The Movie That No One Saw

by May Seah

Finalist for the 2018 Epigram Books Fiction Prize

Adjonis Keh (the “d” is silent) is a successful actor who apparently has everything: looks, adoration, a shelf filled with acting awards, and all the vanilla yogurt he can eat (thanks to a hefty endorsement deal). He also has a dark secret: he can’t act. So far, he has managed to fool the world with a clever little trick—until the day he meets an inquisitive young journalist whose unexpected friendship causes him to question everything in his life.

Genres: Fiction

156 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2019

About the author

May Seah has spent the better part of the last decade as a culture reporter, and currently works as a senior digital lifestyle journalist with Channel NewsAsia. Highlights of her professional career include sitting in Sheldon’s spot on the Big Bang Theory set, training to be a K-pop star in Seoul, being asked by Chow Yun-fat for a selfie, and listening to Sir David Attenborough tell her about the reproductive habits of Algerian jirds. The Movie That No One Saw is her first novel and a finalist for the 2018 Epigram Books Fiction Prize.

Reviews

[Pearline · Rating 2 out of 5]

The back of the book warned me to read it on public transport, lest I burst out in fits of giggles. Nothing close to it happened. It was a fast read thankfully and easy to stomach, but not the most engaging read. Was there some form of magical realism implied in it? When the scent of durians wafted out and got carried through the screens of the viewers? I don't know- I felt the novel was confused and I was bored.

[Wei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly entertained! I want to write a novel too!

Some highlights:
The certainty of having no future had been unceremoniously ripped from him, and he now felt adrift. He genuinely did not know what to do with all this life that had been bestowed upon him.

But what people often didn’t realise was that it was more useful to have vague good looks than to have stunning good looks. Keh’s most bankable quality was that he had such an open face that anyone could project anything of themselves onto him. That was what got him cast in role after role, in spite of his hollow acting.

[Sadie-Jane Huff · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5☆

0.5☆ for the pretentious names.
1☆ cos it takes effort to write a book.

Honey, don't quit your day job...

[Melissa Cabbage · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not even sure if this was the original intention of the author, but this book is as confused as the protagonist. If this truly was the author's intention, then it could have been implied somewhere a little more clearer so I wouldn't be second-guessing the book.

The book started out well, and interesting enough for me to want to read more. The writing was pretty much easy to digest too, and worked well for light reading. Then BAM, here comes a very 'deep' & 'insightful' moment that should have made me see the whole book in a new light but instead, it made me go wtf.

And that was the primary flaw of this book. It wants to be 'deep' but the writing was too shallow. It wants to be romantic but it also wants to be platonic. It wants to be Singaporean, but the writing was too 'English' that the Singaporean phrases stuck out awkwardly.

This book had a lot of potential but it needed to be more certain of what it wants to be, instead of wanting to be everything and in the end nothing at all.

[Tan Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

She knew it was difficult to be conscious of our consciousness and still remain sane. And that to deny this and screen ourselves from the truth forever would be to do it ourselves the greatest disservice.

pg 126

An earlier scathing review was not as amused with the novel's humour devices (the durian ordour), and I do agree that the camp is overdone such that it veers into the realm of being lame at times.

Nevertheless, what made me decide to cut the author some slack, was the sincerity I could sense that she was trying to pen a amusing novel about the themes of identity, celebrity culture, creative process and its eventual enactment, told in a prose with meta elements set in an environment highly relatable to the Singaporean reader with a hearty dose of our unique humour.

This is the driving force that makes this 'movie that no one saw', come alive even before any audience came. I am glad to be one of the audience members.

[v · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down - this book is an interesting exploration of self-image and consciousness. craft could be better refined as there are definitely hints of tell not show present. also the more dramatic scenes have symbolic value but i'm not sure how exactly to interpret them. i wish the side characters were a little more fleshed out! but i still give this book a passing grade because of its unique theme. reminds me a bit of the 2021 eya essay prompt "we would not be ourselves if not for the interference of others"

also!! not the main focus of the book but a quote that leaves much food for thought about the human nature: "People needed things to polarise, he thought, just like how winners needed losers and good guys needed bad guys to exist."

[Angelina · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Singaporean novels written, dusting away usual narratives of maid-affairs, unrequited love and dysfunctional families. From a film producer to a reader, this is something I’d love to make for the big screen. An enjoyable read through and through, witty, compelling and smart. Whoever gave this two stars and below obviously cannot appreciate dark humour, especially in this perpetually burning metropolis!

[Mishael Florin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say that there are some books out there that you don’t want to waste your money on so you just try to power through them and see if it gets good. This was sadly one of them. I just felt that Adjonis could have been a much more dynamic character and it felt as if the book was declining in the form of entertainment.

[Ruby Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Later, he would come to understand better what she was trying to tell him: that greater even than the need to hear stories was the need to tell them, and that the need to tell was greater even than the need to be heard. Everyone else’s life was a parable and his was the truth; but why was it that one could never arrive at the truth except by proxy?’

[Joely · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fun and quirky. Did I understand it in its entirety? No. Did I laugh out loud and draw flares of disapproval from fellow commuters like the back cover stated? Also no. But it was a fun ride that leaves me wondering what identity really is, and perhaps there really isn’t an answer, and that, too, is ok. I was able to finish it in a day because it was light, quirky, and satirical.

[Jacky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read the synopsis and thought it sounded fun and promising.
The middle portion of the novel was a tad slow, bordering boring, but the ending saved it.
Bit of a bumpy ride and I didn't "laugh out loud" at any point but I do not dislike it. Commendable, imaginative.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

mildly entertaining. started sounding more contrived as the book progressed towards a circular end that made it reading the book feel like an exercise in futility. such a shame as there was potential for a richer, more engaging story

[Hkscoutress · Rating 1 out of 5]

It has some interesting perceptions, but quite a number of logical holes and quite wordy. Artless, juvenile and unpolished, third-rate output.

[NTUreaders · Rating 2 out of 5]

The overall storyline is engaging and quite catchy, but with logical inconsistency and a jerky, unstable voice and style.

[ammreads · Rating 1 out of 5]

Struggled through this book. Reads like a Murakami try-hard

[Leafartt · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5, rather average ,, not quite sure what the main point of it was, but was still an enjoyable read

[Apollos Michio · Rating 3 out of 5]

A farcical story about an actor who ‘can’t’ act that sadly feels contrived and lacks emotional depth. It would be nicer if the meaning behind the story was made clearer and if the writing was not so unnecessarily complicated. Even so, it is a local publication that I want to support.

[J · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think the synopsis was better written than the story itself – at least it got me excited.