What do you think?
Rate this book
Once We Were There
Winner of the 2017 Penang Monthly Book Prize
Journalist Delonix Regia chances upon the cultured and irresistible Omar amidst the upheaval of the Reformasi movement in Kuala Lumpur. As the city roils around them, they find solace in love, marriage, and then parenthood. But when their two-year-old daughter Alba is kidnapped, Del must confront the terrible secret of a city where babies are sold and girls trafficked.
By turns heart-breaking and suspenseful, Once We Were There is a debut novel of profound insight. It is Bernice Chauly at her very best.
Journalist Delonix Regia chances upon the cultured and irresistible Omar amidst the upheaval of the Reformasi movement in Kuala Lumpur. As the city roils around them, they find solace in love, marriage, and then parenthood. But when their two-year-old daughter Alba is kidnapped, Del must confront the terrible secret of a city where babies are sold and girls trafficked.
By turns heart-breaking and suspenseful, Once We Were There is a debut novel of profound insight. It is Bernice Chauly at her very best.
368 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2017
6 people are currently reading
232 people want to read
About the author
Bernice Chauly
15 books36 followersBernice Chauly is the author of six books of poetry and prose: Once We Were There (2017, Winner of the Penang Monthly Book Prize), Onkalo (2013, “Direct, honest and powerful” —JM Coetzee), Growing Up With Ghosts (2011, Winner of the POPULAR-The Star Readers’ Choice Award for Non-Fiction), The Book of Sins (2008), Lost in KL (2008), and going there and coming back (1997).
Born in George Town, Penang to Chinese-Punjabi teachers, she read Education, TESL and English Literature in Canada as a government scholar. For over 20 years, she has worked extensively in the creative industries as a writer, teacher, photographer, actor and filmmaker and has won multiple awards for her work and her contribution to the arts in Malaysia.
Chauly has served as Festival Director of the George Town Literary Festival since 2011, the only state-funded literary festival in Malaysia. She was also an Honorary Fellow at the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program (IWP) in 2014, and was awarded residencies at the Nederlands Letterenfonds in Amsterdam and the Sitka Island Institute in Sitka, Alaska. She is the founder and Director of the KL Writers Workshop, and currently lectures at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC). She lives in Kuala Lumpur with her two daughters.
Born in George Town, Penang to Chinese-Punjabi teachers, she read Education, TESL and English Literature in Canada as a government scholar. For over 20 years, she has worked extensively in the creative industries as a writer, teacher, photographer, actor and filmmaker and has won multiple awards for her work and her contribution to the arts in Malaysia.
Chauly has served as Festival Director of the George Town Literary Festival since 2011, the only state-funded literary festival in Malaysia. She was also an Honorary Fellow at the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program (IWP) in 2014, and was awarded residencies at the Nederlands Letterenfonds in Amsterdam and the Sitka Island Institute in Sitka, Alaska. She is the founder and Director of the KL Writers Workshop, and currently lectures at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC). She lives in Kuala Lumpur with her two daughters.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 18, 2017
Let’s get straight to the point: Bernice Chauly’s debut novel, Once We Were There, does not work, for me.
Reasons why it doesn’t work:
The protagonist’s name
I still can’t get over it and I wonder why the author chose to saddle her character with such a silly, pretentious and distracting name. However, Delonix Regia (I kid you not) is the Latin name of the flame of the forest tree, and as the plant is also known as royal poinciana, I guess Del (as she wisely chooses to call herself) could have fared worse. (P.S. Del also gives her daughter a Latin plant name, and so, the cycle of abuse continues.)
The characters …
* There are too many characters of a certain type: English-speaking, wealthy, middle-class, mixed-race (preferably with one white parent), educated-in-the-West, chain-smoking, hard-drinking. They’re exactly the sort of people I stay away from in RL, and I find spending time with fictional versions just as unpleasant.
