Lonely Face

by Yeng Pway Ngon, Natascha Bruce (Translator)

Singapore, late 1980s. As women gain power and independence, what’s an insecure guy to do? Lonely Face is the story of a man on the cusp of middle age, left behind by changing times. Fleeing his crumbling marriage on an overnight bus to Genting Highlands, he tries his luck at slot machines rather than the vagaries of modern romance. This snapshot of a society in flux is a newly-translated early work by acclaimed novelist Yeng Pway Ngon, Cultural Medallion recipient and three-time winner of the Singapore Literature Prize.

Genres: Fiction

152 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

About the author

Yeng Pway Ngon 英培安—Chinese language poet, novelist, playwright and critic—is one of Singapore's most prolific authors, having published over 25 volumes of poetry, essays, fiction, plays and literary criticism. His work is noted for its examination of the modern human condition, and has been translated into English, Malay and Dutch. Yeng received the National Book Development Council of Singapore's Book Award in 1988, and the Singapore Literature Prize in 2004, 2008 and 2012. He was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 2003 for his contributions to literature in Singapore, and the SEA Write Award in 2013.

Reviews

[Nisha Menon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A treatise that deftly explores the tension between filial piety and individualism, nostalgically set in an 80s Singapore and Malaysia I fondly remember.

Hated the ruthless main character, as I suppose we are meant to. But like the mirror on the cover, perhaps he reflects all decisions we regret making, in pursuit of one or the other.

Still, I see this as a warning not to take the people in our lives for granted as we forage a path through those lives to our dreams.