Written in Black

by K.H. Lim

A darkly humorous coming-of-age novel set in Brunei on the island of Borneo, Written in Black offers a snapshot of a few days in the life of ten-year-old Jonathan Lee, attending the funeral of his Ah Kong, or grandfather, and still reeling from the drama of his mother leaving for Australia and his brother getting kicked out of the house and joining a rock band. Annoyed at being the brunt of his father’s pent-up anger, Jonathan escapes his grandfather’s wake in an empty coffin and embarks on a journey through the backwaters of Brunei to bring his disowned brother back for the funeral and to learn the truth about his absent mother. On a quest that takes him across the little-known Sultanate, past gangs of glue-sniffing poklans (Brunei’s teenage delinquents), cursed houses and weird shopkeepers, Jonathan discovers adventure, courage, friendship and, finally, himself.

Genres: Asia, Fiction, The World, Asian Literature, Adventure, Contemporary, International

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2014

Reviews

[katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful coming-of-age story of a young boy from Chinese family living in Brunei. Fantastic writing, it's a short book but really made me feel like I knew the characters and got a sense for the island and the immigrant experience there. This writer is fabulous and I hope he has a great writing career ahead of him!

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went looking for a book from an Asian country that I hadn't read yet and found this one book from Brunei. It may be the only one. It's a quick read, about a boy named Jonathan around the time of the funeral for his Ah Long (grandfather.) There's a bit in here about cultural practices, landscape, and urbanization, but it's mostly about a child gaining a little autonomy.

[Tien · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I read this part of the blurb, '...Jonathan escapes his grandfather’s wake in an empty coffin and embarks on a journey through the backwaters of Brunei' and looked at the cover and took it for granted that this is what I should expect from the book BUT... it is not; NOT AT ALL. The cover is rather metaphorical in nature and the blurb is not quite right. I guess he did jump into an empty coffin but it did not last long and he definitely did not go on the water in it. Was I disappointed? Yes, yes, I am very disappointed in my expectation.

On the other hand, it was an interesting book into the Brunei Chinese culture. As my ancestry is Chinese, I can relate to most of it though I'm not familiar with the funeral tradition but then again there are so many variations of it. Jonathan's mother left a few months ago, 'for health treatments', but it's been a long time since he's spoken to her and there seems to be a conspiracy of preventing him from speaking to his mum or so he thinks. His older brother has also left home at around the same time; not keeping any sort of contacts and doing who knows what. Then suddenly, his grandfather (Ah Kong - Chinese for grandfather) died. Jonathan was unhappy and now his anger is also bubbling out of him. He needed to do something!

The ending was a little bit disappointing as I still feel issues are unclear and no firm resolution though sometimes that is life; you just have to take one day at a time.

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

Around the World Reading Challenge: BRUNEI
===
1.5 rounded down

Oh man, I really didn't enjoy this one, sad to say. It's written from the perspective of a ten-year-old boy, and I actually think the author did a great job capturing the self-absorption and general outlook/interests of a ten-year-old boy, but MAN is that not something I have any interest in reading. I found our protagonist to be a total brat and could not have been less interested in his petty squabbling with his siblings and cousins or his utter lack of empathy for anybody at all. The only thing I had any interest in at all was the mystery of his mom--why did she leave? why does it appear as if she specifically has no interest in speaking with this specific son?--and we got NO resolution to any of this. The book just ends pretty much out of nowhere with zero feeling of satisfaction. It's a short read and I can't say I enjoyed any of it.

[Akhmal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly am having a hard time on rating this one. There are some ups and some downs. (This is just my personal perspective, so, some people might not agree)

Rating: 3/5

I bought this book because I was drawn to its nature for having the story set in Brunei, so I was curious as to what the author has written. I genuinely enjoyed the comedy, especially ones that involve Malay-Brunei dialect - some were quite priceless & indeed, VERY often used in our culture, including when cussing over a rude driver. The random names of Kampong in Brunei is also true, I always have the same thought as to where and how they were formed. I enjoyed the great insight of common Chinese funeral proceedings (I'm not sure myself if it's fictional or not - nevertheless I found it interesting). The cover's nice, by the way!

