“The themes of Twan Eng's novel are memory and colonialism, a superficially neat connection which asks not only what do we remember, but what should we remember, and how? The truth is always messier, though. Yun Ling's friend Magnus is a veteran of the Boer uprisings against the British; the hills behind Kuala Lumpur bear the name of their British colonialist invaders. Interestingly, the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are only mentioned in one line – this book, written by a Malaysian, has Yun Ling ask about Japanese reparation for the pain and suffering it caused other nations. She does not want to remember the pain and suffering any Japanese subsequently experienced.
In that sense, this is a weighted political novel, but that's where its passion comes from. Yun Ling is possibly too restrained at times, Aritomo too shadowy, but both have serious secrets to hide. In a violent world, perhaps restraint is the best we can manage; in a horribly compromised life, reparation is never quite enough, and is itself full of contradictions. Twan Eng's novel is a commendably grown-up tale that doesn't give easy concessions”
In that sense, this is a weighted political novel, but that's where its passion comes from. Yun Ling is possibly too restrained at times, Aritomo too shadowy, but both have serious secrets to hide. In a violent world, perhaps restraint is the best we can manage; in a horribly compromised life, reparation is never quite enough, and is itself full of contradictions. Twan Eng's novel is a commendably grown-up tale that doesn't give easy concessions”
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