Bang My Car
Ann Ang
Singapore: Math Paper Press, 2012
ISBN: 9789810733711

Uncle: we all know him. This is the man who picks his nose on the bus, who will fight for his country and fight you to do it his way. He will shout you into submission while astounding you with his tenderness towards his wife. His standard answer to all your questions is "nothing." Singaporean to the core, Bang My Car is a volume of short stories narrated in a mixture of colloquial Singlish and standard English that reinvents classic prose forms from the ghost story ro the university admissions essay through the figure of Uncle.

Fish Eats Lion
Jason Erik Lundberg (ed.)
Singapore: Math Paper Press, 2012
ISBN: 9789810731939

Fish Eats Lion collects the best original speculative fiction being written in Singapore today, a home-grown anthology featuring a refreshing variety of voices and perspectives. Here are tales that are recognizably science fiction and fantasy, and others that blend genres and tropes, including absurdism, police procedural, fairy tales, steampunk, pre- and post-apocalypse, political satire, and alien first contact. These twenty-two stories—from emerging writers publishing their first work to winners of the Singapore Literature Prize and the Cultural Medallion -- explore the fundamental singularity of the Lion City.

This book is a celebration of the vibrant creative power underlying Singapore's inventive prose stylists, where what is considered normal and what is strange are blended in fantastic new ways.

Ayam Curtain
June Yang & Joyce Chng (eds.)
Singapore: Math Paper Press, 2012
ISBN: 9789810740085

Kong jiao wei, in Hokkien, means “speaking bird language.” It is a cock-and-bull story, a flight of fancy and, incidentally, the perfect phrase to describe this collection of microfiction with a quintessentially Singaporean flavour. The reader steps into a technological dystopia one moment and wakes up a crow in the next story, all within the space of a hundred words.

Expect a spirit war in underground tunnels, genetically-modified babies and a Singapore overrun by anti-government spies in these short stories. Be entertained by a motley gang of characters both strange and the deranged, uber-rational and supernatural, feathered or plucked in Ayam Curtain.

A Clean Breast
Theresa Tan
Singapore: Write Editions, 2012
ISBN: 9789810739294

The morning she woke up with a pain in her right breast, Theresa Tan knew her life would never be the same again. In this deeply personal book, Theresa shares her horrific discovery of breast cancer and the painful loss of her breast to the disease. Journey with her as she emerges through the darkest period of her life to be stronger and fitter than ever, filled with a purpose to help and encourage other women experiencing cancer. Written in an intimate style, speckled with humour, A Clean Breast is the story of a woman who decided to kill cancer before it killed her.

Ask the Foodie: Kitchen Knowhow Explained
Chris Tan
Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2012
ISBN: 9789814342261

In 2006, Chris Tan began a conversation with readers and home cooks in The Sunday Times. It went on for five years. He encountered Singaporeans obsessed with eating, and with some things in particular – firm prawns, steamed egg, soups, deep-fried anything…

Forgotten dishes: Some questions were nostalgic. How do I recreate my grandma's kueh, where can I find this long-forgotten dish?

Distress calls: Some were distress calls over repeated recipe failures, like cakes that ended up with the wrong texture, curries that didn't make the cut.

Tricky recipes: Many focused on just how tricky apparently simple recipes could be – why braised peanuts stayed hard, for example.

Ask the Foodie: Kitchen Knowhow Explained is for all the faithful followers of Chris Tan's column. This compilation includes the most frequently asked questions, and answers that have been reinforced by further experiments. It covers a wide range of topics: Asian snacks & desserts; Beverages; Cakes & puddings; Curries & sambals; Eggs & dairy; Frying; Herbs & spices; Ingredients & additives; Meat & poultry; Noodles & pasta; Nuts, beans, seeds & grains; Pastries & bread; Pickles & preserves; Rice; Sauces, stocks & stocks; Seafood; Vegetables & fruits.

Vanishing Point
Felix Cheong
Singapore Ethos Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810733865

3,000 people go missing every year in Singapore. Why do they disappear?

Felix Cheong's Vanishing Point is the first work of fiction by a Singapore writer to be inspired by real-life cases of missing persons. These stories do not speculate where these people have gone to but as a creative leap-off to explore the theme of absences and obsessions.

In 'In the Dark', a man who is obsessive-compulsive about white cleans his wife - literally - out of his life. In 'Remember the Wormhole of 2030', the prime minister of a small island nation abducts her ex-lover to prevent a scandal from exploding. In 'The 10th Floor', a crooked accountant has to deal nightly with strangers coming to his flat asking for a floor that doesn't exist.

These are stories suffused with a sharp sense of the surreal and the satirical, compared by writers like Daren Shiau and Boey Kim Cheng to Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami. Weaving in poetic turns of phrase for which he is known for, Cheong shows us how we often reach the vanishing point in the horizon even if we may not have physically vanished.