I have some issues with it, however. Especially with the age (10 y.o.) narrating this book with an extremely expanded vocabulary (this was contradictory to the part where he found it difficult to read the local newspaper). I thought that was too good to be true, and the fact that he has a highly developed sense of moral judgements (e.g. advising/warning his older brother about life). One of which is, I quote: "The mess you're in now is all your own fault, and you aren't acting like you've even learnt your lesson... you'd better do yourself a favour and not be so stubborn with Pa like you were last time... don't you dare screw things up again, because we'll all be paying the price for it." Also, I believe Poklan is portrayed less accurately in this book. If the author did a bit more research on that, it would make the book more humorous. From my own perspective, it's more of a lifestyle/'trend' thing, as opposed to it being a criminal thing. Cause, what's portrayed here sounds more like a genuine... gang. Their dialogue's not 'Poklan/Malay-Bruneian' enough too. The plot's a bit slow in the first 100 pages. The real adventure only starts at around page 90, or so. And it;s unfortunate that the ending felt short and unresolved.

All in all, I love the main character's wit, but I wish the author could expand more on what happens afterwards - the story I felt like it wasn't quite resolved, especially the REAL reason for his mother's departure & that conversation in the storeroom between Pa & Michael (Was it about allowing him back home?). I DON'T KNOW. But they weren't explained in great detail.

Nevertheless, I'd like to congratulate the author for this debut novel :-)

[Bucket · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely book! This was recommended to me, but looking at the jacket description when I got it had me worried it would be too YA for my taste. So I went in with low expectations and quickly forgot them. This is a great story in many ways:

The characterization of Jonathan - a 10-year-old who is smart to the point of being obnoxious and pompous externally, but deep down is scared and just wants love and acceptance.

The adventure - Jonathan rides in a coffin, walks the countryside, rides with teens sniffing glue, etc.

The arc of the story - Jonathan's motivations, decisions, and mistakes are clear and believable throughout. My heart ached for him as he tried to logic and force his way into getting just a short conversation with his mother.

I know others will disagree, but I really appreciated the quiet, open-ended ending.

[Sarah Ghazali · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read, especially for those starved of narratives on Brunei. I appreciated the twists and turns of the narrator's journey, and how the text went to great lengths in depicting cultural and national specificities. True to the disclaimer, this probably isn't the most definitive book on Brunei, but I appreciate the attempts and diversity - could almost envision poklens in pool lounges, the extensive rituals of Chinese funerals. thanks KH Lim -things looking good for Bruneian lit.

[Andre Stern · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was significantly better than I expected. At times, it's a 5 star reading experience. But it is inconsistent. Especially verbal interactions between Jonathan and his relatives. Every dialogue between him and his older brother is repetitive and grating, there is endless gratuitous belligerency without any conclusion. Same with his father. I don't think all questions a novel raises must be answered, but you could argue the overarching storylines of this were how randomly cruel his father was specifically to him and an apparent conspiracy to keep Jonathan from communicating with his mother for reasons we never find out. Luckily the bulk of the book is about Jonathan's adventure and running into fantastic situations, which is where the narrative shines.

[xueh wei · Rating 2 out of 5]

to be updated.

[Molly Ison]

This book is better than its summary. It immediately looked like the best choice for Brunei, but my impression directly from the summary was that it was going to be about a kid discovering "adventure, courage, friendship... and himself", which pretty much perfectly sums up something I'd hate.

The protagonist, Jonathan, is precocious in a bad way, and it makes the whole thing easier to swallow. He really is annoying and obnoxious and it's not always brushed off as cute. But OTOH, his family problems are real and scary and confusing and they aren't just brushed off as obstacles to finding himself. The adventures often suck, the courage only comes in small doses, the friend he makes is batshit crazy, and he doesn't end up much more enlightened about what's happening with his family at the end. And this makes it better than some cutesy bullshit about the adorable adventures of a smart kid.

The author did a good job of making the setting foreign but not "foreign". (Certainly he anticipated an international readership). I took some parts to be along the lines of magical realism or a child's POV of something he wished happened. Otherwise, there were a lot of descriptions of food, houses and other buildings, funeral traditions... but without much narrative bloat. It's not a long book and I recommend it.

[Dave Carroll · Rating 3 out of 5]

The default review calls this a "coming of age" story, which is fine. The trials and travails of the middle class preteen is a universal and well worn trope. What makes this unique is the geography, set in Brunei in modern times which illustrates the far reach of Western society's affects on the erosion on family.

