Moth Stories

by Leonora Liow

Shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize 2016 for English Fiction

A young girl’s ambitions prompt dark stirrings in her nature. A father reckons with a lifetime of dysfunctional family relations. A foreign worker is cut adrift on a raft of shattered dreams. In the title story “Moth”, a condemned woman reclaims her broken dignity.

In a collection that resonates with life’s poignance, humour and irony, Leonora Liow explores the private universe of individuals navigating the arcane waters of human existence and masterfully illuminates the extraordinary humanity that endures.

300 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Born in Hong Kong to a Singaporean doctor and staff nurse who then returned to the country, Leonora Liow Kim Choo is a Singaporean writer. She studied law at the National University of Singapore and won the Golden Point award in 2003 with her short story, "Pentimento". 'Moth Stories' (2015) is her debut collection.

Liow is married to a lawyer and has two grown daughters. She was educated at the Convent of the Holy Jesus Infant and has written short stories since she was in secondary school.

Reviews

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not too well versed in local authors or books, so it was only through the recommendation of a friend that I picked this up. As a kid I did read Singapore's True Ghost Stories written by Russell Lee, but apart from that didn't pick up on other local books that were popular enough. Thus, my impression of local books was lacking by a rather substantial margin. Thankfully this was readily available as an ebook, which gave me a greater incentive to read it. I must admit I was initially skeptical of such anthologies, as my own bias had projected them to be typical dramas injected with a local flavour. Stories of young love, or estranged families are topics that are covered ubiquitously, yet seem to still be touted as the peak of our literary achievements.

The pleasant surprise was that, despite there still being some of the more familiar narratives which touch closer to home, there are also others which shine light on the underbelly of society, or even topics that are taboo. They vary across different perspectives, although the literary style is consistent. One thing that is slightly bemusing is how each narrative never fails to be embellished with many an analogy or complex vocabulary, something that seems to stem from being taught that using a multitude of words is better. While I'm not one to dispute that, it seems a tad superfluous at times, but it does add some character to the stories.

Leonora Liow seemed to come from a well off enough family, and while I can only make guesses about her upbringing, I think it's fair to say that she came from a higher rung of society. As such, her stories reflect as such, granting much more attention to a certain outlook on life as well as personal dilemmas. The last two entries are especially marked with the notion of a rat race and breaking out of the tedious cycle of the lower / middle class. They are also the two longest stories in this anthology. I'm not surprised if some of her personal life experience bled through, as the adage 'write what you know' effectively implies.

Local books like these are a hidden gem, simply because there are so few amongst the limited pool of published authors. For a debut novel, this was a joy to read in the hopes that more of such stories can be told, by different people from different walks of life.

[Ronnie Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories come to life
Many that I hold dear to
Still made a podcast

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

easily one of the best s'pore short story collections of late, leonara liow's ‘moth’, while a tad overwritten and sloppily copyedited, is testament to the adage that one writes what one knows.

find here 10 exquisitely crafted stories on the middle-aged (Chinese, save for a Malay HIV+ patient) s'porean: a self-sacrificial church volunteer; serially upgrading, stamp-collecting, SDU-meeting couple; and worrying mothers, mostly from the point of view of the quietly suffering woman. while not inherently quotable or saying a lot, ‘moth’ is filled with an oates- or munro-esque care of character: self-aware, perhaps self-absorbed, lost, striving. here are 10 portraits and slices of life from the quietest corners of the pedantic, everyday s'pore existence.

flit to its warmth today.

[Amy ☁️ (tinycl0ud) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liow writes all-encompassingly, her stories taking you back in time to the previous decade, the previous century, and occasionally even further. The details that furnish the stories are so realistic this book should qualify as historical fiction, yet it was so elegantly done and had none of the regular clunky, “Look how much research I did!” ways of writing about a past Singapore that others do. There is just enough to transport you back, no less and no more.

I really appreciate the economy in her short stories. To call them “short” feels somewhat inaccurate because each story is so full and so rich that reading a few at once can be overwhelming. I needed some time to digest each story. And then when you look back you marvel at how it was only a handful of pages because it felt like much more.

Her characters are impossible not to feel for—regardless of race or religion, you are made keenly aware at all moments that they are painfully and devastatingly human. Liow is not interested in creating clear-cut victims and villains, but the social critique nevertheless shines through without being shouty. She subtly constructs layers of marginality that problematise binarist ways of reading her stories.

Her characters may strive against their bonds, but you know it is futile because these are not fairytales, and there are no happy endings in store. The heavy focus on the passage of time, as indicated in the frequent use of the flashback and the the unstable slippery way in which their minds oscillate between the past and the present, is an accurate attempt at portraying how we actually experience time ourselves—not in neatly labelled and chronologically arranged pockets, but a soupy mess with the days blended into one another and our emotions colouring our memories of them.

[Lavelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collections of short stories, for me, are usually a mixed bag. There will be some that I loved, and others that I didn't care for. But (to my surprise) that wasn't the case here. I thoroughly enjoyed this entire book. Every story was engaging and distinctive. They cover a wide variety of characters - from a foreign construction worker, to a sugar baby, to a mother worrying about her children studying overseas. ⁣
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Every story is definitively local - the setting, sights, etc. But Leonora Liow doesn't make these aspects the focal point of her stories. Instead, she pays great attention to the characters and storylines themselves. Consequently, the final product is (in my humble opinion) an impressive collection of stories that are undeniably Singaporean, but about unique individuals more than about the country at large.

Find my other reviews here: instagram.com/lavelle.reads

[Priscilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Achingly mesmerising, the author has a writing style that bears a slight resemblance to Alice Munro’s. Austere, evocative and soulful were some of the words that kept popping up in my mind when I was reading the book.

Some of my favourites from Moth Stories are Rich Man Country, A Modern Girl’s Quandary and Tell Me. These stories are enlightening and make me see life in a different way.

Full review: Priscilla and her Books

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy every story (a matter of taste), but the ones I found gripping were undermined by serious copyediting errors and sloppy line editing. They distracted me too much to immerse myself in a good read