Scene Gapore
Miel
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810731076

A character who looks suspiciously like the author takes a walk through time, visiting the key milestones of Singapore's history -- from the time Sang Nila Utama spotted the Merlion, through the streets of newly-founded Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles, up to the present day. Join in this humorous jalan-jalan which offers a unique perspective on a range of topics, from education, health and food to politics, National Service, public transport, foreign talent, technology and other subjects close to the Singaporean heart.

Singapore's Lost Son: How I Made It From Dropout to Millionaire Princeton PhD
Kaiwen Leong
Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2012
ISBN: 9789814382687

This is the true story of a boy with a simple dream -- to become a man. But he fell and became a dropout of school, friends, life, himself. But with the helping hand of a teacher, he turned his life around, found friends and love, and fulfilled his dream. This is the story of how that boy went from dropout to millionaire Princeton PhD. Expelled from four junior colleges (he was labelled ‘subnormal’ and not academically inclined), Kaiwen Leong sat for the A level examinations as a private candidate while experimenting with Internet websites to try his hand at entrepreneurship. He studied hard and did well enough to be admitted to Boston University in the US where he graduated with two bachelors and two masters degrees in economics and mathematics in four years. And then he went on to obtain postgraduate degrees at Princeton University. He is a member of America’s most prestigious academic societies and has published research papers on economics, mathematics and physics. Today he lectures at Nanyang Techonological University and is an economist at Spring Singapore. Find out how Dr Leong picked up his life.

Jolene's Story
Jolene Goh
Singapore: Marshall Cavendish, 2012
ISBN: 9789814398114

Jolene is only 22 years old, but her unspoken story will make you think twice about the big picture in life. Does coming from a broken family mean you have to stay broken all your life?

Born illegitimate, abandoned by her father, sexually abused by her stepfather, and called a liar by her mother, Jolene never had a carefree childhood nor a warm loving family that is the right of every child. She lived in constant fear of her stepfather, never knowing when he would impose himself on her. She was angry, depressed and miserable. She rebelled, sniffed glue, took drugs, joined gangs, and ended up in the Singapore Girls' Home.

Today, Jolene holds a secure job and is helping her family pay off their debts. This is the story of how that girl picked herself up and made a better life for herself and her mother. With piercing honesty, Jolene's Story is about a girl trying to make sense of her life and change it for the better.

But that is not all. She has her reasons for opening up her life to the public for full scrutiny and for all to judge. She wants her biological father to realize that without him all these years, without any love, care and concern for her, she is doing well, published a book and is successful. For the sake of her stepbrothers, she didn't want to have her stepfather charged in court. But she wants her stepbrothers and the public to know the cold truth of what he had done to her and the nightmare he put her through. She also wants to show the world that not every break-up leads to slitting of your wrists, not every failure leads to a hopeless future, and not every mistake will cause you to be condemned forever. She has been through so much more than most of us and has come out a stronger person.

Lee Kuan Yew's Strategic Thought
Ang Cheng Guan
London: Routledge, 2012
ISBN: 9780415658553

Lee Kuan Yew, as the founding father of independent Singapore, has had an enormous impact on the development of Singapore and of Southeast Asia more generally. Even in his 80s he is a key figure who continues to exert considerable influence from behind the scenes. This book presents a comprehensive overview of Lee Kuan Yew’s strategic thought. It charts the development of Singapore over the last six decades, showing how Lee Kuan Yew has steered Singapore to prosperity and success through changing times. It analyses the factors underlying Lee Kuan Yew’s thinking, discusses his own writings and speeches, and shows how his thinking on foreign policy, security and international relations has evolved over time.

A Sociolinguistic History of Early Identities in Singapore: From Colonialism to Nationalism
Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew
UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012
ISBN: 9781137012333

'Pulau Panjan', 'Po Luo Chung', 'Pulau Ujong', 'Lung –ya-men', 'Temasek', 'Singapura' are all former names of Singapore and belie its colourful history as the El-Dorado and nexus of Southeast Asia. Who were Singapore's previous multilingual inhabitants? What were the pidgins, creoles and languages that thronged its market places and created its forgotten identities? How did polyglot migrants caught in the throes of an earlier globalization organize their respective identities? What hybrid identities arose from such cross-cultural interactions? This book presents a fascinating history of early identities in Singapore as examined through the retrospective lens of language. A long view has been chosen for its advantage in providing unexpected socio-political and linguistic insights into the long term effects of change and continuity.

Monsters, Miracles & Mayonnaise
Drewscape
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810731090

What would you do if a tiny monster slipped out from your sleeve on your way to work one day? Or if the water in your water bottle suddenly turned into grape juice? What if you found you could not move no matter how hard you tried? Monsters, Miracles & Mayonnaise is a collection of short comic stories where tales of unexpected encounters with strange beings from another world sit alongside amusing anecdotes based on bewildering real-life encounters and childhood memories. Imaginative and whimsical, this collection will surprise and amuse even the most cynical reader.

