misspalah's reviews
1070 reviews

I, Phoolan Devi by Phoolan Devi

challenging dark inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

But What They Called A Crime, I Called Justice.

• I, Phoolan Devi : The Autobiography of India’s Bandit Queen by Phoolan Devi, Marie-Therese Cuny and Paul Rambali

.

.

I was not ready at all when i decided to read this book. The r*pe weaponisation upon lower caste women were being demonstrated over and over again in the story except this one is based on the experience of the victim herself. She was r*ped when she’s became a bride to a man 3 times her age. The man promised her family that he will wait until she reached age of puberty only to break it once the wedding ceremony is over. Then she was rap*d infront of her parents for crossing a line and threatened some men from an upper caste. She decided to run away after the incident only to be caught after her rich cousins lodged a police report and accused her of being a dacoit. She was detained and were repeatedly assaulted physically and s*xually by the police officers. After she was being released, she got kidnapped due to her reputation of being a female dacoit eventhough it was a false allegation. She was rescued by her husband at that time simply because her mother pledge to him that they were of the same caste , so he shouldnt hurt her like other men did. Following her husband footsteps, she became one of his bandits. She was fiercely loyal to him. Together, they emulated what ‘Robbin Hood’ had done to help the poor community - only Phoolan take more steps to it adding vangeance towards her r*pists and also punishing those who have wronged women simply because they are coming from lower caste. This book was tough and hold not punches. It was graphically horrifying but that is the reality at that time for many lower caste indian women that lived in rural area. Her parents viewed her as a burden and when she misbehaved, she got beaten. Her entire livelihood was rough, surrounded by poverty - she saw how her parents toiled to feed them but it was never enough. Her family hardship was being burdened by her father’s relatives betrayal causing them to be in debt and often penniless. So when she decided to unfurl her rage and refused to forgive the betrayal that she has faced by killing many Thakurs so that she can tavenge her humiliation being gang-r*ped and paraded naked throughout village by his husband’s trusted ally - my respond was  simply be it is justifiable. In fact, killing was so disproportionate to what she has been through. She becomes a bitter woman and righfully so, she never trusted any man after that. When she reformed her group back, she always tiptoeing among her followers and did not fully rely on them. Of course, when upper caste men were being massacred and attacked, only then the government sprung into an action - hunting Phoolan Devi and all of her followers, negotiating and forcing her to surrender. Tired of running, she decided to give herself in but she set certain conditions which eventually agreed by the government. The charges against her were dropped and she was released few months after that. She went on to become a well respected member of parliament. She was assassinated in 2001 leaving behind a legacy of a lower caste women that managed to turn her destiny from being a dacoit to a politician. 

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

“The lobby is packed with aunties wearing Gucci pantsuits and huge visors, and uncles wearing Patek Philippe. All the handbags hanging off the aunties’ arms are Birkin or Kelly. No Louis Vuitton or Prada; this crowd is strictly Hermès. What is with the Chinese-Indo community and their hard-on for Hermès? It seems like all of the guests have arrived, even though logically I know this is untrue; most of them are due to arrive at 2 p.m., in time to check in and freshen up before cocktail hour. But the extended family members have arrived—the aunties and uncles and cousins who are due early for the tea ceremony—and in typical Chinese-Indonesian fashion, this means close to a hundred relatives, all of them arriving at the same time.”

• Dial a for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

.

.

It was enjoyable for the most part and can be a bit draggy if you are not patient enough. I loved all the references of Indonesian Chinese in the book which somehow connected well with us, Malaysian. One can feel the familiarity of the values, culture and even these overbearing yet caring aunties that existed among families and extended relatives. While this book is fun while it lasted, i cant say i was quite taken in for a ride. We already knew there’s a murder, there’s a dead body and the chaotic moments that happened in between. It becomes too much when many incidents happened at the same time. With the wedding going on, the dead body went missing and ended up on a cruise ship? , the serendipitous meeting Meddy with her ex nathan and the paid groomsmen - i felt it was all over the place. Granted, this is not my genre and i may have reviewing it via my lens specifically when morality ensued on how far Meddy’s family would go for her which in this case ; Will they be a complicit in the murder she committed? Of course, the guy was an asshole (but none of this could have happened if Meddy’s mother did not catfish him). Be that as it may, this is a fictional book with fictional characters so i would rather left it at that. This overthinking wont help resolve this ‘what if?’ and i dont want to sound that i was victim blaming Meddy. Overall, an entertaining journey but can be somewhat far-fetched on some part. Read at your own risk! 

