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)
Anvi Doshi holds nothing back in this portrait of warped motherhood, of two women entrenched in despising one another, yet so inextricable that they sometimes slip into, even usurp each other's places.
Olivia Ho, The Straits Times
Sittenfield is a very smart writer, deftly drawing out realms of possibility and conflict in all of fictional Hillary's identities—woman, white, smart, single, lonely, political...
Jemimah Wei (@jemmawei)
Interior Chinatown is humorous. It is dark and sad sometimes, but it is also hopeful. It is definitely my new favorite and it truly deserves a 5/5 star rating!
Khai Jian (@khaijian)
This book serves not only as an exhilarating piece of espionage non-fiction, but also an insightful historical critique of anti-Semitism and the Jewish state.
Shaun Loh, Raffles Reads
The prose is written so beautifully it's like going on a self discovering journey together with her (Giovanna).
Elvina (@elvinareads)