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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.
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.
See all Editorial Reviews
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.
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.
See all Editorial Reviews
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Look Inside This Book
Citations
(learn more)
9
books
cite this book:
- Foreign Bodies by Hwee Hwee Tan on 6 pages
- Cosmopolitan Urbanism by J. Binnie on 6 pages
- Contested Modernities in Chinese Literature by Charles A. Laughlin on page 74, and