Such a premise would be delightful in itself. That it belongs to the last complete novel left behind by spy fiction grandmaster John le Carre, who died last year [2020] aged 89, is nothing short of a wonder.
Olivia Ho, The Straits Times
For a novel about the death penalty, The Fortune Men is a book that brims with life and colour. ... As the book winds down to its inevitable conclusion, the reader is forced to ask what has changed since Mahmood's unjust death and what forces still remain to be challenged in the new millennium.
Ong Sor Fern, The Straits Times
For all its richness, however, the true strength of Arudpragasam's prose is its restraint. While a book of such ambition could easily balloon in length and lose focus, he is able to weave each seemingly meandering tangent back into a cohesive whole.
Ng Wei Kai, The Straits Times
Lockwood, who is herself something of a Twitter luminary, captures with a wry poetry the absurd chaos of online existence, especially against the backdrop of a real world on the verge of collapse. ... The way this novel transforms its substance from superficial to subliminal is stunning. Don't scroll past this one.
Olivia Ho, The Straits Times
Dual narratives like this often sink. Great Circle is a rare instance of near-perfect balance. Marian's story is so fascinating it could easily have overwhelmed the novel, but Shipstead modulates it adroitly. Hadley, self-absorbed and self-destructive, could have been annoying, but is given sass and a surprising depth.
Olivia Ho, The Straits Times
This is a novel of profound interiority, all the more remarkable for being crafted mostly out of detached exteriority. In the rare instance when it enters a character's mind, the effect is marvellous.
Olivia Ho, The Straits Times
Dreamy and atmospheric, it is so evocatively drawn that one can almost hear the waves, feel the sand and taste the ocean. ... The novel is, at its heart, a touching exploration of what it means to be a parent and, more importantly, what it means to love.
Jan Lee, The Straits Times
If there is one thing Shafak unfailingly excels at, it is scene-setting. Her portrait of Cyprus seems to spring off the page in all its fresh beauty.
Olivia Ho, The Straits Times
At once intuitive and analytical, Cusk masterfully anchors her uncompromising interrogation of self, art, freedom and gender in her lively signature prose and the honesty of her characters.
Lydia Vasko, The Straits Times
I visited North Korea for a work trip in 2018 and found myself recognising the landmarks and agreeing with some of Shin's observations...
Walter Sim, The Straits Times
But the book's insights are eye-opening, throwing light for the first time on flaws in human judgment that are often invisible.
Vikram Khanna, The Straits Times
This madcap concoction tops debacle with debacle to hysterical effect... It has all the frothiness of Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asians (2013), but is told not from the perspective of the billionaire elite but the vendors who get things done for them.
Olivia Ho, The Straits Times
Lahiri weaves her words seamlessly, so much is said with such few words. The vivid descriptions, the sharp observations, the portrayal of solitude is done with such grace and gentleness.
Aishah (@aishah.reads)
The prose has a way of moving like freestyle jazz, slipping, catching, wheeling off again.
Olivia Ho, The Straits Times
Nobel Laureate Kazuo Ishiguro's novel is, on one level, a simple story about a robot, a girl and the sun. Yet it is constructed so precisely and so artlessly that its simplicity is profoundly moving.
Olivia Ho, The Straits Times
It's a story filled with family goodness that’ll warm your heart.
Afi (@whatafireads)
This Book Will Change Your Mind About Mental Health is a fresh, insightful exploration into the tumultuous world of psychiatry and mental health.
Ng Ziqin, Raffles Reads
Divorce, despair and longing rear their heads in A Bright Ray Of Darkness, a story of a film actor making his Broadway debut as his marriage collapses. It is funny, witty and deeply human.
Toh Wen Li, The Straits Times
Obama's memoir is a work of beauty and rare honesty.
Ravi Velloor, The Straits Times
Mother and daughter relations gone sour can often seem like a tired trope, but it is handled so deftly and precisely here.
Jemimah Wei (@jemmawei)