* The one character who isn’t middle class, wealthy and privileged-as-fuck is a trans woman prostitute (the most likeable and most interesting person in the novel). Reading about these lives at either end of the class divide made me feel like a bystander, gawking through a window at people completely alien to me. While I appreciated the views offered, I’d also have liked to read about characters who are more familiar, just to complete the picture of Kuala Lumpur in the 90s and early noughties. Now, I don’t have to like the characters in a book to enjoy a book, but in this case, the writing didn’t help me empathise with or understand anyone I was reading about (see Too Much Telling), and so, knowing where they were coming from (at very least) wasn’t even on the cards.
* The characters who are journalists are caricatures of stereotypes: they drink like fish, smoke like chimneys, swear like sailor and fuck like rabbits. According to Del (herself a reporter, first with a magazine, then with a news portal) ‘most journalists [are] alcoholics’ as it ‘comes with the territory’ (really?). Furthermore, the foreign journalists in the novel, in KL to cover Anwar Ibrahim’s trial, have an ‘air of fatigue around them, of blood and bombs’. It’s kinda funny, really, how these chaps have all worked in war zones, ‘dodged real [as opposed to?] bullets’ and ‘seen dead bodies’. What in the world are they doing in KL? Vacationing? Or have they been demoted? These men are heroes to Del, even the ones who ‘[banged] pussy all the way from Rwanda … to Bosnia’. *eyeroll*
Check Those Boxes
Political upheaval … check.
Transgender rights … check.
Human trafficking … check.
Corruption … check.
Sexism and racism … check.
Sex … check.
Drugs … check.
Sadly, no rock ‘n’ roll.
Too much telling
I’m not usually concerned when authors tell more than they show, but too much of Once We Were There reads like Del’s diary: This happens, then this, and this and this. There’s hardly any dialogue so we rarely get the characters’ points of view. It’s largely Del reporting on her melodramatic life and the life of her melodramatic friends. So, she describes events, and tells how things feel, how everyone reacts, what happens next, and we take it in. There are pages and pages of it, with all-too-rare lines of conversation breaking the monotony. The sheer bulk of the narrative makes for tedious reading, and keeps me at arm’s length because I need dialogue to provide variation and pull me into the lives of the characters.
The Kindness of Strangers
Del has two drug-laced escapades in the book and each time, she meets a handsome, wealthy man who is kind to her (she marries one of them).
This is how her husband, Omar, describes the encounter:
‘You, standing there in the morning light. Torn skirt, red shirt unbuttoned, standing like a five-year-old tottering in her mother’s heels for the first time. Your hair glowing around your shoulders. You were shivering, your eyes wild. And I, like a fool, fell in love.’
The second man is called Shah: ‘Shah. With the penthouse, Porsche, designer apartment and sexy tongue.’
Del wakes in his place the morning after a night of excess: ‘… sunlight streamed through the thick glass panes into the living room. Two bottles of Dom, smudged lones on the table, clothes, shoes strewn around. The Twin Towers bounched light from the morning sun. I had never seen them this high up. This was a view from a million dollar penthouse.’
These descriptions are laughable, the sort of thing that I would have been taken by at 14, and would have written at 18. ‘For mature readers only’ cautions the blurb on the cover, but I think you’d have to be an impressionable teenager to be impressed.
And here’s the thing, the drink- and drug-fueled lifestyles are always presented as if to impress. Maybe Del is impressed. Maybe Chauly also finds the debauchery exciting. I know I would have lapped it up when I was young and silly, when I smoked to look cool.
In conclusion
I’ve been told that Once We Were There is a criticism of liberal, politically-aware middle-class Malaysians, playing at being activists, but benefiting from the government policies they condemn. Perhaps that is what was intended, but what comes across more than anything else is the air of breathless awe at the lives described.
The Reformasi setting is meant to reveal the dirty realities of Malaysian politics and portray an exciting recent period of social and political upheaval, when Malaysians were inspired to seek justice and reform. However, Chauly’s depiction of the events are too shallow and one-sided; her characters make all the right sounds, but these are social justice warriors who are really not much better than white saviours, fighting against wrongs they have never personally experienced. As it turns out, the paths their lives take reflect just how insincere their activism was to be begin with. There was never a moment when I was convinced that they really cared about what they were shaking their designer-clad, Penhaligon-scented fists over.