The End and Other Beginnings: Stories from the Future by Veronica Roth

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

"I don't know." I chewed on my lip. "I'm used to being this way. Volatile. Like a walking ball of nerves. I'm worried that if I get rid of the highs, and even the lows-especially the lows—there won't be anything about me that's interesting anymore." "Claire." He stood, weaving through the chairs, and crouched in front of me, putting his hands on my knees. "That nerve ball isn't you. It's just this thing that lives in your head, telling you lies. If you get rid of it .. think of what you could do. Think of what you could be." 

• Inertia : The end and other beginnings by Veronica Roth

.

.

I dont think i am in the right mental space to read sci-fi ; given the world indifferent and nonchalant attitude towards Genocide particularly when it involved brown , black and non-white lives. I tried my best to focus on the story but the one that really managed to hook me up right away is ‘Inertia’ , ‘The Spinners’ and ‘Hearken’. I couldn’t engaged with other stories as i felt some of the plot is jarring and some characters mentioned were not engaging enough. I have to admit that i rarely read Sci-fi - that itself might contribute why i didn’t really enjoy the book though some stories did stood out from the rest. ‘Inertia’ discussed the possibility of reconnecting with the loved ones in a comatose so that they could get a chance to say goodbye or resolved any unresolved issues via the system. The spinner demonstrated the future whereby Aliens and Human Beings has lived side by side but that doesn’t mean human being is immune from being an alien’s victims specifically one species called leech / simbios. Last but not least, Hearken highlighted the human adaptability in hearing the ‘Song of life’ or ‘Song of death’. I almost DNF when i read ‘Vim and Vigor’ because how boring it was. The rest was just super confusing with too many loopholes. I know its a short story but i guess it’s not for me. Despite the issue i have with the stories, i have to applaud that the illustrations in the book is stunning. Overall, it just did not grab me like i hoped it would. 

Desperate in Dubai, #1 by Ameera Al Hakawati

challenging emotional lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Lady Luxe often has the urge to run away to another country, change her name and adopt a whole new persona. This desire occasionally fades away though. She enjoys having a kind, fun younger brother to play Wii Sports with, she relishes the sweet moments when her parents acknowledge her existence in a loving way, ratherthan just trying to control her or attempting to impart their very different beliefs on her, and there are even times when she appreciates her last name as well. Whenever she has a little run-in with the police, for example, she always drives home feeling relieved that she does not have to endure their law enforcing efforts in the same vein as ordinary people do. Then there are moments when she can barely stomach her life, her family, her existence; when a newspaper implies that her success lies purely in her name, not her talent nor her hard work, or when her older brother decides to exercise his authority. With every slap, pinch or shove, her hatred towards him grows stronger, so much so that she has recently started to fantasise about adding cyanide to his tea. She finds it ironic how she loves her step-brother more than her real one.

• Desperate in Dubai by Ameera Al Hakawati

.

.

My Question to Lady Luxe after the ending of the book is ‘Was it worth it being disowned by your father? - All the pretense, the double life, the non stop hook-up, the endless drinking and clubbing? Why does the enjoyment and having fun must always linked to alcohol? I know the book has been dubbed as Arabic or Emirati’s version of Desperate Housewives but it is still shocking (at least for me) to read about a rich and privileged Muslim Girl living a double life in Dubai. Why i said privileged? because culturally, in some Arab & Gulf Countries, muslim women were getting killed because she was spotted of talking to some random man. Although the practice of Honour Killing has been decreasing over the years but it is still exist. Surprisingly, this is only applicable to Arab / Gulf muslim women only but their male counterparts can go around talk, touch and fuck random foreign women BUT they were never getting killed for it. After Lady Luxe, We were introduced to Leila, A Lebanese girl that is desperate to have a husband and cling to Lady Luxe for a connection and crazy nights out. Then, the book moved on to Nadia, another desperate woman who’ve always wanted her marriage to stay perfect only to discover that her husband is cheating on her. Last but not least, We were introduced to Sugar, A South Asian Girl that ran away from her dark past and desperate to start her new life in Dubai. As the book title mentioned Desperate in Dubai, you can see the desperation, the loneliness, the pain and the cried for validation somehow were being painted across these 4 characters. Ameera Al-Hakawati did not hold back on her Male characters either which a literal typified of ‘Arab Men’. Here how she wrote it in a book :

• “ From what Nadia has heard from her single Muslimah friends, Emirati men are just out to have fun, the other Arabs-Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and the like-usually refuse to marry outside of their culture, and the ones who do, often Lebanese, are usually the 'modern' type who drink alcohol and don't pray. The practising Arab men are often far too traditional to marry independent women who have been living in strange countries without their families, who are likely to have questionable pasts, and who have modern ideas about marriage that are incompatible with their traditional ones.

