, but this is something i'm still thinking about. after all, maybe the point is that everyone's circumstances are unique, and i simply missed it. with that being said, there's still something so ...distant about certain characters, it's hard to imagine that these are really people i could potentially meet on the street.
overall, i don't read much singlit but am trying to – this was one of my first forays into it, and i'm glad for that :)
a problem i had is that the arranging of stories confused me – perhaps this is the nature of short stories introducing multiple characters that i'm still unused to, but i found myself having to flip towards the front again to remember who certain characters were. considering i read this book in 2 days though, i don't think it's an issue of me simply not remembering who's who. also, some of the characters feel inconsistent, and perhaps this is because they are abruptly arranged throughout the book. i felt the dissonance most with calvin's character, especially in the last passage. sometimes i'm unable to differentiate between characters as well, though that may be because the nature of short stories prevents us from getting to know particular characters in depth. additionally, issues described that feel uniquely singaporean were compelling to me, namely the myriad of conflicting emotions often felt towards our national day parades and patriotism.
on the note about arranging though, i particularly enjoyed 'national day', and would say that it's my favourite out of the whole book. the fact that it was placed towards the end made it jarring, in contrast with the portrayed lives of characters who were clearly privileged thus far. it took me by surprise, and left a deeper impact on me for it. it's also the passage that feels the most 'singaporean' to me – of course singaporeans are not a monolith, and everyone has a different expression and experience as one. but for a book which, from the title and synopsis, have such a strong emphasis on our national identity, i was disappointed that some of the characters felt like they could've been from anywhere else, with no ties to singaporean society, and that wouldn't have surprised me. perhaps it's a matter of relatability, but this is something i'm still thinking about. after all, maybe the point is that everyone's circumstances are unique, and i simply missed it. with that being said, there's still something so ...distant about certain characters, it's hard to imagine that these are really people i could potentially meet on the street.
overall, i don't read much singlit but am trying to – this was one of my first forays into it, and i'm glad for that :)