Sayang

by Gopal Baratham

“Though I rarely had occasion to use it, I know the word and its implications well. It was truly a Southeast Asian word, soft as its people and well-understood from Marang to Manila, Surabaya to Sulawesi, Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu. It describes a love bound to sadness, a tenderness trembling on the edge or tears, a passion from which pity could not be detached... I did not realise how fully I would understand saying. Had I known, I would have given it more thought.” Joe Samy suspects that his wife, Ri is pulling the blinds on him. So he engages the rough but affable private eye, Sigmund Lee, to track her movements. As he is led on a roundable ride, Joe succumbs to temptation himself, first with a transsexual, then with his son’s girlfriend. Events begin to take a twist for the macabre as Ri falls mysteriously ill and his son, Kris, submits his body to a drug peddler while Joe himself tangles with a defrocked priest. As his family falls apart, Joe Samy, now vulnerable and not so smug, takes a hard lesson from life on the true meaning of 'sayang.' Audience:General

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Gopal Baratham (Dr), prominent neurosurgeon and distinguished author of three novels, five volumes of short stories and a non-fiction book, was considered a literary light during his lifetime. His first book, the political thriller, A Candle or The Sun, won the Southeast Asia Write Award in 1991 and was short-listed for the Commonwealth Book Prize in 1992. One of the first Singapore writers to have their work published by a British publisher, he received international praise for his fictional writings that are based on Singapore society.

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book caught me by surprise, in a good way. A friend recommended it and this got me started on giving local writers a shot.

It was difficult to catch on at first but shortly after, it was difficult to put it down. It showed me a side of Singapore i never knew or expected. It added in a dash of politics and controversy, which I found bold for a local writer - it made the plot richer.

[Don Dealga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ambitious in its conception, flawed in its execution Gopal Baratham's modern rendering of the Jesus Christ story: parents of Kris (Christ) are Joe (Joseph) and Marie (Mary); Kris's "immaculate conception", Kris's best friend Rock (Peter - "upon this rock I will build my church") Kris's stigmata, his ultimate "self sacrifice" etc etc etc....lots of SE Asian "local colour" chucked in to give that contemporary context, plenty of explicit sex. An interesting read with pretensions but not pretentious.

[Alison · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very confusing book..