Johnathan Lee comes from a Chinese family which is part of the diaspora that has settled throughout the world over the last two centuries. If I read correctly, he is the third generation who comprise the 10% Chinese population of Brunei, most likely brought as cheap labor during British dominion but, over time, became success stories in their adopted countries. With English educated parents, Johnathan finds himself trying to come to grips with the six month estrangement of his mother as he and two of his three siblings make their way under the care of their civil servant father. The oldest brother has left the house, no longer communicating with the family.

The story is centered on the death and funeral of Johnathan's grandfather or Ah Kong, at a port town about a half hour's drive from his family's home in the ever expanding suburbs of Bandar Seri Begawan. Loading up the family car, Johnathan's father brings his three youngest children to the home of his uncle which is where the grandfather had spent his remaining days to take part in the elaborate traditions of a Chinese funeral. Driven by a desire to locate his brother who is living on the streets of Bandar, ten year old Johnathan takes off on a quest to locate him and bring him to the grandfather's funeral while also hoping to ascertain the strange departure of their mother who has apparently kept up with the closed mouth father and oldest siblings. Through Johnathan's odyssey, we learn a little more about the geography of Brunei and hints of the evolving culture which has transitioned from a strictly Muslim and Malaysian foundation to an Anglo American one where the differences between Malay and immigrant culture is touched on.

The author is to be commended as he seems to have almost singlehandedly taken on the duty of establishing a modern literary culture in #brunei as there were very few options when seeking books from that country if you happen to be taking part in either a #readtheworldchallenge or #globalreadingchallenge . It is obvious that #khlim is an extremely accomplished person as he is a doctor in Singapore. The influences of American rather than English grammar is very obvious though he could have used a little more assistance in creating a more cohesive story. I was left without a sense of resolution in at least one of the principal storylines. Perhaps that was intentional with aspirations of a follow up. Either way, kudos for opening up Brunei's literary tradition to the rest of the world.

[ElenaSquareEyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jonathan as a character could be equal parts interesting and infuriating at times. I do tend to struggle reading books from a child’s point of view and with Jonathan he seemed far more confident and surer of himself than the average ten-year-old. He does make brash decisions and argues with his siblings and cousin like any child would but sometimes he came across as older than his years with his ability to talk himself out of (and into) a lot of situations. Then there’s the times when he just seems incredibly bitter about everything he’s got going on in life. Some of it seems like a fair thing to be bitter about like how his father won’t talk about his mother and how he keeps missing her phone calls. Other time’s though it’s like that fatalistic attitude that teenagers have turned up to the max – I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with such a dramatic ten-year-old.

The adventure Jonathan goes on to find his older brother who might hold the key to be able to contact their mother is fun one. Just about everything that can go wrong does go wrong but Jonathan never stops trying to achieve his goal. He’s got this single-minded determinedness that’s impressive.

As an atheist (though I was christened a Catholic) I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the descriptions of Ah Kong’s funeral and the various traditions that Jonathan and the rest of the family had to take part in. The funeral is a Chinese one and there’s mentions of another character having been to Malay funerals but not Chinese ones, showing how there’s different tradition in each cultures funeral and that Brunei as a country is a mix of different people with different heritages, which was interesting.

Written in Black is a quick and easy book to read with an engaging story that keeps you turning the page. The plotline about Jonathan’s absent mother isn’t really given a satisfactory resolution though – or much of a resolution to be honest. In some ways it feels like his mother is avoiding him rather than his three other siblings and it’s sad there’s never really an explanation for that or anything to show that she cares about Jonathan just as much as her other children. Besides from that, it’s a fast-paced and decent coming of age story and Jonathan certainly does seem to mature a lot in such a short space of time.

[Nipun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in Black by HK Lim is a sweet simple novel following the adventures of a ten-year old Johnathan – a Bruneian Chinese boy. Spanning only about two days in Johnathan’s life, on the face of it – nothing really happens in the novel. However, within Johnathan there is a storm – for his mother has left them probably not to come back – he doesn’t know why – and he seems to be the only sibling who keeps on never being around when she calls!