Ten Sticks and One Rice
Ong Yong Hwee & Koh Hong Teng
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810731083

Illegal bookie. Secret society member. Street hawker. Neo Hock Seng is all of these, and more. As Singapore transforms from a kampong town to a cosmopolitan city, Neo struggles to make sense of life and eke out a living, even as he finds his old ways and values increasingly challenged.

My Burning Hill
Rosaly Puthucheary
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810741426

My Burning Hill is a long poem in fifty-six sections. Dr Rosaly Puthucheary wrote this long poem while taking on the perspective of her late brother, Dr James Puthucheary, who played a major role in Singapore's fight for independence from the British. Dr Rosaly puts into lyrical form, the motivation and actions of the towering figure of a man driven by a great purpose.

In this reflective and retrospective musing, the writer moves from one pertinent moment in the political history of Singapore since 1942 to another. By interlacing these political events with the depth of memory, the writer exalts the significance of each moment, both pleasant and unpleasant. The reader will also understand the sacrifices and struggles that are expected from individuals who have dedicated their lives to a great purpose.

Queer Singapore: Illiberal Citizenship and Mediated Cultures
Audrey Yue, and Jun Zubillaga-Pow (eds.)
Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2012
ISBN: 9789888139347

Singapore remains one of the few countries in Asia that has yet to decriminalize homosexuality. Yet it has also been hailed by many as one of the emerging gay capitals of Asia. This book accounts for the rise of mediated queer cultures in Singapore's current milieu of illiberal citizenship.

This collection analyses how contemporary queer Singapore has emerged against a contradictory backdrop of sexual repression and cultural liberalisation. Using the innovative framework of illiberal pragmatism, established and emergent local scholars and activists provide expansive coverage of the impact of homosexuality on Singapore's media cultures and political economy, including law, religion, the military, literature, theatre, photography, cinema, social media and queer commerce. It shows how new LGBT subjectivities have been fashioned through the governance of illiberal pragmatism, how pragmatism is appropriated as a form of social and critical democratic action, and how cultural citizenship is forged through a logic of queer complicity that complicates the flows of oppositional resistance and grassroots appropriation.

Unrest
Yeng Pway Ngon
Singapore: Math Paper Press, 2012
ISBN: 9789810738020

In 1987, a middle-aged man and woman share a night of passion, returning to their respective spouses the next day. They will not see each other again, but each is profoundly shaken by the consummation of a relationship that began thirty years previously. We discover this couple first met in the 1950s when they were both student revolutionaries in Singapore, ardently striving to bring about a socialist paradise in Asia. How did they go from the high-minded ideals of Communism to empty marriages and sordid adultery? A study in the decline of idealism and the ultimate failure of the Communist project, Unrest is also a bittersweet love story that takes place across Singapore, Malaya, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan.

Clear Brightness: New Poems
Boey Kim Cheng
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810741822

In poems that shuttle between Singapore and Australia, award-winning poet Boey Kim Cheng seeks to establish a new sense of self and home on the shifting ground between memory and imagination. A noodle-maker in Melbourne triggers connective threads to the poet's birthplace. A train crossing over the Johor-Singapore Causeway evokes the dislocating experience of interstitial existence. After six long years, one of Singapore's greatest modern voices returns with a work of profound insight and erudition.

The Singapore Decalogue: Episodes in the Life of a Foreign Talent
Zafar Anjum
Singapore: Red Wheelbarrow Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810740320

In these beautifully-crafted and interconnected stories, Zafar Anjum presents two commonplaces about fast-changing Singapore: one, that it is an island of immigrants; and two, that it is a nation still looking to sketch out the parameters and contours of its own soul. Through Asif Basheer, a newly-arrived 'foreign talent' from India, Anjum takes us on an unforgettable odyssey of love, lust, hope and despair. Written with acuity and grace, the stories in this collection are sensuous, tender, funny, charming, heartbreaking and tragic.

Spectre: Stories
Verena Tay
Singapore: Math Paper Press, 2012
ISBN: 9789810738037

Spectre: Stories is Verena Tay’s first collection of short stories. A spectrum of tales ranging from the supernatural to magic realism, from fantasy to reworkings of folktales, this anthology seeks to terrify and inspire and encourages the reader to find darkness in the ordinary things in life and light in the depths of the soul.

The Invisible Manuscript
Alfian Sa'at
Singapore: Math Paper Press, 2012
ISBN: 9789810739492

The Invisible Manuscript is Alfian Sa'at's first unpublished collection of writings composed when he was 22. It was first distributed unofficially to selected friends and colleagues. Bearing passionate testimony to private and public memories, this gathering of poems and prose fragments documenting the intimate challenges of homosexual longing gives voice to an invisible minority still struggling to be recognised today. Now published at last, this book, full of fierce confessions, ambivalences and flinty epiphanies, will shock and devastate.

