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In the Financial Times, Zoë Apostolides praised the novel, saying "Lee intersperses these sections with real structural skill to form a deeply affecting whole, and one that reincarnates the disappeared by telling their many disparate stories." [5]
Raises poignant questions regarding multi-generational trauma, accelerated modernization, and changing identity...Lee vibrantly describes life in pre-occupation Singapore, managing to cinch both the particularity and the universality of oppression."-- Singapore Unbound On 15 February 1942, the island of Singapore in Southeast Asia surrendered to a Japanese invasion force. The Allied forces were twice the strength of the Japanese, but a badly organised and badly commanded defence condemned the people of Singapore to three and a half years of brutal occupation. I found this to be an occasionally frustrating and messy yet ultimately satisfying read. Its main strength was Jing-Jing Lee's skill at immersing the reader, and the chapters set during WWII really came to life. I do think a bit too much of the narrative focused on Kevin - not to the detriment of Wang Di's narrative, as I felt that her sections were properly fleshed out - it's more that Kevin himself added very little as a character. I tend to prefer historical fiction that doesn't have a past/present framing, and this was no exception; I kept wishing it would stay in the 1940s. That said, I do feel that Jing-Jing Lee ultimately justified this narrative decision with the way the story wrapped up, even if it wouldn't have been my first choice of how to tell it.Fino a quando un giorno non scopre di essere incinta, non si sa di chi. Non si sa di chi tra i tanti. Riesce a scappare, ma poi stremata da tutto smarrisce il figlio. Riesce a fare ritorno dalla sua famiglia, ma resta un’emarginata, un simbolo della vergogna. A shattering, tender and absorbing novel that centres around the unfathomable cruelty that women in Singapore endured when they were snatched by the Japanese Army and forced into sexual slavery during World War Two. It was harrowing to read of Wang Di’s incarceration as a ‘comfort woman’ - far too benign a description for the barbarism that she and thousands of women endured across the occupied territories - yet what rings out from the book is human resilience and our capacity to love no matter how damaged we might be. In the creative hands of Jing-Jing Lee, the rawness and the brutality of the war years in Singapore become a reality for all of us. Once occupied by the British, Singapore became a land seemingly passed from hand to hand always waiting for the boots of strangers to fill the room with echoes of uncertainty.
This not-knowing when it came to my parents; things I’d never thought about, even if they were clear as day, clear as the fact that my parents had their own parents, had their own childhoods and histories. And then one day you open a drawer and out come all the secrets that have just been sitting quietly, waiting to be found, even though you never thought about them, never suspected they existed in the first place. A novel set in Singapore about a woman who survived the Japanese occupation and a man who thought he had lost everything. Wang Di, come molte altre ragazze all’epoca, viene strappata alla sua famiglia dai soldati giapponesi che hanno occupato Singapore nel ‘42 durante la seconda guerra mondiale. We also meet Kevin, a sensitive twelve year old child grieving for his recently deceased grandmother , his Ah Ma ,who on her deathbed revealed a family secret that she had kept buried for decades , the roots of which might shed a light on his own father’s true parentage. Kevin takes in upon himself to dig deeper before he shares anything with his parents fearing that whatever he discovers might cause his father further distress . He had already seen his father sink into depression after losing his job years ago , a state that had lasted almost a year and a half – something that Kevin does not want to witness again.Singapore, the year 2000: a twelve-year-old boy hears a mumbled confession from his grandmother, which leads him to her history of sexual slavery during the Japanese occupation of Singapore. [4] Reception [ edit ] This novel set in Singapore grapples with a history that many in the city-state would rather leave forgotten. The story is told from alternating points of view, that of an elderly woman, Wang Di, facing the imminent death of her beloved husband; the teenage Wang Di and her family, struggling to survive the Japanese occupation during World War II; and Kevin, a precocious 12-year-old schoolboy facing bullying in the 21st century. Wang Di's narrative as a young woman is the most compelling, as the reader learns that the Japanese military kidnapped her as a teenager to work as a "comfort woman" providing sex for Japanese soldiers. Not only did Wang Di face the threat of death should she not comply while enslaved by the Japanese military, but she faced censure from the rest of society after the war ended. These themes of silencing a tragic history run through Kevin's chapters as well, as the intrepid boy seeks to uncover his grandmother's secrets. However, Kevin's chapters do not match Wang Di's in power, and the constant shifting of perspective can be distracting. The novel has many graphic scenes of violence and rape, but they are never gratuitous. Ultimately, debut novelist Lee creates a compelling story of generations haunted by war and the silence surrounding their suffering. About two years later, we had a child, a boy. Suddenly there was someone to take care of. It made me feel different. Less of a person and more because here was part of me in that little boy, but I was more because I had real responsibilities now. I helped create a human being” Hi Readers! I am writing this review from the cozy bed in a resort at Lonavala. I have 4 days off, so I am away on a staycation! There is a lot of relaxing time to read, write & sleep. Unfortunately, like majority of the resorts, this one has dim light in the rooms, in which I just cannot get any reading done. So, here I am pondering over my thoughts on the last book I read. Hope you enjoy the review as much as I struggled to find the perfect words for it! ~~WRITING STYLE~~ This part of the novel is brutal, and life for these women was nothing short of a living nightmare. Then for the ones who survived, they returned home to be disowned, shamed, and labelled traitors. Wang Di’s parents can barely stand to look at her and only talk to her if it’s necessary.
An important book that is hard reading at times as we learn the story of one woman's life as a 'comfort woman' to the Japanese Army in Singapore during WW2. Yes, this part of the novel is vicious and confronting to the reader, but it is also the best part of the book. How each woman uses different strategies to make it through each day, the friendship between Wang Di and Jeomsun and Huay. The wonderful character of Mrs Sato. Who turns out to have surprising depth. Da questo punto di vista quindi Storia della nostra scomparsa di Jing-Jing Lee ha sicuramente il pregio di avermi fatto conoscere qualcosa che non sapevo. E lo stile dell’autrice è sicuramente delicato. Nonostante questo però mi è mancato qualcosa, a livello emotivo.
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Thankfully, the author only devoted a couple of chapters to Wang-Di’s time as a comfort woman. Kevin, a young boy, weaves his way into her life half a century later uncovering hidden truths in two families. He is a bright spark in the darkness.
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