Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Mammon Inc., September 10, 2006
I picked up Mammon Inc in a used bookshop in Paris and read it very quickly. I was on vacation, running out of books, and desperate.
Chiah Deng is an Oxford-educated Singaporean girl trying to figure out what to do with her life after college. She gets recruited by Mammon Inc., the largest corporate entity in the world. They want her to be an adapter and teach people how to adapt to different cultures. Before getting the job, she has to pass three difficult tests. She must infilterate an exclusive party, she must turn her sister into a wealthy English girl, and she must turn her flatmate Steve into a Singaporean.
Chiah Deng has never fit in anywhere, and the book deals with her trying to find a place in the world as well as get the job.
This book may have the best first line ever. Ever. The plot sounded interesting, but I bought the book based entirely on the first sentence.
The author's writing style is engaging and often very funny. A good writing style can save a mediocre book. It certainly helps this one, even if it doesn't actually save it.
There's some great banter between Chiah and Steve.
Hwee Hwee Tan tries to set Mammon Inc up as the serpent in the garden of Eden, but she doesn't quite succeed. For one thing, the people cautioning Chiah Deng against taking the job come off as selfish, superstitious, and naive.
Chiah Deng's mentor, Professor Ad-oy, wants her to work as his research assistant studying the Christian mystics. The job would require Chiah to take a second job just to cover her living expenses. One of his reasons for not taking the job is that Mammon's logo is the symbol of Satan.
Tock Seng, Chiah's ex-boyfriend, also tries to warn her against Mammon Inc. Tock Seng is a smuggler who travels the world, and he wants Chiah Deng to forget about Mammon and come with him.
Tock Seng is a bit of a problem. He's one of the more interesting characters, but he doesn't ever get fleshed out, and we don't understand why he and Chiah ended up as an item for six years. At the time the book takes place and in the flashbacks, he comes off as ridiculously idealistic.
At one point in the book, Chiah Deng has a vision of Jesus and decides to convert to Christianity. The religious theme just doesn't work, and is never resolved. I don't know Hwee Hwee Tan's religious beliefs -- she may have been using religion as a perfectly legitimate plot point -- but it comes off as a little preachy.
One of the small but annoying things about the book is that Hwee Hwee Tan cannot seem to keep track of her own story. There are small contradictions -- the number of pages in Generation Vexed magazine changes from 666 to three hundred and something -- and larger, more jarring ones. In the beginning of the chapter about Chiah Deng's break up with Tock Seng, she states that they broke up on the day of his birthday. At the end of the chapter, we find out that they actually broke up a week later.
There's a lot of hit-you-over-the-head symbolism with the names. There is actually a character named Draco Sidious. His secretary is called Sith. Subtle this is not.
The author is trying to show the differences between East and West, but the Singaporean characters in particular come off as over the top. I haven't spent much time in Singapore or London, but after poking around at other reviews by people who have, I can confidently state that Chiah Deng's family suffers from some nasty stereotyping.
Mammon Inc is a quickie read with good and bad points. if you have a high tolerance for didactism, you'll probably be able to enjoy it just fine.
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