Cheryl Chung

A fascinating, multi-perspective glimpse of the modern day cosmopolitan city state that is Singapore.

The wide variety of voices and topics are showcased in essays that are divided into four sections:
*Histories, Large and Small
*Parents, Children and Other Families
*The Faces of Community
*Navigating Disruption

With 54 different narratives by 54 different authors, every new reader will, of course, find their own favourite essay.

Each narrative has its own merits and, despite the small printing font, the format of the book allows an easy reading pattern to develop. I chose to read the essays at random over a period of time, as this gave me the space and time to integrate each different perspective. I can only pick out a few of my favourites, listed below, although these are by no means the only essays I enjoyed:

From Histories, Large and Small Daylon Soh's "Community: The New Kampong" is a necessary reminder that a vibrant modern city needs to forge a new kind of kampong (village) spirit to thrive, and Hajar Ali's hilarious, imaginative "The Miseducation of Sir Stanford Raffles", which contains a few well-aimed barbs against the dark side of colonialism.

Overall, Parents, Children and Other Families was my favourite section, with both Pamela Chng's affectionate "Inheriting Stories of Past and Future" and Nikki Deiner's poignant "Home is Where Your People Are" connecting different generations through the passing on of experiential wisdom.

In The Faces of Community Kenneth and Adeline Thong's "Charity Reimagined" presented a thought-provoking view on charity (as an act of sharing, which amplifies relationships, versus donating, which magnifies neediness).

Finally, in Navigating Disruption both Sharon Pakir's emotional "Coming Home to Me" (especially the line "When we go through relentless trauma, we have to come home to ourselves in order to be whole again.") and Rain Khoo's searingly honest "A Different Marriage" resonated deeply with me.

Although both experiences described in these two very different stories of how to navigate life's often unexpected disruptions are not part of my life experience, that the narratives spoke to me on a deeper level is indicative of the value of each of the essays in The Birthday Book: Narratives Undiscovered and Underway. There is a proudly Singaporean flavour to the text and yet this collection of essays transcends the specific and reaches out to a global community.

Highly recommended.… (mais)