Of course it was a blatant generalization but the book also kinda demontrate that these are men that the main characters encountered in their life. I honestly dont have any good thing to talk about Moe, Lady Luxe’s control freak Brother who is also Leila’s fling or Daniel, Nadia’s cheating husband and even Jayden, Sugar’s first love who were supposed to be gentle until he decided to rant about how women are all the same. I could talk about Ahmed, Lady Luxe’s youngest brother but he was the bare minimum male character that stand out simply because the rest are horrible. I know its a chic lit, that i should have take it easy and dont judge these characters in a moral lens that i have but to be frank, it was hard. Be that as it may, it was still an entertaining read. I actually enjoyed when these characters were shown that they have some kind of a personal connection with GOD. It showed the struggle these girls has been in trying to maintain being a good muslim. Lady Luxe wanted to commit suicide after being caught red-handed by her brother only to remind herself that she will not get a chance of redemption by doing that. Sugar felt her spirituality and will to live strengthened after she prayed fervently. Overall, if you are a fan of a luxurious romance, materialitistic lifestyle (The depiction of Upper Class Emiratis), toxic friendship and obsessive / passionate lover? , then this book maybe is your cup of tea. 

The House Gun by Nadine Gordimer

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The courtroom is a present so intense it is eternity; all that has passed since that Friday night is made one in it, there is nothing conceivable after it. There are many to bear witness. Not in the empty stand in the well of the court; all around Harald and Claudia. A murder trial, out of the common criminal class, with a privileged son in the professions accused of murder has provided the Sunday papers with a story of a 'love triangle' calling up not only readers' conscious sense but also some shallow-buried prejudices: the milieu is described as a 'commune', 'a pad' where blacks and whites, 'gay and straight', live together, and there have been photographs somehow got hold of—large ones of Natalie James and the reproduction of an itinerant photographer's nightclub group in which Carl Jesper-sen appears with Khulu. All around: the curious, who may or may not be able to identify the parents. Within the whispering, shuffle and creak, they are not obvious among strangers; as for themselves, theirs is a single identity they now have that years of marriage never achieved. There is only this court, this time, this existence, mother/father.

• House Gun by Nadine Gordimer

.

.

The House Gun is a psychological novel with a relatively slow pace that begins with a murder case. It portrays the aftermath of the murder committed by the son of a white South African couple in the post-apartheid era. The son is defended by a black lawyer in the criminal court. While this serves as the central focus of the story, Nadine Gordimer skillfully integrates it with the fascinating South African environment, providing details about people's daily lives, such as their food, clothing, and décor. These details add depth to the story, making it feel more authentic. I know many authors attempted this but somehow the novel ended up being so long winded. At least, we knew why she won the nobel prize in literature. The book also highlighted an ambiguity of racial relations in South African Society via the characters in the book. It was hinted subtly given the time which the murder was committed.  Alongside the racial politics, the prevalence of violence, symbolized by the presence of guns, serves as a prominent backdrop in the novel. However, it is important to note that The House Gun is not a traditional whodunit, as the reader is already aware that Duncan committed the murder. Instead, the novel delves into the impact this event has on the parents. It explores how their feelings change towards each other and their son, ultimately leading to the breakdown of their marriage and the emergence of self-blame.

The writing style of The House Gun can be challenging to navigate. The absence of dialogue markers makes it difficult to follow conversations and events. Gordimer incorporates lengthy philosophical asides and frequent commentaries throughout the narrative, which can be overwhelming for some readers. Despite these challenges, the book offers a visceral and gripping experience. Towards the end, however, it may become somewhat repetitive. We all knew the motives, the intentions and the justifications but to keep circle back to it seems pointless (at least

to me). Overall, if you appreciate deep psychological insights into complex characters and the moral dilemmas they face, I would recommend giving The House Gun a read, despite its initial difficulty to engage with.

Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age by Bill McKibben

dark informative tense slow-paced

2.0

In this metaphore, consciousness becomes a more subtle and complicated phenomenon. If we see ourselves as being inexorably driven forward by the irresistible forces of cultural 'evolution,' then consciousness is merely the nifty tool that we've hit on to speed up the process. It allows us to build better stuff and tell each other about it and ratchet everything up another notch. He's got a wheel;

I'm going to get me one too. And mine's going to have a hubcap. But maybe consciousness has another function. Maybe it is the gift - the specialness - that allows us to eventually put a brake on this kind of evolution. To slow ourselves down, to keep ourselves from driving down certain roads. The technologists talk about 'memes,' ideas like 'the wheel' or 'fire' or 'freedom' that spread in the fashion of genes. But the awareness that 'this kind of fire will burn you' is a meme, too; memes can be cautions as well as catalysts. By this light, our gut revulsion at the coming 'enhanced' world is consciousness trying to save itself. As I've tried to show, the advent of these technologies, and this posthuman world, will quickly undermine consciousness. If we turn into engineered automatons, then consciousness as we know it - including the ability to make our own decisions, to say no - will eventually disappear. We will have reduced it to meaninglessness; human consciousness will have committed suicide. But if, on the other hand, our nay-saying ability proves strong enough to help limit our desires, and hence our technologies, consciousness may survive into the deep future. That's the immortality that should interest us, the 'evolutionary goal' we should target.

• Enough : Genetic Engineering and the end of Human Nature by Bill McKibben

.

.

The book was published in 2003, which means that some of the points discussed may be outdated. The initial chapters primarily focus on genetic engineering and nanotechnology, while the later chapters delve into the potential dangers of pursuing technology for its own sake. Throughout the book, the author examines the ethical implications and potential risks linked with genetic engineering and other emerging technologies. The book explores the risks of germ-line engineering, nanotechnology, and robotics, and how these advancements may impact the basis of humanity. The author believes that we have the choice to limit our reliance on technology. They argue that human activities have already had a significant and irreversible impact on the environment. While some of McKibben's arguments appear to be based on an instinctive reaction to the unpleasant aspects of germline genetic engineering and the inequalities it may create, there is agreement on the existence of obvious shortcomings in humanity that should be addressed through various technologies, not necessarily limited to genetic engineering. The author suggests that our fundamental humanity lies in our relationship with technology and advocating for a complete halt to technological progress is both impossible and contrary to our nature. The book also emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and addressing the consequences of human actions on the natural world. Despite this, the book oddly argues for restraint in science and technology to preserve our humanity and prevent change, which contradicts the emotional reaction expressed by the author. Additionally, the book raises ethical questions surrounding genetic enhancement, cloning, and nanotechnology. While the book is well-written, it could have potentially been condensed into a lengthy article rather than a full book.

The Automobile Club of Egypt by Alaa Al Aswany

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I continued studying my heart out and was top of the class at the end of the year too. During the summer holiday, I didn't ask my father for pocket money or to take me on outings as I used to do. I was happy to stay at home, helping my mother and waiting for Kamel to come home at night. Then we would talk for a long time. Kamel was the person who understood me best in the whole world. I loved chatting with him. He would talk about anything with me: politics, art, literature. He used to tell me excitedly, "Egypt is a great country, Saleha, but it has not seized the moment. The Occupation has kept us all down, but if we expel the English, we can build a strong new democratic country."

He used to read classical and modern verse aloud to me. I loved to listen to him explaining the love poems. 'll never forget certain verses of Andalusian poetry. I adored the one that read:

• If my sin is allowing love to be my master, then all nights of love are sin,
• I repent of the sin, but when God forgives me, for you I atone.
• The Automobile Club of Egypt by Alaa Al-Aswany

.

.

