Bitter Leaves

by Tabatha Stirling

Welcome to the black heart of Singapore’s maid culture, where a woman’s life is cheap in one of the richest countries in the world.

Here are the voices of the unheard, of maid and employer, of village girl and city dweller. Follow Lucilla, Ma’am Leslie, Shammi, and Madame Eunice as they strive, each in her own way, to exist in a country in which dark shadows lie beneath its pristine exterior.

The lives of these women are woven together by a narrative which is always candid and often brutal, as it explores the effects of loss, madness, abuse, and hope during a woman's life and in society as a whole.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

288 pages, Paperback

Published March 7, 2019

About the author

After a rather intense and emotional summer, I'm delighted to say that I've found a new publisher and will be bringing my next two books to you from Spring 2022.

Thank you to everybody who has been so kind, so understanding, so compassionate and so patient with me.

My next books will be dedicated to you all. You've turned a tsunami of pain into hope and clarity.

More book updates as soon as I can.

Tabby :)

Reviews

[Pheadra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Stirling (pardon the pun) book. It takes the reader on a journey to the outwardly glamorous but in many respects bitter island of Singapore. Told from the perspective of both ma’ams and maids, it gives an honest account of the struggles and strifes from a female perspective of both employer and employee and reveals the inadequate protection provided for immigrant labourers, intermingled with cultural beliefs and expectations.
In many respects, it is a look at the struggles of women, regardless of their station in life. Added to the difficulties the maids have to endure in their new surroundings, are the taboos and prejudices of both their own cultures and the regard of others whether Asian or Western. This includes xenophobia and class differences. This is the tale of many unheard voices who like the caged birds that are sold, don’t have anywhere to run even when their cages are opened. It matters not whether they are maid or employer, village or city girl.
You cannot complete this book and come away untouched. Alarming, sad and beautiful, the exquisite writing of Tabatha Stirling, had me reading and re-reading several descriptions and saving them for future reference. With a touch of everything, this informative tale will stay with you long after you’ve read the last sentence. This is a 5-star book for all the reasons one rates a book great but most importantly for having the courage to sweep bitter leaves often discarded or hidden, into the public domain. Be warned that this book may upset sensitive readers, but the truth can’t and should not be sugar-coated. Highly recommended.

[Jenna Islington]

Thank you to The Pigeonhole, Tabatha & Unbound for the ARC.

I can see Bitter Leaves being a divisive book. On the one hand, it is a courageous expose of human rights violations in Singapore, on the other, a damning indictment of women's suffering in a global context and it is at times very difficult to read. I don't think it is the author's intention to make the reader feel guilty but I did. And I wasn't comfortable with that either.

Much like white privilege - the proximation of suffering often makes conscious Westerners feel responsible & I think this must be doubly true for Westerners living in a society that refuses to address this suffering.

Some of the writing could have used a good edit - that was a tad annoying but much of the imagery was so exquisite that I found myself forgiving copyediting errors. Definitely, not a 'lively Summer read' but I think an important book that challenges expectations & beliefs and pushes the boundaries that keep us comfortable and ignorant. Recommended.

[Angelika Rust · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a rare treat, a subject you don't usually read about - modern day slavery in a country we'd perceive as above these things. Approached through the eyes of four very different women, it brutally details everything from abuse to social constraints, from shattered dreams and hopes to pure, unadulterated joy. A little too wishful in places, it sets out letting you wonder where it's supposed to lead, and finally makes you wish it hadn't ended.

[Gail Wylde · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a hard hitting tale of maids and their ma’ams in Singapore. We see all the ugly things happening behind closed doors of some of the ex pat community. The writing is superb, the characters are so real that your emotions go into overdrive when you read about them. This book will stay with me for a long time and I want everyone to read it.
Thank you to both Pigeonhole and Tabatha Sterling for allowing me to read this superb book, I may not have picked it up off the shelves without your help but I’m going to ensure friends and family read it.

[Kate Murdoch · Rating 5 out of 5]

The delicate power balance between maids and their employers in Singapore is just one aspect of this layered, moving novel. Bitter Leaves is a celebration of the strength of human spirit and the bonds that can form between people regardless of their differences. At the same time it condemns the inequality existing in a society where capitalism and power are the driving forces, and many at the bottom of the pile are shuffled around like chess pieces without autonomy or basic rights.

Seen through the varied perspectives of two maids and two employers, this novel is like a multifaceted prism examining why the maids are in this position and how different employers interact with them, based on their cultural backgrounds and temperaments.