Attending his grandfather’s wake – he sets about another mission to get a call in with his mother – against natural odds – an impatient (though still caring father), a dead phone battery, a jackass of a brother and cousin, a gang of stupid hooligans and cursed houses among others.

Will he succeed?

Synopsis

Family drama, children’s games, misunderstandings – all abound in the book – and make for a very relatable homely tale of possibly any family – Bruneian or otherwise.

Narrated by the 10-year old John, who admittedly sounds much too old for his age at times, the book is well written enough to generate much empathy for Johnathan’s situation. Frustrated towards his father for not putting much effort in trying to get him a call with his mother, hurt that his cousin seems to know more about her than he does, and exasperated by a mother who left and seems disinclined to come back despite having promised to do so when she was leaving – it’s plausible that things were worse in Johnathan mind than it were in reality. It is quite plausible that the turn of events were in fact just a coincidence. But the book manages to keep its reader’s rationalizations aside as they join John on his adventure.

There certainly are warranted demands on credibility on his adventure, but the book remains a rooted pleasant short read. The characters are well developed and realistic. The imagery and the depth of Bruneian Chinese customs well developed, even if the book can take place anywhere. The pace remains brisk. And the ending, despite the complaints I have read in other reviews, was neat and elegant.

https://theworldincultures.com/407-wr...

[Stefanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since there's not too much out there that's set in Brunei, so it's no wonder that my new blogger friend and I chose the same book for this tiny little country that is situated on the island of Borneo, surrounded by the South China Sea on one side and by Malaysia on all other sides. Written in Black is about a small boy, Jonathan, who is adrift in the chaos of his family's dysfunction, left too often to his own devices as he struggles to understand why his mother has left, his eldest brother has run away, and his father has disengaged. When his grandfather dies and the family gathers, Jonathan and his needs are only further pushed aside. After learning that his cousin has been in touch with the elder brother, who in turn is in regular contact with their mother ... Jonathan decides to take matters into his own hands. He hides in the back of the coffin delivery truck, and sets out to solve the problem of his missing family members.

What struck me most about this story was both how heartbreakingly alone Jonathan felt among the people who were supposed to love him best. Desperately missing his mother and not understanding what happened to cause her to leave, he is devastated to learn she calls when he's not at home and that he is the only one who hasn't been able to talk to her. As children often do, he internalizes this in a very personal way, and it was difficult to read his pain, which the author conveyed very clearly.

The novel was somewhat entertaining but not really worthy of high marks. Jonathan's journey is billed as a coming of age tale, a label that fits in how the novel is structured ... more internal dialogue than action. The fact that Jonathan is reading Huckleberry Finn as the story gets underway serves as a little foreshadowing. Overall, I have to say I didn't get what I'd hoped for from the book ... no real insight about Brunei or even about Jonathan himself. Another episode in the Few Books Set In Small Countries drama ...

https://theworldbybook.blogspot.com/2...

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story of Jonathan’s little adventure to find his brother in the urban jungle of a city of Brunei, and the details of the funerary tradition were fascinating following the death of Jonathan’s grandfather.
But what the hell was that open ending. The family was clearly hiding something - Jonathan never gets to speak to his mother, who had left the family six months prior. It seems like she was scamming (?) the grandmother though, or she was being supported by her in the endeavour of realising the life long dream of opening a dance studio. Either way, for some reason she was in contact with everyone except Jonathan. I found that weird and infuriating. Why was he being singled out?
I also thought Michael, Jonathan’s older brother, was a bit too caricatured. Tattooed, shaved, smoking, bad friends, stealing, wants a music career, treats his brother badly, argues with the father. I’m sure it happens, but… I don’t know. I would have appreciated a bit more nuance? His characterisation was very on the nose.
I was much more interested in Mohidin, the mysterious (potential) relative of Jonathan’s friend who helped him out greatly while he was searching for his brother - but Mohidin also kept a skull in his car???? And a bag full of weird cloth that Jonathan seemed to recognise but that remains unexplained? Maybe these are cultural references that I didn’t understand - but the story’s level seemed to be geared towards kids, and towards a wider audience not necessarily familiar with Brunei, so I don’t quite understand the mystery here.
Writing style was good, though the pacing was intermittently odd (very slow chapters sometimes, and then overpacing in the mystery/horror chapters - like when Jonathan ends up in a dilapidated urban building).