Honestly, if you dont read the book and just glance through the cover, you would have thought The Automobile Club of egypt is a story about fancy club for the luxury car enthusiasts in Egypt. That was also why i bought it in the first place without reading the synopsis which is totally my fault - my bad 😂. The premise was interesting - we were introduced to the nameless author of the story that trying to get away from Cairo so that he could at least take a break from his writer’s block. He incidentally met with 2 of his characters from the book that insisted to insert their narratives into it. This could be simply the figment of the author’s imagination or he just has lost it as some points but i trust the thought process of Alaa Al-aswany at this point so i kept on going until 150 pages. I rarely DNF book but this one really tested my patience to the core. We were introduced to Abd el-Aziz Gaafar’s , a respected landowner who has fallen on hard times. We saw how he tried to provide for his family - his wife and his kids despite him shifting the profession and working at the automobile club. We were also were introduced to Alku, the dictatorial manager that has been supervising the staffs in the Automobile Club which has grew quite a reputation as a pub, gambling den and entertainment outlets for the elitist and the british expats that seeking to spend their time and money there including the  puppet king placed by the british at that time, King Faruk. Too many characters were flushed out in the first 150 pages that makes you feel why is he here? And how is she relevant to the story? Of course at the end of the day, you can see the connection but it felt exhaustive at the final page of the book. The book is set in British-occupied Egypt on the eve of the 1952 revolution and we can see various of POVS offered by these characters on the event that led to the end of the Kingdom and the beginning of republic for the country. The author offers how the opinions was deeply divided following the classes and political affiliations but at the same time showed how the British did not want them to be liberated in the first place. Using the same sentiments of dehumanizing the locals as ‘lazy, uneducated and stubborn’, they refused to liberate Egyp and kept on clinging to their colonization agenda. The novel explored many themes that highlighted social and political unrest, corruption, and the impact of historical events on individuals and families BUT the book struggled to give a conclusive ending. Alaa Al-Aswany might have won me over with the Yacoubian building and friendly fire novels but this one is such a mess. I was invested with Kamel and Saleha story but that itself is not enough to grant this book 4 stars rating. I think this is the book that might be hit or miss among his fans, you might love it or you might hate it depending on how you read the book. I love the plot but i felt he is too ambitious to make so many characters with so many stories to weave them back together as the ending. 

Caste: The Lies That Divide Us by Isabel Wilkerson

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Throughout human history, three caste systems have stood out. The tragically accelerated, chilling, and officially vanquished caste system of Nazi Germany. The lingering, millennia-long caste system of India. And the shape-shifting, unspoken, race-based caste pyramid in the United States. Each version relied on stigmatizing those deemed inferior to justify the dehumanization necessary to keep the lowest-ranked people at the bottom and to rationalize the protocols of enforcement. A caste system endures because it is often justified as divine will, originating from sacred text or the presumed laws of nature, reinforced throughout the culture and passed down through the generations.

- Isabel Wilkerson, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

. 

The book brought forward an arguments on how the concept of caste were different in the United States, India, and Nazi Germany but the impact of it on the society and how much it thrived due to inequality is staggering. The consequences of caste system were being highlighted that ranging from loses of income, loses of dignity and worst of all, loses of lives simply because of the racial status and hierachy of that person.  The author demonstrated the similarities from the caste system in India, the racial hierarchy in the United States, and the Nazi regime in Germany which at the end of day perpetuate inequality and discrimination due to their underlying principles of putting one group of people is superior or higher than the others. The book was divided into eight foundational pillars of a caste system, including Divine Will and Laws of Nature, Heritability, Endogamy, Purity vs Pollution, Hierarchy, Dehumanization, Terror, and Superiority. This pillars explored how the other groups were being dehumanized, brainwashed to accept that their status unchangeable and to climb out of it or to basically change one's race is just entirely impossible. The dominant caste also often imposed certain restrictions and warned non-dominant caste to not cross the line. While this may applicable to the complexity of Society in India and the unspoken Animosity betwen Black & White People in The USA, i believe the author wanted reader to feel challenged and managed to confront their own biases. I believe the book did provide a powerful examination of the hidden caste system that underlies in American society.

.

Rant: Everything happened today just prove what Isabel Wilkerson wrote in the book holds so much truth to it. As of today, 15 November 2023, Many western countries refused to call ceasefire despite unstoppable assault of Gaza by Israhell and while the reason mostly on the trade deals, business alliance and but at the end of the day, you can see that brown, black and non-white lives did not matter as much as white lives. Look at how international media coverage on Russia-Ukraine War versus Israhell committing genocide against Palestinians. So many news and information were censored and shut down when it comes to Palestinian lives but when it was Ukrainian lives last year, it was all over the news 24/7.