Madame Eunice is often despicable in her attitude towards and treatment of her maids, and indeed her friends. She sees herself as a ‘tiger’ – someone who is at the pinnacle of Singaporean society and entitled to exercise this power. Many aspects of her personality are conditioned by her Chinese heritage and the prevailing attitudes towards those lower down the social hierarchy.

By contrast, Lesley is uncomfortable being in charge or being in Singapore at all. Her low self-esteem renders her unable to fight back when her husband demeans her, and equally unable to assert herself when it comes to her calculating maid. Her story is a poignant aspect of Bitter Leaves, as is the heartbreaking plight of Shammi, pushed to physical and emotional extremes by her sadistic employer.

Supported and loved by Ebony Ma’am, Lucilla is more empowered — this positive story arc was a necessary buffer against the darker aspects of the book. The light and shade are adeptly and sensitively handled.

Bitter Leaves is a powerful story, shining a light on an issue still prevalent in Singapore. It is beautifully written, visceral and confronting as well as deeply human in its portrayal of foibles and strengths. At its heart is hope for renewal and the sense that what connects us is stronger than what divides. Highly recommended.

[Fran Macilvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Bitter Leaves" is a fascinating account of the maid culture in Singapore that pulls no punches.

I am usually reluctant to engage with darker narratives, but from the beginning this story of four women held me and I was very impatient to know what would happen to them. Each character is so clearly drawn, their voices so distinct from each other, that at times I wonder how the author managed to keep each character separate from the others. Reading their stories, I feel as if I am awarded privileged access into their complex lives.

Occasionally, the voices bleed into each other, but it is remarkable how rarely that happens. I've waited many years to read this book, and it is certainly worth the wait. A book to cherish and re-read often.

Thank you, Tabatha.

Fran Macilvey, author, "Trapped: My Life with Cerebral Palsy"

[Tina Rath · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book very quickly. I wanted to know what happened to all the characters, from the girl desperately trying to please the employer who was slowly starving her, to the Tiger Mother tipping over into madness, dangerous, terrifying and pathetic, the English woman helpless under the domination of her mad husband, and the maid who had found an employer who treated her like a human being. Death - was a threat for most of them, and, for the maids perhaps worse - the threat that they would be sent home, disgraced, no longer able to earn money for their families. And even more disturbing was the awareness that the situation was real, this is happening today. This book takes the reader by the heart.

[Rachel Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Marjorie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

This is quite a troublesome book to review, in the back of your mind you know that there is doubtless a way you should view and approach the topics dealt with within the pages but then there is the enjoyment of the written word to be taken in to consideration too. This leads to quite an interesting personal dichotomy. However, as this is a work of fiction it does, in my opinion, have a duty to entertain so I am going to review based purely on that aspect and not the somewhat murkier waters that this book is intended to take you two.

Bitter Leaves is a tale of 4 women from one location in the Singaporean suburbs. Two maids (Lucilla and Shammi) and two madams (Eunice and Lesley). This is where my problems with the book began the maids - their voices fade in and out of almost pidgeon English to a sophisticated Western English which jars, initially, with the opening of each of their tales. Why not just give them a more sophisticated voice to express their individual lots in life instead of at first muddying the two together and then moving to the more sophisticated narrative? This, fortunately settles down after a couple of chapters from each maid's perspective and makes for an easier read as you are not jumping from style to style within one narrative. My second issue was that the Madams were treated with little sympathy in the book - particularly in Eunice's case she is described as an unremitting monster until relatively late in the book.

I also found the book quite disturbing, not because of the social commentary or of the massive divide between the have and have nots in a burgeoning society that clings to a hierarchy that is no longer really relevant in a world that is becoming increasingly homogenised. It was the emotional manipulation within the book that disturbed me. I am not unaware of the slave trade that flourishes throughout the world under a different name, I am not unaware that terrible atrocities are committed to people caught up in the system who have so few options open to them through extreme poverty that this is the only escape they can garner. Unfortunately the book seemed to be busily telling me about how horrible it all is and how desperately bad I should feel for these people who are being manipulated in this way; so busy tugging on the emotional responses for one group of people that a larger picture was ignored. In their own unique way every person in this book is irretrievably damaged by the world that they inhabit. Whether caused by Cultural bias ingrained in them from childhood, by misuse of them by others or simply by the choices they have made that have caused them to be transplanted to this strange cultural hot house.

All four tales are rather unremittingly bleak if I am being honest and you do not walk away feeling enlightened or enriched - you walk away feeling that you have contributed to the downfall of these women. Even Shammi's redemption feels fleeting and too little too late from her Ebony Ma'am.