Once We Were There reads like a work of a young writer who hasn’t found her own voice and hasn’t yet figured out what she wants to say. This is disappointing, surprising and puzzling considering Chauly’s experience, and considering how glowing reviews have been.
This review appears in my blog HeadShoulderKnees&Toes, which can be found at reviewsviewsinterviews.wordpress.com
Reasons why it doesn’t work:
The protagonist’s name
I still can’t get over it and I wonder why the author chose to saddle her character with such a silly, pretentious and distracting name. However, Delonix Regia (I kid you not) is the Latin name of the flame of the forest tree, and as the plant is also known as royal poinciana, I guess Del (as she wisely chooses to call herself) could have fared worse. (P.S. Del also gives her daughter a Latin plant name, and so, the cycle of abuse continues.)
The characters …
* There are too many characters of a certain type: English-speaking, wealthy, middle-class, mixed-race (preferably with one white parent), educated-in-the-West, chain-smoking, hard-drinking. They’re exactly the sort of people I stay away from in RL, and I find spending time with fictional versions just as unpleasant.
* The one character who isn’t middle class, wealthy and privileged-as-fuck is a trans woman prostitute (the most likeable and most interesting person in the novel). Reading about these lives at either end of the class divide made me feel like a bystander, gawking through a window at people completely alien to me. While I appreciated the views offered, I’d also have liked to read about characters who are more familiar, just to complete the picture of Kuala Lumpur in the 90s and early noughties. Now, I don’t have to like the characters in a book to enjoy a book, but in this case, the writing didn’t help me empathise with or understand anyone I was reading about (see Too Much Telling), and so, knowing where they were coming from (at very least) wasn’t even on the cards.
* The characters who are journalists are caricatures of stereotypes: they drink like fish, smoke like chimneys, swear like sailor and fuck like rabbits. According to Del (herself a reporter, first with a magazine, then with a news portal) ‘most journalists [are] alcoholics’ as it ‘comes with the territory’ (really?). Furthermore, the foreign journalists in the novel, in KL to cover Anwar Ibrahim’s trial, have an ‘air of fatigue around them, of blood and bombs’. It’s kinda funny, really, how these chaps have all worked in war zones, ‘dodged real [as opposed to?] bullets’ and ‘seen dead bodies’. What in the world are they doing in KL? Vacationing? Or have they been demoted? These men are heroes to Del, even the ones who ‘[banged] pussy all the way from Rwanda … to Bosnia’. *eyeroll*
Check Those Boxes
Political upheaval … check.
Transgender rights … check.
Human trafficking … check.
Corruption … check.
Sexism and racism … check.
Sex … check.
Drugs … check.
Sadly, no rock ‘n’ roll.
Too much telling
I’m not usually concerned when authors tell more than they show, but too much of Once We Were There reads like Del’s diary: This happens, then this, and this and this. There’s hardly any dialogue so we rarely get the characters’ points of view. It’s largely Del reporting on her melodramatic life and the life of her melodramatic friends. So, she describes events, and tells how things feel, how everyone reacts, what happens next, and we take it in. There are pages and pages of it, with all-too-rare lines of conversation breaking the monotony. The sheer bulk of the narrative makes for tedious reading, and keeps me at arm’s length because I need dialogue to provide variation and pull me into the lives of the characters.
The Kindness of Strangers
Del has two drug-laced escapades in the book and each time, she meets a handsome, wealthy man who is kind to her (she marries one of them).
This is how her husband, Omar, describes the encounter:
‘You, standing there in the morning light. Torn skirt, red shirt unbuttoned, standing like a five-year-old tottering in her mother’s heels for the first time. Your hair glowing around your shoulders. You were shivering, your eyes wild. And I, like a fool, fell in love.’
The second man is called Shah: ‘Shah. With the penthouse, Porsche, designer apartment and sexy tongue.’
Del wakes in his place the morning after a night of excess: ‘… sunlight streamed through the thick glass panes into the living room. Two bottles of Dom, smudged lones on the table, clothes, shoes strewn around. The Twin Towers bounched light from the morning sun. I had never seen them this high up. This was a view from a million dollar penthouse.’