Here is an uncompromising confluence of unfulfilled desires wrought through language by one of Singapore's most outspoken and critical voices.

Balik Kampung
Verena Tay (ed.)
Singapore: Math Paper Press, 2012
ISBN: 9789810738044

8 established and upcoming writers. 8 experiences of living in different parts of Singapore for at least 10 years. 8 new tales written based on those impressions of life.

Welcome to the world of Balik Kampung where we invite you to read our stories, return in your imagination to the village that you call 'home' and explore your sense of who you truly are.

Wild Singapore
Geoffrey Davison, Ria Tan, & Benjamin Lee
US: John Beaufoy Publishing, 2012
ISBN: 9781906780722

The book starts with a look at Singapore's wild past: its biogeography from before human occupation up to 19th century changes and finishes with a look at the possible future of wildlife in the country. In between, there are full details on the current flora and fauna to be found in and on Singapore's reefs and rocks, mangroves and mud, lowland and swamp forests, and parks and gardens. A unique feature in each chapter is the 'Guided Tour' which takes readers to specific habitats to explore the trees, birds, plants and animals to be found there. Written by three expert authors, Wild Singapore provides an authoritative and entertaining survey of the wide spectrum of wildlife on the land and in the seas of Singapore.

Battle Story: Singapore 1942
Chris Brown
London: The History Press, 2012
ISBN: 9780752479569

The Fall of Singapore remains a crushing defeat that sent shockwaves around the British Empire during the Second World War. Singapore had always been seen as an impenetrable fortress that would protect the British Empire's stake in the Far East - a legacy of the great days of global dominion. The British Army were aware of the threat to Singapore and Malaya from the first days after Pearl Harbor, but they viewed the Japanese Army as an inferior fighting force, incapable of standing up to the defences and trained troops of the British. Yet, in December 1941 the Japanese launched a swift attack on the Singapore airfields, nearly wiping out the entire fleet of RAF frontline aeroplanes. On 10 December the Japanese also destroyed two of the Royal Navy's premier battleships off the Malay coast. Suddenly, the fate of Singapore rested solely in the hands of the Army. Despite having 90,000 British soldiers posted in Singapore they were quickly overwhelmed by the speed and ferocity of the invading Japanese forces, numbering 75,000 men. The brutality of the Japanese tactics and their sheer ferocity shocked the British and they were soon forced to retreat. By January/February 1942 the British last stand melted away and the Japanese swept into the city, slaughtering those who stood in their way. Over 100,000 men were taken prisoner and many thousands (possibly up to 50,000) residents of the city were massacred. To understand what happened and why read Battle Story.

Singapore Malays: Being Ethnic Minority and Muslim in a Global City-State
Hussin Mutalib
London: Routledge, 2012
ISBN: 9780415509633

The Malay population makes up Singapore's three largest ethnic groups. This book presents holistic and extensive analysis of the 'Malay Muslim story' in Singapore. Comprehensively and convincingly argued, the author examines their challenging circumstances in the fields of politics, education, social mobility, economy, leadership, and freedom of religious expression. The book makes a significant contribution to the understanding of Muslims in Singapore, and the politics of a Malay-Muslim minority in a global city-state. It is of interest to researchers and students in the field of Singaporean studies, Southeast Asian Studies and Islam in Asia.

My 1000 Days' Ordeal: A Spiritual Journey
Ching Cheong
Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2012
ISBN: 9789814342346

Journalists are always taught to cover the news, and not become the news. On April 21, 2005, Straits Times correspondent Ching Cheong broke that rule: he crossed the border into Shenzhen to investigate a manuscript of the memoirs of the late Chinese leader, Zhao Ziyang. That was the start of his nightmare. The next day, he was detained in isolation for more than three months, as the Public Security Bureau tried all manner of ways short of physical violence to get him to confess to spying for Taiwan. He was later "tried" in a Beijing court, his 20,000-word so-called "confession" the only evidence the State Prosecutor produced, and was summarily convicted of spying for "foreign powers" and sentenced to five years' jail.

His book re-counts in detail the emotional turmoil he felt at being "betrayed" by his desire to see China and Taiwan peacefully reunified, the tortuous circumstances under which he was compelled to write a "confession" of his alleged crime, and his struggle to come to terms with what he – albeit unwittingly – brought upon himself. He decided to write it "to contribute in a small way to wiping out the soil that produces such miscarriages of justice" in China, to make sure that he "had not gone to jail for nothing".