A story with a lot of potential, but in need of a strong editor.

[ywanderingreads · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story follows ten year old Johnathan Lee, who just found out that his grandfather has passed away and they need to prepare for his funeral. He lives in a dysfunctional family, where he is struggling to understand why his mother left, why his eldest brother, Michael, had run away and why his father can be so unattentive. During the funeral, he learned more about his mom’s sudden departure and how Michael kept in touch with his cousin but not him. On top of that, Michael also has regular contact with his mother whereas Johnathan is always missing her phone calls. This is alot to take in for a young boy. He decided to take matters in his own hands and seek out Michael for a chance to speak to his mother and possible reconcile with him.

What I loved about this story is the fact that so much of our Chinese culture and tradition is added into the story, especially the funeral. I can vividly create the scenes in my head as I was accustomed to these traditions. I also loved how filial piety is portrayed in a Chinese household and the importance of treating your elders with respect. I also loved how Lim added in little Bruneian slangs and places which was quite delightful to read.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. There were so many loose ends which I thought Lim could have explained. This had an interesting plot and characters but it fell flat for me. I kept hoping to see some resolve between Johnathan and his family or the real reason why his mother or Michael left but I didn’t get that. Overall, I did enjoy Johnathan’s witty comebacks and ideas but I wished there was more.

[Suzesmum · Rating 3 out of 5]

130📱🇧🇳BRUNEI🇧🇳I was looking for a contemporary novel by a Bruneian author and this fitted the bill nicely. It’s a story about Jonathon Lee, the second eldest son of the second eldest son of a Chinese family in Brunei. The story centres on the death and funereal rituals of his grandfather. Jonathon is convinced that his mother, who has left her family of four children to live in Australia, doesn’t want to speak to him because he always manages to miss her infrequent calls home. With a sudden rush of blood to the head, he sneaks out of the family wake, hitchhikes a ride in the coffin truck, ends up in a freaky warehouse with really creepy voodoo dolls (including one of his grandfather 😱), narrowly escapes being savaged by ferral dogs and is rescued by a gang of glue-sniffing youths known as “paklans”. Forced to buy glue for them, he meets the shopkeeper Mohidi, who agrees to drive Jonathon to a seedy pool hall to find his estranged brother Michael. Mohidi had some real scary shit in the glove box and on the back seat of the car, and told really creepy stories to Jonathon. I was convinced he was going to do really nasty things to the boy, thankfully he didn’t! It all ended well except Jonathon missed another of his mum’s calls, which was devastating 😫#🌏📚#readingworldtour2021 #readtheworld #worldliterature #readingworldliterature #reading #readingwomenchallenge #readersofinstagram #readmorebooks #bookstagram #booklover #book #booknerd #bibliophile #travel #travelogue #fiction #nonfiction #nonfictionreads #travelbooks #ayearofreadingaroundtheworld #brunei #bruneiliterature #khlim

[Zeng Hao · Rating 1 out of 5]

Written in Black is a coming-of-age novel set on the island of Borneo in Brunei. It follows a ten-year-old boy called Jonathan Lee, who, in the midst of his grandfather's funeral, desperately tries to get in contact with his estranged mother in Australia who will be leaving for Dubai.

The story has a decent premise and, at first glance, an interesting cast of characters. But while it lays down many plots points, it fails to resolve ANY of them. The entire story is a mess, a bundle of loose ends. I keep hanging on to the hope of some form of resolution - Jonathan and his mother, his father, siblings or anything - but alas, nothing happens. And yet, the protagonist (Jonathan) acts as though everything was resolved at the end.

Bad plot aside, this book has a serious case of incessant rambling. Paragraphs after paragraphs of wandering thoughts that come in at the most inappropriate times (e.g. thinking of buying a black pen with the Poklans money), breaking the flow and pace of the writing. I understand that the character is supposed to be only 10 year old, but come on, it does not help with the writing at all.

There were many other issues I had a gripe with (like the strange dynamic between Michael and everyone), but the main reason I gave this a 1-star (my lowest rating ever) was because I felt like the book wasted my time. There were many occasions when I wanted to DNF it but I didn't (I have never not finished books that I started), and I kind of regretted that. I would not recommend this book. Many people praise the book because it was set in Brunei, but I didn't get any particularly great insights on Bruneian culture or life; I reckon there are better books out there worth your time.