Russia was being sanctioned for the crime yet

USA vetoed every action that UN wanted to do against Israel. So tell me, how is that not a perversion of white lives matter when you have brown kids pleading for ceasefire and hold a press conference in the middle of rubble yet majority of the western countries (UK, US and EU specifically) that always brought up human rights, equality and justice turning the blind eyes on this? Does Humanity only matters when it happened to white kids? Does the right to resist only matters when the sufferings only involved white people?

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan

challenging hopeful informative reflective tense slow-paced

3.0

 The gospels are not, nor were they ever meant to be, a historical documentation of Jesus’s life. These are not eyewitness accounts of Jesus’s words and deeds recorded by people who knew him. They are testimonies of faith composed by communities of faith and written many years after the events they describe. Simply put, the gospels tell us about Jesus the Christ, not Jesus the man.
- Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan
.
.
Zealot by today’s definition could have meant many things and some of it leaned towards sort of negative connotation - extremist, fanatic or radical. BUT Zealot in this book context meant a member of an ancient Jewish sect that aimed at a world Jewish theocracy and resisted the Romans until AD 70 and for those who are wondering how does Jesus was implicated in all of this? The book explored the historical setting in which focusing on the time Jesus has lived. While i appreciate the details of the tumultuous era that Jesus experienced in his lifetime, what i wanted from the book is more on how he lived, his personality or even how he interacted with his disciples. What i expected was something more intimate rather than Jesus that was presented via academically lens by the author. However, i do appreciate the discourse on the portrayal that Jesus is more on a political revolutionary than spiritual teacher that early christian church claimed. The claim remains speculative as it was quite controversial but it is definitely an intriguing point. The book also highlighted few fresh takes on his apostles and plausible interpretation on how Christianity began and how it shaped after the cruxifixion of Jesus by the Roman after he was betrayed by the Jewish community at that time. Although its not my religion, but the book, at the very least, prompted me to reconsider some of the existing ideas that i already had in mind about Jesus and viewed how it was challenged while reading the book. Overall, Reza Aslan did well in offering various historical accounts leading to Jesus took the role as the Messiah but in term of demonstrating his theological aspects of his beliefs and teachings, it was subpar. I am a huge fan of Reza Aslan’s writings but this is severely disappointing. 

The Paper Bark Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu

hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

There are trees that are far more dangerous than the paper bark tree. The banyan, for instance. The colonials love it for its shade and for its aerial roots, so perfect for hanging Christmas decorations from. According to Mr Meganck, banyans grow from fig seeds that establish themselves on the treetops before launching roots that compete with the host tree for nutrients and eventually strangle it to death from the top down, even as they admire its size and enjoy its shade. Rather like our colonial rulers were doing to us.

• The paper bark tree mystery by Ovidia Yu

.

.

Colonialism is never simple - so seeing the oversimplification of it in the book was frustrating. BUT if we are judging how Su Lin see the world and placed the blame entirely on her, we are also a tiny bit of being irrational. She was educated by the missionary ladies which at that time almost exclusively white considering the time and the place of it. She was raised to view and believe that white men can solved , lead and handled all things. However, she starting to see that it was not all true. She was being sidelined and removed from her position simply because she’s not white. She finally realised that this colonial government has always imposed a double standard on their subject. I know it was supposed to be a murder mystery but i think i was more focused on the racial divides itself - considering Europeans and Singaporeans co-existing but the other one was definitely in the upper echelons. Then, the war propaganda by Japan and its China’s invasion is spilling over to singapore. The Japanese claimed they wanted restore back what its rightful for Asian Countries from the British but forgot to mention that they are intending to do the same thing. The book foreshadowing Pre-World War 2 by highlighting the involvement of Indians with Japanese army. The fact that the author created character named Chirag Bose (which i assumed based on Shubas Chandra Bose) couldnt be more apt as he is stern nationalist,  has been preaching Indians to take back their motherland and branded as Terrorist by British is just way too coincidental. Thus the story proceeded with many of Su Lin’s friends whose Indians are being suspected and arrested by the British officer under the suspicion of aiding and abetting terrorist. The racism towards Indian was apparent and it was made clear how these colonisers viewed them. Up to the point, Prashanti , Su Lin’s friend felt she should just go back to India instead of staying here. Overall, it was a decent murder mystery story. I was just not invested enough in it. We have triple murder that linked together but both Su Lin and Captain Le Foy could not made sense the connection until the very last minute. I now truly believe that murder mystery is not my genre hence why i find it hard to enjoy the book.