For the international legions of human rights activists, Ching's Ordeal describes, in very ordinary terms, how the Chinese authorities — or any other undemocratic regime — use "logic" and forms of mental torture to obtain "confessions". It shows up, without drama, the huge distance China needs to cover to become a country where the rule of law is not subject to politics. Most of all, it shows the "patriots" in the Chinese diaspora the gradient they have to walk to separate communist dictates from a culture of which there is much to be proud. Ching puts it simply: "I hope through the recounting of my story to bring attention to the situation of China's judicial system, so that we can together build a country that respects and protects the rights of a quarter of the world’s population."

The Diary of Amos Lee: Lights, Camera, Superstar!
Adeline Foo
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810735180

When his diaries are stolen and published, Amos thinks his world is coming to an end. But what he doesn't realise is that he's going to become really famous! Adoring fan mail, girls throwing themselves at his feet and, with 5,000 friends on Facebook, yes… FINALLY! Life looks to be turning around!

But when a TV Director offers to adapt his diaries into a TV show, Amos learns that a new boy will take over from him in becoming Singapore's Most Famous Toilet Diarist! Filled with insane jealousy and a desire to right a wrong, Amos vows to do all that he can to stop the show. But will he succeed?

Under the Bed, Confusion
Wong Meng Voon
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810736613

From a coffee shop assistant to a multimillionaire, from a dissident exiled on Pulau Tekong to a pampered dog, this collection of stories explores the psyche of Singaporeans from all walks of life. With sarcastic wit, and using a mix of realism, magic-fantasy and satire, Cultural Medallion Award winner Wong Meng Voon exposes the city's underbelly and gives readers darkly humorous yet philosophical insights into the residents of this tiny red dot.

Wong Meng Voon is a writer, editor and academic who has published eleven collections of short stories and mini-fiction. An accomplished translator, Dr. Wong has been awarded the Translation Prize by the National Book Development Council of Singapore. For his contribution to Singaporean Literature and the Chinese mini-fiction form, he has been awarded Singapore's Cultural Medallion, the S.E.A. Write Award and China’s Life-long Achievement for World Chinese Mini-Fiction Award.

Teaching Cats to Jump Hoops
You Jin
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810736576

A chain-smoking student with a violent past. A girl with a penchant for rare turtles. A boy who sees a raging fire every time he opens his exam booklet. These are some of the students that Madam Tham encounters in her classes. While other teachers refuse to give them a chance, Madam Tham is determined to reach out to them. Funny and heartwarming, this collection of short stories by Cultural Medallion Award winner You Jin explores issues like failed relationships, delinquency and the pressure of school and society. You Jin's insightful portrayals are based on her real life experience as a teacher of twenty-nine years.

Under the pen name You Jin, Tham Yew Chin has published 157 books to date in Singapore, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Her collection of work includes novels, short stories, travelogues and essays. The first recipient of both the inaugural Singapore Chinese Literary Award and the Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award, You Jin was an educator in the Singaporean school system for twenty-nine years. She was awarded Singapore’s Cultural Medallionin 2009.

Penghulu
Suratman Markasan
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810735357

Pak Suleh cannot stop thinking about his island. He yearns for Sebidang, the island where he was the penghulu, the village head. But Pak Suleh was forced to relocate to a small high-rise apartment in urban Singapore. What is the price of the relentless onslaught of redevelopment? What personal stories get left behind in the inexorable march of progress?

Written by Cultural Medallion Award winner Suratman Markasan, originally in Malay, this poignant novel sheds light on the untold struggles of Malays in Singapore due to rapid urbanisation. Will Pak Suleh continue to live in the past? Will he be able to thwart the plans of his son-in-law, a newly elected Member of Parliament of the governing party? Will the penghulu return to his island?

Born in 1930 in Pasir Panjang, Singapore, Suratman Markasan completed his studies at Sultan Idris Training College in 1950, before joining the teaching service and enrolling in Nanyang University, where he majored in Malay and Indonesian Studies. He was appointed Assistant Director for Malay and Tamil studies at the Ministry of Education and lectured at the Institute of Education until 1995. He has received the S.E.A. Write Award, the Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award, the Tun Seri Lanang Literary Award and Singapore’s Cultural Medallion.

Flowers at Dawn
Singai Ma Elangkannan
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810735364

War is coming and Anbrasan's life is about to change forever. An immigrant from Tamil Nadu, Anbrasan arrives in Singapore in the 1940s, at a time when society is ripe for change. He is drawn by the charismatic Indian National Army leader Subhas Chandra Bose, and fights with the Japanese against the British. In this stirring novel of war, family and love, originally written in Tamil, Cultural Medallion Award winner Singai Ma Elangkannan explores the captivating story of India's struggle for independence through the lens of Anbrasan's political and sexual awakening.

Under the pen name Singai Ma Elangkannan, M. Balakrishnan has written six collections of short stories and six novels. His work has previously been translated into English and Malay, telecast on Radio Singapore and made into a television drama. A winner of both local and international short story writing competitions, Balakrishnan was the first Tamil writer to receive the S.E.A. Write Award in 1982. He has won the Tamizhavel Award (Gold), the Singapore Literature Prize and Singapore's Cultural Medallion.

