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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Between two worlds..., March 17, 2000
This review is from: Foreign Bodies (Paperback)
Hwee Hwee Tan's stunning debut novel, Foreign Bodies, written at the age of 23, both surprised me and gave me food for thought. The story of nine tension-filled days in the lives of three Gen-X friends in Singapore enthralled me with its discussion of the challenges of living as an ex-patriate in a country that may or may not be welcoming, the clash of two vastly different cultures, and the author's effective use of three different narrators to tell the story. I expected the novel to be a comedy of cultural manners when I started it, but I soon realized that the work, while including those elements, transcended that. The title, Foreign Bodies, very cleverly points to the central theme of the novel--that life often presents us with tensions and paradoxes that we can't always resolve into nice, neat packages. As a hard of hearing woman whose life straddles both the hearing and deaf worlds, I can especially appreciate the meshing of two cultures that makes up Singapore. Much like the Singlish that Tan uses to good effect in her novel, I, at times, communicate using a sign language that is a patois of American Sign Language conventions in an English word order. I can understand the feeling of being part of two cultures, and yet feeling not completely a part of either one. I could also relate to Mei, the lawyer in the novel, in her struggles as a woman in a male-dominated culture and in her attempts to feel a part of her family, despite traumatic childhood events that have infected her like a foreign body. Despite the novel's obvious linguistic and stylistic aim at the Gen-X age group, it has a more universal appeal due to its discussions of sin, of keeping and breaking promises, and of moral and spiritual redemption that transcends all ages, races, and the genders. I can't wait for Ms. Tan's next novel! Highly recommended.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Bad Things happen to Good People., June 16, 1999
By A Customer
Enjoyed Foreign Bodies and found it well written, though I don't especially like the bright, breezy, slangy style that many young writers seem to affect these days. The book raises some interesting questions about justice and does a good job of presenting cultural and philosophical conflicts between East and West. My problem with the book is the Christian didacticism at the end which combines in an uncomfortable way with what must be called resignation, at best, and cynicism, at worst--i.e. we should be patient with the lack of justice and the complicity of authorities in subverting it because the faith of Mei and Andy will conquer all in the end. One might even say the book's conclusion is a variation on religion as "opiate of the people." Mei shows no real sign that she will exercise control of her life, and Andy will ultimately waste three years of his life seeing himself as another Job. While many "Bad Things Happen to Good People," many other bad things are avoidable, and some bad things are absolutely changeable.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Foreigners, Secrets, Guilt - Foreign Bodies in Singapore, July 2, 1999
By A Customer
A novel about religion, first and foremost, how it helps Andy, who goes from being a drifter, angst-ridden, and full of doubt, to someone who accepts fate, even in a Singaporean jail; about Mei, who learns to live with secrets through her religion, and about Eugene, their friend, who does not have this faith, and therefore, ultimately suffers. As an Overseas Chinese, I was amazed by the pervasiveness of the Old Culture - the Singaporean attitude to education and marriage is not just typical of Singapore - it can be found wherever there are older generation Chinese/Asians. Tan's book covers a lot of ground - anxieties faced by young people in search for themselves, the mother-daughter relationship, religion, Singapore and foreigners... It is an amazing book and the first written by a modern Asian that I have truly enjoyed.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Foreigners, Secrets, Guilt - Foreign Bodies in Singapore
A novel about religion, first and foremost, how it helps Andy, who goes from being a drifter, angst-ridden, and full of doubt, to someone who accepts fate, even in a Singaporean...
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Published on July 2, 1999
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