Lying Eyes

by A.K. Kulshreshth

In World War II Singapore (1942-1945), many people went through unimaginable suffering. Siew Chin was forced to become a “comfort woman” in a Japanese military brothel. Her husband Tiong was taken away to be massacred. Ah Ding collaborated with the Japanese occupiers. And yet, as is always the case with the moral complexities of war, Ah Ding was also a volunteer in the very guerrilla unit whose members he came to incriminate with his pointed finger, and it was he who pointed the way to give Siew Chin towards a new life.

Years later, Siew Chin encounters Ah Ding once again. Tortured by unwanted memories, Ah Ding recoils from this long-buried remnant of his past. Can Ah Ding finally make peace with his history, or will he succumb to the overwhelming guilt and shame that has plagued him for six decades? Lying Eyes gives voices to people caught up in the powerful currents of national events, silent characters whom history has largely passed over.

Genres: Asia, Historical Fiction

182 pages, Paperback

Published October 15, 2022

About the author

A.K. Kulshreshth's short stories are published in eight countries (in litmags including Asia Literary Review and Wasafiri).

He is a member of Cernunnos (www.cernunnosbooks.com), a fiction collective dedicated to taking lesser known voices across borders. Cernunnos partnered with a Hindi Litmag, Kathadesh , to run a short story contest in Hindi. The first volume of winning entries was translated and published in 2017. Cernunnos has published translations of a rare Hindi novella (Katora Bhar Khoon), the classic Chitralekha (published in Hindi in 1934), and the first ever translation of Vaishali Ki Nagarvadhu (Hindi, 1948-49, shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize (Translation), 2024).

His first novel manuscript, Lying Eyes, was longlisted for the Epigram Fiction Prize 2022. Published by Balestier Press, the novel was selected as an Editors' Choice by The Historical Novels Review.

Reviews

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something of a surprise and an informative treat.

I have only ever read before of the Japanese invasion of Singapore from a British perspective in books about surrender with harsh imprisonment and from TV series like Tenko.

I am indebted to the author and the publishers of this moving story for enlightening me about the lives of ordinary citizens who endured these war years.

The book through its characters shows us there is no glamour in war. Neither is there scope for an apologist response to justify a victor’s cruelty and indiscriminate killing and certainly little chance to forgive and forget.

What I like about such books is both the authentic voice and the scope to resonate with modern times and more recent conflicts and wars.

Lying eyes is clever title and questions what we observe and remember. What different circumstances and social mores bring to our interactions. How we can bury and wall up the past but within our dreams, clarity of vision brings to remembrance things we’d like to purge and forget.

The fluidity in the text around who these people are; what the necessity to survive allowed them to become, means we find conflicted attitudes to actions taken in life and death situations. How can we judge? Is survival justified at the expense of others? If people can’t forgive themselves how can we understand and embrace their humanity.

The special aspect of the writing is, apart from revenge some participants demonstrate, the author takes an even handed approach to these dark events. They are revealed in a gentle way; the horrors are not masked or shared to gratify. The writer explains and informs with dignity. The terrible actions are hard to read but are presented within the context of this well crafted story.

It is a very reflective piece that will change those who read it. as perhaps should all good literature.

[Louis Tong · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a librarian from the Girrawheen area of Perth, Australia asked me, if I could pick only one book from a Singapore based author for him to read, what would it be. I said I would highly recommend this book.

Fascinating historical fiction book. Story is about Ah Ding, a protagonist with a past that haunts him, and how he copes with the guilt. The novel also has a few other memorable characters: Lim Tiong, Siew Chin, Zhu Hua and Fusang.

I find the detailed observation of the action of a character dovetailed with internal thoughts very specific and realistic. Without using complicated sentence structures that may trip the tongue. For example:

[
Tiong looked ready to light up another of his Navy Cut cigarettes. His hand had wandered to his shirt pocket, lazily pulled out the packet, and he was about to knock it at the bottom to get one of them to pop out. I tapped him on the shoulder and wagged a finger. He rolled his eyes with exaggerated effect and patted the pack back into his pocket. I don't think we ever kissed in public. I was tempted to do it that one time. I imagined leaning forward, feeling his rough cheek on my lips, smelling his Old Spice aftershave.
]

I think this book is essential reading for all Singaporeans. It deals with the horrors of war, specifically the Japanese occupation in Singapore, and stays true to the history and place of the period.

[Bethany Cousins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lying Eyes is a harrowing look into the effects of World War Two on smaller countries often overlooked by history lessons. In Singapore, Ah Ding, Siew Chin and her husband, Tiong, were all young adults when the war changed them completely. The Japanese occupation brought an untold darkness into their lives, affecting each in a harsh and irreparable way, setting the paths of their lives away from and eventually back towards each other.

Three paths intertwined so closely; one plagued by guilt, one by shame, and one by hidden suffering. It is a beautiful and heartbreaking thing to watch the truth unfold itself in layers, until their story is completely known to the reader. This book was so well written. The characters are memorable and believable, and the scenery described is striking and exotic. I am grateful to have my eyes opened to the experiences of people like Siew Chin and Ah Ding.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy through a Goodreads giveaway - thank you!

I enjoyed the novel. I’m glad to have learned something about the history of Singapore during the Japanese occupation of World War II. The characters are sympathetic and the plot is well conceived. I did find a few errors such as when a character’s physical pain was being described in third person and then immediately there is a sentence written in first person and then the next sentence reverts back to third person. Disconcerting and distracting. There was also a bit too much repetition in, for instance, describing the tiny bumps in a woman’s aureoles. But on the whole, a fine and enlightening effort. The paths the main characters took which crossed with one another seem logical and even foreordained. Food for thought. I recommend this book.

[Linda Amos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Siew Chin is taken from her home and used as a comfort woman. Ah Ding remembers his collaboration with the Japanese. Lim Tiong is forced to kill others. Ah Ding now sells tissues at the bottom of the stairs in the shopping centre and sees a woman he remembers walking with in 1945. They walked to her village where her family rejected her.
What price is paid by survivors of a war where they do what they must to live? The mental imagery of what they have seen will never leave them and the physical effects cause other problems. Told from the viewpoint of Singaporeans at the end of the invasion in the Second World War, this is a harrowing and sparsely told story. It will stay with me for a long time.
Thank you to lovereading for a free copy kn e change for a review.

[Suzan Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atrocities are common during war. Thousands of Chinese people were killed by the Japanese military in Singapore in 1942 as WWII raged. The lives of a “comfort” woman, a Chinese collaborator, and a massacre survivor are portrayed in this novel. Success for some people can be measured in days and minutes of survival, living in meager settings, performing difficult work in unpleasant circumstances. These stories are not for the faint-hearted. Most of us in the Western world are unlikely to hear them.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of young people who lived in Singapore during the Japanese Invasion 1942-45. It is an impressive yet sad story. I knew a little about this time period but I just learned a lot more.
What I liked most was the characterization of the three main characters - I got a true sense of who they were and how different they were. The setting - whether it be 1942, 45 or 2005 - was written quite well. For a story that jumped timelines and characters, this was very easy follow.

[Samarium Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a decent read. A story revolving around a few people with a dark and troubled past. They move forward either by accepting the past or by hiding to escape possible execution. The paths of the main characters have crossed at some point or another. Some surprises as the story unfolds. It is set in the years of 1942 in war torn Singapore and spans into 2005.

[Polly Krize · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

World War II Singapore, many people went through so much suffering under the Japanese occupiers. An eye opening book for me, about this little known part of this world war. Ah Ding, Siew Chin and her husband, Tiong, are among the memorable characters in this well written historical novel.