These descriptions are laughable, the sort of thing that I would have been taken by at 14, and would have written at 18. ‘For mature readers only’ cautions the blurb on the cover, but I think you’d have to be an impressionable teenager to be impressed.
And here’s the thing, the drink- and drug-fueled lifestyles are always presented as if to impress. Maybe Del is impressed. Maybe Chauly also finds the debauchery exciting. I know I would have lapped it up when I was young and silly, when I smoked to look cool.
In conclusion
I’ve been told that Once We Were There is a criticism of liberal, politically-aware middle-class Malaysians, playing at being activists, but benefiting from the government policies they condemn. Perhaps that is what was intended, but what comes across more than anything else is the air of breathless awe at the lives described.
The Reformasi setting is meant to reveal the dirty realities of Malaysian politics and portray an exciting recent period of social and political upheaval, when Malaysians were inspired to seek justice and reform. However, Chauly’s depiction of the events are too shallow and one-sided; her characters make all the right sounds, but these are social justice warriors who are really not much better than white saviours, fighting against wrongs they have never personally experienced. As it turns out, the paths their lives take reflect just how insincere their activism was to be begin with. There was never a moment when I was convinced that they really cared about what they were shaking their designer-clad, Penhaligon-scented fists over.
Once We Were There reads like a work of a young writer who hasn’t found her own voice and hasn’t yet figured out what she wants to say. This is disappointing, surprising and puzzling considering Chauly’s experience, and considering how glowing reviews have been.
This review appears in my blog HeadShoulderKnees&Toes, which can be found at reviewsviewsinterviews.wordpress.com
January 3, 2018
Once We Were There is dark and gritty, as fueled by drugs and sex as its setting in late 1990's - early 2000's Kuala Lumpur.
The story itself is a story of profound loss. It's the story of a woman first losing herself in her anger and her politics, then losing herself in family and motherhood, losing the child that has become an extension of her self, losing herself to drugs, and finally at the end of it all, trying to discover who she is, who she's meant to be after she's lost everything. And it does feel like Delonix Regia has no sense of self for most of the story--she is defined by the people and events around her. Whenever anything goes wrong, or she is at a loss, she turns back to alcohol and drugs.
Set against the backdrop of the 1998 Reformasi until Anwar's release in 2004, the events of the times weave in and out of the plot. Del and her journalist friends protest Anwar Ibrahim's arrest. They start an independent journalism site on the internet, the first of its kind. Del finds purpose in this. But as the romance takes over, and Omar, and subsequently Alba, becomes her world, this fades away, reappearing only in spurts: the lost appeal, subsequent protests, Mahathir's resignation, Pak Lah's win during the GE, Anwar's release. Little sound bites that are soon forgotten, stuffed in to tell you what year it is by now. By the middle of the novel, it doesn't really feel important anymore--it's just Kuala Lumpur. The journalistic beginning feels like an excuse for a social commentary on the times.
You could also say that undue emphasis is given to this recounting of history, evidenced by the fact that although the book description says "But when their two-year-old daughter Alba is kidnapped, Del must confront the terrible secret of a city where babies are sold and girls are trafficked", this event only happens 2/3rds of the way through the book. It feels terribly unbalanced, plot-wise, unless this is the way things work with literary fiction? (I read mainly in the fantasy/scifi genre, where inciting incidents usually take place in the first quarter.)
Overall, however, the novel works. It reads almost psychedelically, jumping between viewpoints and timelines, rushing in and out of events but also lingering in the here, the now, the never-ending painful present. I hesitate to say that it's brilliant. I disliked the first awfully long chapter (all the chapters are awfully long and could have been broken up at multiple points), wondering where Chauly was going with her part-novel, part-history lesson, part-social commentary. Yet, having finally pushed through, it feels like this disjointedness, this floating story, this bits-and-pieces cobbled together thing, finally makes sense in the light of the ending. Or I could just be extending literary grace and purpose to something that has no reason.
Personally, I don't see myself revisiting Once We Were There. It's not one of those stories that have gripped me in any specific way. However, I do not regret reading it either; it's one of those books that you feel you should read, at least once in your lifetime.
