Telling it like what it is through the lens of a Singaporean on the ground. Famed for her Merlion, "Crazy Rich Asians", "Money No Enough", here is a lowdown on living in Singapore beyond the tinsel. Having lived through the carefree childhood of the late 1960s, the nation building of the 1970s, the economic miracle of the 1980s, the saturated successes of the 1990s, the remaking attempts of the 2000s and the spiralling costs in the last decade, this collection of a personal recount, an essay story and his mini-biography, depict the writer's journey into awareness of self and society. It is a trinity of conflict, control and clarity.
There are many levels of reading the book. Besides the light humour, the more insightful reader will recognise the satire woven into the stories. Greed is often disguised under false modesty. Rules are unquestionably followed even the reason for their being, has long disappeared. The book ends with "Budding into Being" where conflict and control fade into clarity. A new level of understanding and a rallying call for the Aspergers rise above the horizon. The three stories are knitted into a continuum round where the end justifies the beginning.