THIS IS AN HONEST AND UNBIASED REVIEW OF A FREE COPY OF THE BOOK RECEIVED VIA THE PIGEONHOLE

[Linda Knowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intriguing book that examines the world of Madams and Maids in Singapore. I was interested at first because a friend living in Singapore talked about her ambivalence towards having a maid and the incidents she observed of employers being unfair to their maids. The idea of using the voices and points of view of the ma'ams and maids (some kind and helpful, others abusive exploitative) ws a good one, but as the book unfolded I found that the voices, especially when they became philosophical or reflected on history, began to lose their individuality. The story of Eunice, the harshest ma'am, then began to develop into a kind of horror story as her mental condition deteriorated. In the end, the person who could perhaps have been held to account for her treatment, not only of her staff but of her friends, became something beyond being judged and this rather weakened the impact of the book for me.

There is some fine writing here, but some of it is perhaps too fine for the voices it is meant to convey.

[Lel Budge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to get to read this on The Pigeonhole for free and this is my honest opinion.

MY REVIEW

This is a story of the lives of the wealthy and their maids in Singapore. There are different nationalities of the Ma’am’ s and the maids are mainly Filipina. There any similarities end, as the treatment some of these poor girls receive is at times brutal, cruel and violent, yet at others there is such kindness and love…it’s a rollercoaster of a read and your heart will be broken, but then gently put back together.

This is an amazing book, the writing was just so emotional and evocative I have been transported to Singapore. I loved the separate POV’s as it gave each character their own voice and personality. Tragic, sad, anger inducing and then hope and love, a book to touch your soul. This will stay with me for a long time and I’m going to have to read it again soon. Thank you Tabatha for an experience and Pigeonhole for the opportunity read such an original tale.

[Sue Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this thanks to Pigeonhole and enjoyed it overall. It was very interesting to learn about the differences between the ma’am’s and the maids in Singapore and also the differences in how the maids were treated. It was a little confusing switching from one to the other of the main characters and that is why I gave 4 stars rather than 5. A very well-written book. Thanks.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story, having lived abroad and employed “house girls”, as they were called, I have some idea of the life these women lead. Some expats were unkind with ridiculous expectations, but most were not.
The characters were vivid and the depiction of life in service was well told. Though I felt too much attention was given to Madame Eunice st the end.
I read this book on my pigeonhole app.

[Campbell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible book written by a literal nazi.

[Ewan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bitter Leaves gives a true insight into the melting pot that the Lion City has always been. Shammi is from Indonesia, Jocelyn is Chinese, and Lucilla is Filipina, and those are just the maids who figure in the story. The horror of "Maid Culture" is unflinchingly portrayed, Madame Eunice one of the employer narrators is a truly frightening creature/creation. However, some of the skill shown in this book is not least visible in the arousal of understanding - if not sympathy for even this character.

Tabatha's descriptions of the conditions endemic in Maid Culture are harrowing. It is no exaggeration that some of what goes on is no more than human trafficking and slavery. Other themes addressed are mental illness and what it means to be a woman today, where so much inequality persists the world over.

"Expat" life is well drawn and concurs with my own experiences whenever I have lived overseas. I particularly liked the portrayals of two minor characters from the Foreign Office, which the author also nailed firmly down on the page.

There are moments of joy and hope throughout the book and some beautiful descriptions of South East Asian childhoods.

I loved this book, and it took me barely two days to read. It is also a call to all of us to remember that slavery is not confined to the pages of historical novels, but is a fact of life, as I write this, from Singapore houses to Streatham nail bars.

Bitter Leaves will be available from all good bookstores and on-line retailers from March 2019.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tabatha Stirling holds nothing back in Bitter Leaves - a fascinating account of the maid culture in Singapore.

Told from the viewpoints of four very different characters (two maids and two Madams), this story incorporated a whole range of issues including physical, mental and emotional abuse, rape, human trafficking, and suicide, and laid bare some very real differences between Eastern and Western cultures. With its dark narrative, the story held my attention from the very beginning. The vivid characters were clearly distinguishable, their voices and personalities so distinct from one another with no confusion, so kudos is given to Tabatha Stirling for that. With the emotional and evocative writing, I felt as though I had landed in Singapore. This book was tragic, sad and anger-inducing as well as being full of hope and love, all in equal measures; it was certainly a soul-stirring tale. Would I recommend this roller-coaster of a read? Yes!

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Unbound via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book follows the lives of four very different women living in the Singapore suburb of Sabre Green sometime in the latter half of the 20th Century, two of whom are maids from other south east Asian countries and two are employers who have followed their husbands to Singapore as they build their careers. Each woman has her own voice and stories to tell with her own doubts and problems as well as her own joys and pleasures. Their stories tell not only of their own lives but also those of their friends and neighbours and of their societies as a whole, which places different values on different aspects of people in general and on women specifically. Stirling does not shy away from any aspects of these lives showing the cold brutality of life just as much as the warm joy it can hold. There are moments when you almost despise the characters, events and decisions made but then there are others that redeem those very same characters. This truly is a haunting book that fully embraces every aspect of the feminine side of humanity, a side that can be as ruthless as it is caring.