It's unapologetically Malaysian, though at times Chauly tends to overexplain as if pandering to the international crowd, and it's what the Malaysian English fiction scene needs more of.
The story itself is a story of profound loss. It's the story of a woman first losing herself in her anger and her politics, then losing herself in family and motherhood, losing the child that has become an extension of her self, losing herself to drugs, and finally at the end of it all, trying to discover who she is, who she's meant to be after she's lost everything. And it does feel like Delonix Regia has no sense of self for most of the story--she is defined by the people and events around her. Whenever anything goes wrong, or she is at a loss, she turns back to alcohol and drugs.
Set against the backdrop of the 1998 Reformasi until Anwar's release in 2004, the events of the times weave in and out of the plot. Del and her journalist friends protest Anwar Ibrahim's arrest. They start an independent journalism site on the internet, the first of its kind. Del finds purpose in this. But as the romance takes over, and Omar, and subsequently Alba, becomes her world, this fades away, reappearing only in spurts: the lost appeal, subsequent protests, Mahathir's resignation, Pak Lah's win during the GE, Anwar's release. Little sound bites that are soon forgotten, stuffed in to tell you what year it is by now. By the middle of the novel, it doesn't really feel important anymore--it's just Kuala Lumpur. The journalistic beginning feels like an excuse for a social commentary on the times.
You could also say that undue emphasis is given to this recounting of history, evidenced by the fact that although the book description says "But when their two-year-old daughter Alba is kidnapped, Del must confront the terrible secret of a city where babies are sold and girls are trafficked", this event only happens 2/3rds of the way through the book. It feels terribly unbalanced, plot-wise, unless this is the way things work with literary fiction? (I read mainly in the fantasy/scifi genre, where inciting incidents usually take place in the first quarter.)
Overall, however, the novel works. It reads almost psychedelically, jumping between viewpoints and timelines, rushing in and out of events but also lingering in the here, the now, the never-ending painful present. I hesitate to say that it's brilliant. I disliked the first awfully long chapter (all the chapters are awfully long and could have been broken up at multiple points), wondering where Chauly was going with her part-novel, part-history lesson, part-social commentary. Yet, having finally pushed through, it feels like this disjointedness, this floating story, this bits-and-pieces cobbled together thing, finally makes sense in the light of the ending. Or I could just be extending literary grace and purpose to something that has no reason.
Personally, I don't see myself revisiting Once We Were There. It's not one of those stories that have gripped me in any specific way. However, I do not regret reading it either; it's one of those books that you feel you should read, at least once in your lifetime.
It's unapologetically Malaysian, though at times Chauly tends to overexplain as if pandering to the international crowd, and it's what the Malaysian English fiction scene needs more of.
October 24, 2023
dnf @ pg 135
August 21, 2017
Bernice Chauly have cemented a name for herself as an acclaimed writer through this fiction work of hers. Amazing storytelling,the premise of politics interspersed with the very human conditions in the city of KL, with the reformasi years as a fitting backdrop - this narrative is just captivating. Bernice covered it all - drugs, alcohol, capitalism, elitism, transgender rights, women's rights, post-natal depression, grief, human trafficking, baby-selling/baby-buying/kidnapping/baby-dying/baby-killing, suicide attempts, interracial marriages, the hypocrisy of Muslims in Malaysia, the holier-than-thou attitude and increasing control over showcasing that we are a very Islamic nation, to hell with all the corruption as long as we have a slice of it, albeit how small.
There's also lots of sex. Lots and lots of sex.
Some parts need a keener copy-editor's eye though. Nonetheless, best work from Bernice, so far!
There's also lots of sex. Lots and lots of sex.
Some parts need a keener copy-editor's eye though. Nonetheless, best work from Bernice, so far!
March 2, 2018
A very disappointing read. Skip many pages and give the book away. It reads like some half-porn, muddling novel, pretentious in a subtle way, superficial, trying to sound like a Western writer when making oriental observations. Bad presentation of key themes, wasting the reader's time and little substance. What solution or useful insight is the author offering. Very little. Does not click with me.