The Ernest Mask
Xi Ni Er
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810736590

Cultural Medallion Award winner and master of mini-fiction Xi Ni Er turns his incisive eye on the social and economic landscape of Singapore in this debut collection of translated stories, originally written in Chinese. With irony and humour, Xi Ni Er's stories peel back the veneer of official history and reinterpret the ups and downs of almost half a century of nation building.

Known by his pen name Xi Ni Er, Chia Hwee Pheng has received the National Book Development Council of Singapore's Book Award, the Singapore Literature Prize, the S.E.A. Write Award and Singapore's Cultural Medallion. He has published eight books, including the poetry collection Kidnapping Times and the fiction collection The Unbearable Heaviness of Life.

He currently serves as President of the Singapore Association of Writers.

OB Markers: My Straits Times Story
Cheong Yip Seng
Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2012
ISBN: 9789814342339

Cheong Yip Seng's memoir is much more than just a "deep-background – off-the-record" of Lee Kuan Yew’s years as Singapore’s no. 1 newsmaker. It is a chronological and sensitive explanation of how the Republic’s newspaper of record was shaped by Mr Lee – and, more important, why he took it upon himself to do so.

This memoir could not come at a more appropriate time, when Singapore's third generation leaders find themselves in headwinds of public opinion the first Prime Minister dealt with with a firm hand. Whether times have changed and Singapore's current leadership can no longer deal with The Straits Times the way Mr Lee dealt with Cheong Yip Seng and his predecessors is a question this book throws up. The answer is a subject worthy of debate among the myriad self-appointed and untrained citizen journalists, who really should read this book for their own much needed enlightenment.

It is also for anyone interested in the future of Singapore, for its accounts of what constituted "out of bounds" up until 2006 show how such areas could possibly be navigated now. As Cheong's memoir of The Straits Times for more than four decades reveals, the rationale for the Singapore media model may be hard to accept for many liberals. But this model has been sufficiently successful to keep Singapore's newspaper of record one of the most successful in the world.

Shrines & Streetlights
Ho Ren Chun
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810733896

Shrines and Streetlights signals the debut publication of poetry by a young, bright Singaporean, whose keen eye and alert spirit frame perspectives that belie a maturity beyond his eighteen years.

With a cadence that is simultaneously practiced yet fresh, a wide scope of objects are infused with poetic symbolism. Ranging from dragonflies to the moon, these poems find meaning in both the mundane and the magical; steeped in the elegant aura of observance but melancholic in a sense of loneliness and yearning. Often winding through Singaporean streets, yet finding itself in intimate moments, Shrines and Streetlights juxtaposes the old and the new, youth and age. It compares love and loss, and reconciles life and death. These themes intertwine to capture the intricacy of human realities often fraught with both passions and miseries, and most poignantly, help us understand their inextricable link.

Before We Forget: Grandmother's Garden and Other Stories
Jeremy Boo (ed.)
Singapore: Hachisu, 2012
ISBN: 9789810729479

Dementia does not discriminate. Doctors have no cure. This book brings together the stories of more than 30 people, including writers like Mr Wang Says So and Mr Miyagi, filmmaker Boo Junfeng, and photojournalist Bob Lee, on what happened when their loved ones had dementia. The poetry, prose, photographs, artwork, and illustrations in this book speak of exhaustion, guilt, acceptance, strength, love, and courage.

We ♥ Tiong Bahru
Urban Sketchers Singapore
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810736255

The Urban Sketchers Singapore are an informal group of artists who draw the places they visit, capturing—on location—what they see from direct observation. In this first book in the Our Neighbourhoods series, the artists sketch the well-loved places in Tiong Bahrus, one of the most famous neighbourhoods in Singapore.

See our artists’ interpretations of the well known two-storey Tiong Bahru market; the old walk-up apartments in the conservation areas in the lovely neighbourhood, juxtaposed with the spanking new skyscrapers; and other nostalgic areas and buildings.

We ♥ Toa Payoh
Urban Sketchers Singapore
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810736231

The Urban Sketchers Singapore are an informal group of artists who draw the places they visit, capturing—on location—what they see from direct observation. In this first book in the Our Neighbourhoods series, the artists sketch the well-loved places in Toa Payoh, one of the first satellite neighbourhoods in Singapore.

Pore over the pages in this time capsule of a book to admire sketches of the famous Shuang Lin Monastery; the well loved Toa Payoh Garden; or the grand old dame that is the Toa Payoh Sports Hall and Swimming Complex. Or reminisce over the smaller nooks and crannies that come in the form of the old-timer Bugs Bunny barber shop, the long-time Lee Nam Kee chicken rice shop, and the bird singing corner at Lorong 4.