[Rhoda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was my read the world selection for Brunei.

Ten year old Jonathan receives a phone call advising that his grandfather has died. As his mother left the country six months ago (under somewhat mysterious circumstances of which we never really learn) and his older brother has been thrown out due to delinquent behavior, the rest of his family (his father, sister and younger brother) must go to his grandfather’s house and undertake the funeral and funeral rites.

During this time, Jonathan decides to go and find his estranged older brother and bring him back for the funeral and at the same time try to get some information from his brother about his mother. He ends up inadvertently trekking around Brunei meeting some interesting characters.

The book was very easy to read and it was interesting to read about the Bruneian-Chinese customs relating to death and funerals. I don’t feel that I got much of a sense of Brunei from the book and the writing felt very ‘western’ in its execution.

I did enjoy the bantering between siblings and cousins although I often felt that Jonathan sounded much older than his ten years. A fun enough read though! ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 from me!

[Zhelana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute little book set in a country I've never heard of before. It's kind of a coming of age story, and kind of a little adventure story. The whole thing takes place in the two day weekend of this kid's grandfather's funeral. He goes off to find his brother and make it back before he's missed. He also really wants to talk on the phone to his mother. He gets half of what he wanted making the ending not really satisfactory, but also kind of not what you expect but also that makes it feel like it didn't fulfill it's promises to the reader. Anyway, it was pretty good but not one of the best books I've read this year.

[Fathi Rayyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a coming-of-age novel set in Brunei. It is about a ten-year-old boy named Jonathan, who, in the midst of his grandfather’s funeral, desperately tries to get in contact with his estranged mother in Australia who will be leaving for Dubai.

I like the premise of the book and the glimpse of Brunei as its setting but I feel like there are more potentials that can be explored and developed, especially on the characters. The book felt like an opening chapter of more stories that needed to be told. I also found it hard to see connections between the themes & plots.

[Karen Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chosen for the “Read Around the World” challenge: BRUNEI. The novel details a few days of Jonathan Lee - a 10-year-old who's preparing for and attending the funeral of his Ah Kong (grandfather). I particularly liked the information regarding Brunei funeral and family customs. I disliked Jonathan's travels to find his disowned brother - one nightmare after another.

Interesting title that's explained in the book - how Jonathan writes in black (instead of the requisite blue) occasionally because he likes it better (and to challenge authority).

[K's Bognoter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Muligvis den eneste engelsksprogede roman på markedet, der foregår i Brunei og er skrevet af en bruneisk forfatter. Lider desværre under mangler i både plot, struktur og eksekvering. Resultatet er grundlæggende lidt småkedeligt.

Læs hele min anmeldelse på K's bognoter: http://bognoter.dk/2018/07/24/kh-lim-...

[Dolf van der Haven · Rating 4 out of 5]

#106: Brunei Darussalam 🇧🇳.
Quite a good novel, really. I recognised a lot of the Chinese-Bruneian culture in my Chinese-Indonesian family-in-law who have the same name as the author. The story revolves around a funeral, but manages to show a lot of Bruneian culture, which is the whole reason why I read books from all countries in the world.

[Tobias Shimabukuro · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a 2.5. It's entirely possible that since I took so long to finish this book, I just didn't get the point, but so many plot points were just left unresolved. Even though the ending also did nothing to tie anything up, I didn't really mind it. After the MC's main journey, it felt like the book lost a lot of direction.

[Rosamund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Semi-autobiographical novel about growing up in Brunei seen through the eyes of a ten year old struggling with loss and trying to make sense of his family. Interesting and quite appealing but no more than that.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Global Read Challenge 65: Brunei

This book was fine. There were some fun plot twists, but there was a lot that was left unanswered. I get that a 10 year old doesn't understand their world, but the readers aren't 10, so we should get a little more about what's going on with his mom etc.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed it as I was able to imagine the whole story clearly having lived in Brunei. Very Bruneian.

[Kate Throp · Rating 4 out of 5]

By turns gently poignant and darkly humorous it’s a rollicking yarn as befits it’s 10 year old protagonist. I just wish it didn’t have quite such a large loose end left at the end. B is for Brunei.

[Pogue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I found it quite funny and enjoyable.