[Deborah Dare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review
What an interesting book, it’s about the maids in Singapore, and their employers. And how they are treated, the majority of the time not very nicely.

One poor girl, Shammi, was treated so appallingly, beaten and starved. And yet another, Joyce, turned the tables right round and treated her employer as badly.

For me there was a personal connection as my mother is from Singapore and I remember the Filipina maids looking after us when we visited family. This added to my praise for this book because it’s so true to life.

Although this was a fictional story, so much seemed as though it was factual, except for the pseudonym district, Sabre Green. I really hope that Shammi took over from Lucilla working for Ebony Ma’am.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The glossary at the end was a great help with the language translations.

A definite 5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thanks
Thank you to the author Tabitha Stirling and publishing website Unbound for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an independent review.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining, but at times very harrowing, peek into the maid culture in modern day Singapore. Told from the POV of four very different characters (two maids and two Madams), this book covers a whole range of issues including human trafficking, physical, mental and emotional abuse, rape and suicide, and lays bare some very real differences between Eastern and Western cultures.
Whilst overall it was entertaining, I found the constantly changing narratives to be a distraction from the purpose of the story; the POVs are all distinct and very individual, indeed, the characters only ever share the same scene once throughout the whole story, so the structure led to quite a lot of confusion. As a result of this, I do think the story would benefit from a reread, but reading each individual story separately.
This is not a book to delve into lightly, the content is dark and brutal, but it is worth a read.

[Jacqie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this book for review.

This is a look at the dark side of the workers who come from abroad to do housework and childcare for the affluent of Singapore. They may be from Bangladesh or the Philippines. They may have employers who treat them humanely or employers who treat them like slaves.

So, this book focuses more on the worst of the worst. I was a bit uncomfortable with the fact that the horrible employer was Chinese, and the book edged a bit toward racism and stereotyping Chinese Singaporeans.

The book really works at trying to develop the reader's empathy for the plight of these maids. It's not an easy read if you've been reading a lot of books with similar themes lately, which I was. I left the book in the middle. It's not badly written, if somewhat melodramatic, just a headspace I needed to get out of.

[Suellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea what to expect from this ARC when I read in the front matter how it was published: “Unbound website, authors share the ideas for the books they want to write directly with readers. If enough of you support the book by pledging for it in advance, we produce (it)”. I ended up loving this story about the abuses perpetrated by wealthy householders in Singapore against their maids. There was much depth and believability in these characters.

[Eliza Wyatt]

A great read because of the differing perspectives that take you
through each story, and introduces you to an unusual subject
in a challenging environment. I knew nothing about Singapore
until I read this book, and it made me angry and also amazed
at how similar this society is to many others I have known
in many other countries. Thank you for broadening my horizon.
Worth reading more than once.

[Andrew Tattersall · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like reading books about ASEAN countries as it helps me understand better the culture of the places I Iive and visit in the region. Whilst the lives of the maids and their bosses were interesting and I learnt something about the region, separating them out made it hard to follow who was who and which bit of story followed which so Isis not get as much from this as I might.

[Jess (svenghouly) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this book did not work for me. The pacing was a little off and the structure of the narrative was a bit confusing. I would have also preferred to read this book from an own-voices author, but I appreciate that Tabatha Stirling is trying to raise awareness for human trafficking and the inhumane treatment of international workers in the Singaporean maid culture.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so sad when it was over... I just wanted it to go on and on and on. Tabby is such a beautiful writer, it's like poetry but without the fuss. Extremely enjoyable. Can't wait for the next one now...

[margaret thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

How can the human race be so cruel

If you can say I loved this book for bringing me down a road of sadness slavery hope justice and joy. Can't wait to see more from this writer.

[Sheila Kramer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to read this book due the subject matter, but due to the authors writing style I found myself not being able to get into it. I think it may have been the long lyrical scentences that made it hard for me to get to the jist of the plot of the story.

[Trina · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not particularly enjoy Bitter leaves. The character development is strong, and particularly triggering. Usually, when a book does this I can read until the book moves on but it is the narrator that I found difficult to connect with. The language screams ESL in a way that made it hard to read.

[Erica Hough · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - Read on The Pigeohole app. Really captivating and emotional story. Couldn't put it down.

[Dave Holwill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look into a world I knew nothing about. Makes you wonder how much Margaret Atwood based the Handmaid's tale in reality.