Simply the Best!: The ieat*ishoot*ipost Guide to Singapore's Hawker Food
Dr. Leslie Tay
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810737801

From Bedok to Beo Crescent, Jalan Sultan to Joo Chiat, celebrity food blogger Dr. Leslie Tay and his merry band of ieat foodies have spread out across the island in search of the most drool-worthy hawker food Singapore has to offer.

Their quest for hawker food paradise, plus Dr. Tay’s stunning food photographs, is documented in this blogbuster, capturing more than half a decade’s worth of eating, shooting and posting. This is Singapore’s ultimate insider’s guide to hawker food—the only one you’ll ever need or want!

Zubir Said: The Composer of Majulah Singapura
Rohana Zubir
Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2012
ISBN: 9789814311816

Zubir Said is best known as the composer of Majulah Singapura, the national anthem of Singapore, Semoga Bahagia, the Singapore school anthem, and Melayu Raya. Born into a religious and humble family in Sumatra where music was considered haram, at 21 he set out to seek his fortune in Singapore. This book, which includes numerous photographs, documents, musical scores and articles, as well as a CD of a selection of Zubir Said's compositions, vividly reveals one of Singapore's leading composers as family man, friend, composer and mentor. It also accords Zubir Said his rightful place in the history of Singapore.

The Undone Years
Shamini Flint
Singapore: Heliconia Press, 2012
ISBN: 9789810720612

On a rubber plantation in Malaya, on the eve of the Second World War, three teenagers enjoy their last summer of freedom and innocence. Matthew is the son of the English planter who runs the estate and his best friend, Rajan, is the son of his father’s clerk – but despite their parents’ disapproval of their friendship, they feel like equals. When beautiful, strong-willed Mei Ling arrives, both boys’ heads are turned. But before any romance can blossom, the Japanese invade.

Against a backdrop of the fall of Singapore, the communist insurgency and the eventual Japanese surrender, The Undone Years is a very humanstory of love and betrayal in a time of war.

Little Flower: Singapore Wild Flowers Up Close: Through the Lens of Jon Boon
Jon Boon
Singapore: Secondmouse Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810726409

When was the last time you stopped to smell the roses? Whether you are a botany enthusiast or someone who simply appreciates the beauty of our local flora, this book lets you get close and personal with 70 of Singapore blooms. Each flower is photographically captured in its natural environment, mainly in the heartlands.

Keeping the content simple and factual, with details carefully captured, Little Flower: Singapore Wild Flowers Up Close is the only pictorial book on local flowers of its kind and provides a picture-rich reference.

Floating on a Malayan Breeze: Travels in Singapore and Malaysia
Sudhir Thomas Vadaketh
Singapore: NUS Press, 2012
ISBN: 9789971696474

What happens when a country splits apart? Forty-seven years ago, Singapore separated from Malaysia. Since then, the two countries have developed along their own paths. Malaysia has given preference to the majority of Malay Muslims - the bumiputera, or sons of the soil. Singapore, meanwhile, has tried to build a meritocracy - ostensibly color-blind, yet more encouraging perhaps to some Singaporeans than to others. How have these policies affected ordinary people? How do these two divergent nations and their peoples now see each other and the world around them?

Seeking answers to these questions, two Singaporeans set off to cycle around Peninsular Malaysia, armed with a tent, two pairs of clothes and a daily budget of three US dollars each. They spent 30 days on the road, cycling through every Malaysian state, and chatting with hundreds of Malaysians. Not satisfied, they then went on to interview many more people in Malaysia and Singapore. What they found are two countries that have developed economically but are still struggling to find their souls. Despite the historical and cultural links, the invisible political line has increasingly become a powerful force for mistrust and misunderstanding.

Voices Clear and True: New Singapore Plays Volume I
Huzir Sulaiman, Lucas Ho, & Laremy Lee (eds.)
Singapore: Checkpoint Theatre, 2012
ISBN: 9789810724139

This is the first volume in a series of play collections published by Checkpoint Theatre that showcase the exciting work of a new generation of Singapore playwrights. Published as part of Checkpoint Theatre’s 10th anniversary celebrations, these plays are evidence of the burgeoning renaissance in Singapore playwriting.

This collection of eight critically-acclaimed plays features the work of up-and-coming playwrights Christine Chong, Kenneth Chong, Lucas Ho, Dan Koh, Cheryl Lee, Laremy Lee, Faith Ng and Shiv Tandan. All the plays were written under the mentorship of Huzir Sulaiman and have been produced by Singapore theatre companies. The collection includes wo(men) by Faith Ng and The Good, the Bad, and the Sholay by Shiv Tandan, which were both nominated for Best Original Script in the Straits Times Life! Theatre Awards in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

The plays are by turns lyrical and hilarious, and are marked by their intellectual rigour, emotional honesty, and refined technique. Checkpoint Theatre is committed to nurturing the next generation of Singapore theatre practitioners, and these plays serve both as a record of powerful new work and as a valuable resource for students and makers of theatre everywhere.

A Whole Neu World: 18 Months in Laos
Neu Wee Teck
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810731366

A Whole Neu World is an engaging account of Neu Wee Teck's (mis)adventures in Laos and his encounters with its lovely people during his stint as a volunteer teacher with the Singapore International Foundation. Besides his official assignment of teaching English to government officials in Vientiane, he managed to find time to chew bamboo larvae and duck out of drinking duck blood in the mountains of north-eastern Laos, fend off the matchmaking attempts of a noodle seller, help out at village schools, and organise the first Laos-Singapore Charity Run. Wee Teck shows that, sometimes, taking a leap of faith into the unknown is indeed the best way to grow – spiritually, professionally and, not least, horizontally.

Wives, Lovers & Other Women
David Leo
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810711139

Women and the woman’s place in a predominantly male world – as if God’s creation of Eve was an afterthought – are the focus in this award-winning collection of 15 short stories by David Leo. Misunderstood wives, women trapped by marriage and women caught in affairs with married men often are not treated fairly. The writer also takes a dig at men who, in their relationships with women, exhibit a vulnerability not infrequently attributed to the so-called weaker sex: the insecure husband, the egocentric lover and the naive wife hunter.

Wives, Lovers & Other Women was first published in 1995 after winning the Singapore Literature Prize Commendation Award. One of the stories – Picnic – subsequently featured in the award-winning TV series Singapore Short Story Project.

Ah... The Fragrance of Durians and Other Stories
David Leo
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810710255

Is there really an acceptable code of behaviour by which we judge others? In this collection of distinctively Singaporean short stories we meet people we know and think we understand, but do we really?

Ah... the Fragrance of Durians and Other Stories was first published in 1993, and in that same year was awarded the Publishers Prize for fiction.

The stories – filled with life’s many ironies – are told with remarkable credibility because they are about people whom we know too well or think we know in our very own real life experiences. Beneath the simplicity of the stories are the varied themes presented by the human psyche – themes that tell of a suppressed consciousness that often we are reluctant to acknowledge, and one that compels us, sometimes frighteningly, to confront the true meaning of life.

Beyond the Village Gate
Mei Ching Tan
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810877545

Myths of the mountains and their spirits pervade stories of Shi Ying’s mysterious origins. Abandoned to die but saved by a villager, Shi Ying is named the “lost child” and taken into a family of fisherfolk. She does not know who her parents are, or who she is. When she befriends a village outcast with whom she feels a strange bond, her journey into the unknown, in search of her parents and her true identity, begins.

Beyond The Village Gate won a Commendation Award in the Singapore Literature Prize (SLP) in 1992 and was first published in 1994.

Crossing Distance
Mei Ching Tan
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810731038

A child’s afternoon of play, a teenager's notion of pain, one's understanding of freedom, another's glimpse of mortality, a young woman’s encounter with her cultural roots, and the individual worlds of the young and old.

They reveal the distances between people and within people. Sometimes all that people do, or try to do, is cross distance.

Crossing Distance won a Merit Award in the Singapore Literature Prize (SLP) in 1994 and a Commendation Award in the National Book Development Council of Singapore Book Awards in 1996. It was first published in 1995.

Spider Boys
Ming Cher
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810726874

In the 1950s, the street boys of Singapore caught and bet on their wrestling spiders, gaining not only money but also power and prestige as they won. Backgrounded against age-old vices, superstitions, urban legends, as well as a dangerous world of youth gangs and a tumultuous period in Singapore’s history, Spider Boys is a moving and sensual story that draws the reader into turning its pages as if by a beguiling, hypnotic force, alternating arousing and repelling him.

First published by Penguin, New Zealand, in 1995, Spider Boys has been re-edited to not only retain the flavour of colloquial Singapore English in the dialogues, but also improve the accessibility of the novel for all readers by rendering the narrative into grammatical Standard English.

Three Sisters of Sze
Tan Kok Seng
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810726881

Set in Penang, the well-heeled Sze family, initially loving, disintegrates as the parents become increasingly absorbed in their own pursuits. Their three children - two of whom are Western educated and one Chinese educated - are, increasingly, forced to think for themselves as they grow up without parental guidance or love. The novel portrays the conflict between different systems of education as well as different value systems, particularly as they all occur within one family. First published by heineman Asia in 1979.

Ricky Star
Lim Thean Soo
Singapore: Epigram Books, 2012
ISBN: 9789810726867

First published in 1978 by Pan Pacific Book Distributors, Ricky Star is about a man who strives for career and financial success at the expense of everyone else around him, including even his wife and daughter. At first successful in his endeavour to climb a series of corporate ladders and becoming very rich, Ricky is, in the end, forced to reckon with his past misdeeds and indiscretions.