December 1, 2020
Honestly, it's more like 2.5, but let's say 3 mostly because I read it right after Cold East. If, however, I'd read this right after In the Dream House, it would've been a 2.
Having said that, I liked it, for the most part. I think it's overwritten, but it was fun indulging in the writing together with the writer. The novel is at its strongest when there was no plot. When it was just Del and Omar and their friends drinking, doing drugs, having sex, and complaining about Mahathir. It quickly went downhill as soon as the plot kicked in.
Still, I think Bernice Chauly did an incredible job of bringing to life a certain version of KL. And even though I don't personally know this KL that she's writing about, there's a specificity and a strong point of view to her writing that makes me believe that this KL does in fact truly exist.
The parts not covered by "the most part" are the parts where I find the main character's name a bit too pretentious (Delonix Regia?), the hagiography of E (MDMA is great, but Jesus fucking Christ!), and just how goddamn horny the book is.
Having said that, I liked it, for the most part. I think it's overwritten, but it was fun indulging in the writing together with the writer. The novel is at its strongest when there was no plot. When it was just Del and Omar and their friends drinking, doing drugs, having sex, and complaining about Mahathir. It quickly went downhill as soon as the plot kicked in.
Still, I think Bernice Chauly did an incredible job of bringing to life a certain version of KL. And even though I don't personally know this KL that she's writing about, there's a specificity and a strong point of view to her writing that makes me believe that this KL does in fact truly exist.
The parts not covered by "the most part" are the parts where I find the main character's name a bit too pretentious (Delonix Regia?), the hagiography of E (MDMA is great, but Jesus fucking Christ!), and just how goddamn horny the book is.
March 27, 2018
I had such mixed emotions when I read this book. On one hand, I was excited to read a book from a local author but I did find the book to be dark and somehow depressing. It is certainly gritty and Bernice dare to go where no local Malaysian author usually does!
Her book explored the world of drugs, sex, transgender, sexual assault/rape - which remains a taboo in Malaysia; Everyone knows it happens but people usually ignore it and don't talk about it.
Framed on the background of Anwar's arrest and subsequent early years of the new Millenium, we follow the journey of Del, who starts of as a young, passionate woman who believes in the Reformasi and subsequent journey to motherhood. When something horrible occurred, it essentially breaks her spirits. Bernice is certainly not shy in exploring depression, suicide, alcoholism, marital breakdown etc. that I think most people can relate to a degree.
Overall, I probably won't re-read this book until many years down the track but I was pleased that we have local authors who are now willing to tackle difficult and heavy subjects that are usually considered "forbidden" or "taboo" in Malaysian culture.
Her book explored the world of drugs, sex, transgender, sexual assault/rape - which remains a taboo in Malaysia; Everyone knows it happens but people usually ignore it and don't talk about it.
Framed on the background of Anwar's arrest and subsequent early years of the new Millenium, we follow the journey of Del, who starts of as a young, passionate woman who believes in the Reformasi and subsequent journey to motherhood. When something horrible occurred, it essentially breaks her spirits. Bernice is certainly not shy in exploring depression, suicide, alcoholism, marital breakdown etc. that I think most people can relate to a degree.
Overall, I probably won't re-read this book until many years down the track but I was pleased that we have local authors who are now willing to tackle difficult and heavy subjects that are usually considered "forbidden" or "taboo" in Malaysian culture.
January 2, 2018
I had high expectations on this novel, and I’m a little disappointed. It reads like a movie. Yes! There were good parts, but there were also ‘meh’ parts, and ‘no, that sounds off’ parts. I think Marina, the trans sex worker from Sabah, should be more complex and be developed more. She’s almost too ‘one-dimensional’ and I feel like there’s something wrong with her characterization. And after a while I got tired of reading ‘Del making love with Omar.’ Though at first it was sexy. I didn’t like that Omar appeared to be the hero that saved Del at the end because in the beginning Del was a strong, independent woman. Throughout the novel she gradually became weaker. But overall, I still enjoyed reading this book, and the story moved me. I had tears reading several parts. Also, this novel has shown me a new, deeper perspective on womanhood and motherhood. It makes me feel grateful and I appreciate my mother and women more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 19, 2017
Set at the end of the last century and start of this, an insight into the views and life of a middle class Malay woman politically involved in events over this period. Interesting for an outsider to understand more about the development of the country. Also, an interesting and involving story looking at the trafficking of babies, particularly young girls, in the country. There is an insight into 'ladyboy' prostitution though this aspect of the story seems a touch improbable to me.
