From the Blue Windows: Recollections of Life in Queenstown, Singapore, in the 1960s and 1970s
Tan Kok Yang
Singapore: NUS Press, 2013
ISBN: 9789971696504

Tan Kok Yang grew up in a small public housing estate in Queenstown during the 1960s and early 1970s. Queenstown is one of the earliest public housing estates in Singapore and over the years, has gone through immense changes. It was home to a group of low-rise government rental flats where the windows were fitted with unique blue louvers, hence the title of the book.

This account of the games, festivities, customs and lifestyle of the area as seen through the eyes of an inquisitive boy will arouse memories in many older Singaporeans. While the stories touch on the effects of race riots and student unrest during the 1960s, their purpose is neither political nor academic. Rather they are a reminder of a simple but fulfilling way of life that has all but vanished from modern Singapore.