Foreign Bodies (Paperback)

by Hwee Hwee Tan (Author) "'Are you a Singaporean citizen, over twenty-one, and a lawyer?' he said..." (more)
Key Phrases: expat kid, betting house, Uncle Cheong, Red Hill, Haw Par Villa (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Tan's lucid and wide-ranging first novel is a memorable portrait of disenchanted and feckless youth, a narrative that gains indelible resonance as the plot unfolds. Mei, a young Singaporean lawyer, is called upon to defend her British boyfriend, Andy, an English teacher who has been unjustly identified as the head of a gambling syndicate and may face a severe prison sentence. The only conclusive evidence found in Andy's apartment is a Filofax listing the names and phone numbers of the key operatives in the alleged syndicate. We discover, through Mei's narration, that Andy is a failed womanizer, and that their mutual friend Eugene, who comes to Singapore to protect Andy's innocence, is dangerously amoral. Mei shows a tough but caring attitude as she struggles to rectify the mistakes of both her boyfriend and her fiscally irresponsible mother?and to preserve her own ethics in a mercurial world. Andy, who alternately narrates, is intelligent but apathetic, enthusiastic but unfocused?a hapless lighting rod for the injustices awaiting him. Tan shifts tones expertly as she jumps back and forth between these two dominant voices. Eugene also narrates, contributing his own disturbing commentary to the trickle of revelations that soon indicate a host of secrets (foreign bodies) that each character hides. These rudderless figures pick up?and drop?various panaceas for their angst, including Christianity, Taoism and drug abuse. Their casually bandied references to such Western cultural icons as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Beavis and Butthead and George Michael give a rich texture to this multilayered work. Tan's worldly wise, dark humor animates every page, but she runs the risk of betraying characters' integrity, as when Andy complains that his imminent incarceration will keep him from his favorite video game. Are today's youth this out of whack? After Mei confronts a searing memory from her past, this seductive novel moves with furious grace to a transcendent conclusion.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal
This lively combination of mystery, youth culture, and spiritual awakening is wonderfully unique. Three friends from three distinct culturesAMei from Singapore, Andy from England, and Eugene from HollandAare caught in a corrupt justice system. Andy has been charged with masterminding an international soccer gambling ring. Arrested in Singapore, he calls Mei for help. She contacts Eugene, and together they try to prove Andy's innocence. They have nine days, and in that time they discover truths about themselves, learn how to evade the hypocrisy that surrounds them, and at the same time find personal codes to live by. The melding of the three cultures is crisply described in prose that is fast-paced and totally unpretentious. A completely absorbing first novel.AJanis Williams, Shaker Heights P.L., OH
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press; First Thus edition (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671041703
• ISBN-13: 978-0671041700
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,275,826 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Between two worlds..., March 17, 2000

By	Jill K. Porco "Jill, the reader" (Laurel, MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

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

This review is from: Foreign Bodies: A Novel (Hardcover)

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.

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

This review is from: Foreign Bodies: A Novel (Hardcover)

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.