September 24, 2017
Amazingly sexy and invigorating. Bernice has captured me from the very first page by introducing characters with such a zeal for life and lust for change. The book has multiple climaxes, which takes you on a realistic journey of love, pain, anger, and loneliness. A real page turner with a heartbreaking ending. This fast paced book is not for the faint hearted.
January 12, 2018
I found this book gripping. (Warning there's sex, drugs and violence content.) I have just been to Malaysia for the first time and it is set in Kuala Lumpur, so it gave me a deeper appreciation of the country, the city of KL, culture and politics. The main characters are interesting and complex and I kept reading wanting to know what happens to them. Powerful writing.
June 14, 2018
Powerful and cogent writing, somehow I read it like personal memoir-like anecdotes, rather than fiction. The storylines are memorable, dramatic, but strangely they did not engage me too much. Maybe I've been reading quite a number of thrillers lately. It's only my personal response. I look forward to better writings from the author.
February 27, 2019
I have very very mixed feelings. Firstly i think the whole thing was really draggy right until the end when it was super sped up. Second i don't know why most of the main characters had to be half white and super rich. But i like how political it is and how it exposes the underbelly of KL but it may have tried to do too much at once.
March 6, 2019
Amazing storyline! I could've finish reading it in a single night! Because of my busy schedule...it seems impossible for me to finish the book as fast as possible. Thanks to the eBook version, I could now finish it within two days! The link is here:-https://www.e-sentral.com/book/info/2...
December 6, 2019
This book took a minute to get off the ground, then it did. It became a coming of age story for the nation. However 2/3 of the way through the key drama hinted at the back cover happens and honestly it felt forced and from left field. Themes continued through but he drama of the book seems almost unnecessary.
December 1, 2022
I truly enjoyed learning about this period in Malaysian history, but other parts of the book were hard for me to read. For example, I struggled with the long and detailed descriptions of the bad decisions, self destructive behaviour, and excessive partying. I also thought the author took too long to get to the kidnapping and the events after it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
December 4, 2023No real plot, just a series of things that happened. A somewhat insufferable main character. As another reviewer has pointed out, this book and the characters in it are trying painfully hard to be edgy, shocking, and cool, but trying to be any of the above never works. I learned quite a bit about KL and Malaysia, though, which is why I picked this up!
February 4, 2018
Has some exciting scenes and dialogues, but not deep, and many superficial characters. A flawed novel.
February 26, 2018
Intriguing story lines, a bit dramatic and imitative of western fiction. Did not match my reading objectives. I prefer Flannery O'Connor, Denis Johnson and Raymond Carver. no hard feeling.
June 9, 2018
Imitative of Western journalistic style, content and thought patterns. It is an interesting read, but a number of part sounds cliched if we are familiar with western novels.
December 11, 2019
I was a little disappointed because it was a little too complex as to not knowing where did Bernice wanted to direct her readers since the issues were just too complicated. But I love the current issues that she voiced out, it did leave me in tears. The relationship of mother and child plays a significant depiction of a corrputed nation and its people.
The whole idea of this novel is 'Reformation'. It begins with Malaysians, fighting for the good of the nation but as time passes, people start to be more selfish and corrupted, desiring only money and fame as what Del emphasises that this is how Reformation has changed them. Well, generally the idea of humanity comes into place in the context of Reformation.
The whole idea of this novel is 'Reformation'. It begins with Malaysians, fighting for the good of the nation but as time passes, people start to be more selfish and corrupted, desiring only money and fame as what Del emphasises that this is how Reformation has changed them. Well, generally the idea of humanity comes into place in the context of Reformation.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews