Sequential Art

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye

  • Downloads：4742
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-09-21 06:57:21
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Sonny Liew
  • ISBN：1101870699
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye is a biography showcasing the life and work of Chan Hock Chye， a pioneering but largely forgotten comics artist in Singapore。 With a career spanning more than five decades， from pre-independent Singapore through its three Prime Ministers， Chan’s work reflects the changing political and economic environment in Singapore。

Containing Chan’s original illustrations， paintings and sketches， this is a groundbreaking work and labour of love aimed at recapturing the portrait of an artist， whose deep passion for comics and country is given a fitting tribute by award-winning comics artist Sonny Liew。

3 Eisner Awards 2017:
Best U。S。 Edition of International Material–Asia
Best Writer/Artist
Best Publication Design
Other Eisner Award 2017 Nominations:
Best Graphic Album–New
Best Coloring
Best Lettering
Winner of the Singapore Literature Prize 2016 for English Fiction
A New York Times bestseller
An Economist Book of the Year 2016
An NPR Graphic Novel Pick for 2016
A Washington Post Best Graphic Novel of 2016
A New York Post Best Books of 2016
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2016
A South China Morning Post Top 10 Asian books of 2016
An A。V。 Club Best Comics of 2016
A Comic Books Resources Top 100 Comics of 2016
A Mental Floss Most Interesting Graphic Novel of 2016
Winner of the Singapore Book Awards 2016 for Book of the Year and Best Book Cover Design

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Reviews

Nini Vilac ，

I’ve never read a book like this before and holy shit let me tell you: its like an all-in-one biography， memoir， non-fiction， political graphic novel。 The story is told from a very specific perspective of Charlie Chan， which I can appreciate so much。 This book was cray interesting to read。

Aliza Knox ，

I never read graphic novels - this is my second one ever - and I was resistant。 But it's an amazing book that sheds a different light on much of Singapore's history I never read graphic novels - this is my second one ever - and I was resistant。 But it's an amazing book that sheds a different light on much of Singapore's history 。。。more

Sam ，

Sonny Liew’s experimentation with the graphic novel medium is interesting but it overall lacked more plot than I would have liked。 Good read for history buffs though！

Samuel Chan ，

This made me proud to be Singaporean。A thoughtful， provocative questioning of the common narratives that make up 'Singapore'， anchored in the very human story of the （fictional） Charlie Chan。 The best work of Singaporean literature I have ever read。 This made me proud to be Singaporean。A thoughtful， provocative questioning of the common narratives that make up 'Singapore'， anchored in the very human story of the （fictional） Charlie Chan。 The best work of Singaporean literature I have ever read。 。。。more

Benoit ，

Such an amazing take on Singapore’s history， masterfully recounted。

Syed Emir ，

Great stuff。 Part-biography， part-anthology， part-graphic novel， part-comic; the Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye defies conventional literature and stands alone in its genre。 The book tells the story of modern Singapore through the eyes of a comic book artist dedicated to his craft。 It is of course an alternate， though fair historical account of the city-state - especially its politics。 For Malaysians， it all makes for very interesting reading considering the intertwining history of our now separa Great stuff。 Part-biography， part-anthology， part-graphic novel， part-comic; the Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye defies conventional literature and stands alone in its genre。 The book tells the story of modern Singapore through the eyes of a comic book artist dedicated to his craft。 It is of course an alternate， though fair historical account of the city-state - especially its politics。 For Malaysians， it all makes for very interesting reading considering the intertwining history of our now separate polities。 。。。more

Penny Yoke ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Wah sei。 I can’t believe this was written and drawn by a Singaporean， I didn’t know our education system and culture can produce this kind of genius :0 The concept and the delivery， the language， so polished and impeccable and on point。I was merely aiming to quickly skim the pictures and see what this award winning graphic novel was about， but I quickly got taken in by the dialogue and narration， and became really invested in every single detail。 There’s a lot of deep ideas and themes embedded i Wah sei。 I can’t believe this was written and drawn by a Singaporean， I didn’t know our education system and culture can produce this kind of genius :0 The concept and the delivery， the language， so polished and impeccable and on point。I was merely aiming to quickly skim the pictures and see what this award winning graphic novel was about， but I quickly got taken in by the dialogue and narration， and became really invested in every single detail。 There’s a lot of deep ideas and themes embedded inside， I’ll probably need another reread， even the footnotes are interesting and extremely legitimate。 I am so impressed。 Really need to buy this one。I like the concept of using the biography of a Singaporean comic writer as the main story， and then challenging the official Singapore narrative in the backdrop。 I must say I was astounded by the accusations and angst levelled against LKY and PAP， but I like how he presented everything， used metaphors and subtlety （ok maybe sometimes not so subtle）。 This way of storytelling is incredibly innovative， I didn’t think I can sit through a book describing an alternative version of the Singapore story。Even the （difficult） journey of the artist also made a deep impression on me。 I was quite touched by his passion for his comic drawing， even if nobody reads it and he’s not making money from it。 My heart broke a little when he decided to become a night shift security guard so he would have time to continue drawing， with full freedom， untainted by the demands of patronage。 And the part about his dad dying because he couldn’t afford to send him to Australia for the surgery， and he blames himself for not being a better son and a better man， oh boy。 But he revived and never gave up on his art。 And how ultimately he never became recognised and successful， without much achievements， but he still refuses to give up。Idk so inspiring and so heartbreaking at the same time。 Is life always a struggle between hope and the harsh reality？P。S。 favourite sections The first two pages with LKY and LCS - 一山不容二虎The Invasion series， portraying Brits in Megamind styleThe Singapore story exhibition in the National MuseumDays of August， I liked the time travelling back and realising they would do the same things all over again 。。。more

Abhyuday ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I unhesitatingly give it a full five stars， not only because of its entertainment value but also because of its sheer cleverness and agility in depicting a history in a way transcending standard allegory。 The nesting of tales within tales within tales， within the larger tale of Sonny narrating the more unheard of goings-on of Singapore makes it a far more effective political commentary than I imagined it being。Perhaps it is this brilliance which led to the NAC withdrawing the funding provided to I unhesitatingly give it a full five stars， not only because of its entertainment value but also because of its sheer cleverness and agility in depicting a history in a way transcending standard allegory。 The nesting of tales within tales within tales， within the larger tale of Sonny narrating the more unheard of goings-on of Singapore makes it a far more effective political commentary than I imagined it being。Perhaps it is this brilliance which led to the NAC withdrawing the funding provided to Epigram for this book。 Perhaps it is less about what the content is， and more about how it is。 This is one of those books which you'd feel empty without owning， which is current the lurking feeling developing as I set this down for good， for now。 。。。more

Kyu Lee ，

This book is AMAZING。 Sonny Liew details the modern history of Singapore through the art and lens of a fictional comic artist named Charlie Chan Hock Chye （who I thought was real until 75% of the way through the book。。。）。 The book is packed with so much detail and information on every single page that you can't help but awe at the amount of research， time， and care Sonny Liew put in。 Not only does the book cover both the major as well as day-to-day events/people of Singaporean history， the comic This book is AMAZING。 Sonny Liew details the modern history of Singapore through the art and lens of a fictional comic artist named Charlie Chan Hock Chye （who I thought was real until 75% of the way through the book。。。）。 The book is packed with so much detail and information on every single page that you can't help but awe at the amount of research， time， and care Sonny Liew put in。 Not only does the book cover both the major as well as day-to-day events/people of Singaporean history， the comics that showcase them are drawn correspondingly to the popular art styles of the time。 The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye is a masterpiece and anyone who is interested in learning more about Singapore and Malaysia should read this book。 It's just - I love it， it's phenomenal。 。。。more

Ayan Tarafder ，

পাঁচ তারার উপর কিছু দেওয়া যাচ্ছিলো না তাই পাঁচ

Jacobluvspkcdbnanopm ，

A funny。 Cool。 Interesting take on both Charlie’s life and Singapore’s History。As someone who lived through lots of the elections， political happenings， historical moments etc。 we get to see insider opinions， and facts that you probably wouldn’t get anywhere else。 And on top of the immaculately written， interesting writing of Charlie and Sonny， they have presented it in a way that makes it both fun to read and visually pleasing。Even though I know lots of people who might not like this book - not A funny。 Cool。 Interesting take on both Charlie’s life and Singapore’s History。As someone who lived through lots of the elections， political happenings， historical moments etc。 we get to see insider opinions， and facts that you probably wouldn’t get anywhere else。 And on top of the immaculately written， interesting writing of Charlie and Sonny， they have presented it in a way that makes it both fun to read and visually pleasing。Even though I know lots of people who might not like this book - not because of politics， just cause - but I really loved it and I hope you’ll give it a go。 （I got the 5th anniversary edition so I have bragging rights for best cover😏😎） 。。。more

Sabrina ，

Reading the World Challenge - book 38 - Singapore 🇸🇬

rui ♡³ ，

i’m not going to review this because of safety concerns， but i’m stunned at how much i simultaneously know yet don’t know about singaporean history。

Liraina ，

Not going to go into detail because safety， but honestly？ I learned more about Singapore's history from this book （fictional， but rooted in history and truth） than I did in all of my history lessons in school。The choice to use "connect-the-dots" to portray our memories that cannot be found again was SO GOOD I'm screamingThe foreshadowing with Chan's father was *chef's kiss* and it made me so sad I love it so muchSonny Liew TEACH ME YOUR WAYS Not going to go into detail because safety， but honestly？ I learned more about Singapore's history from this book （fictional， but rooted in history and truth） than I did in all of my history lessons in school。The choice to use "connect-the-dots" to portray our memories that cannot be found again was SO GOOD I'm screamingThe foreshadowing with Chan's father was *chef's kiss* and it made me so sad I love it so muchSonny Liew TEACH ME YOUR WAYS 。。。more

Burton Olivier ，

Really good stuff。 It really had me believing that Chye was a real person。

lilo ，

it’s just a masterpiece ！！！ the art， the story， i love it so much :，） it blurs the line between fiction and reality so beautifully

Ben ，

There’s so much in here: comedy， satire， history， historiography， narrative， meta fiction， layout and form， style， line work， coloring… Cheers to Charlie Chan！

John Tan ，

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye is a book that guides you through Singapore's historical beginnings。 It is a graphic novel about comics， made by Singaporean cartoonist Sonny Liew， who has created a fictional cartoonist （and his comics） as a means for telling Singapore's history with profound transparency。It sounds complicated， so it is best described by his own words， "as a real history of Singapore told through the lens of a fictionalized biography of an artist named Charlie Chan Hock Chye。" The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye is a book that guides you through Singapore's historical beginnings。 It is a graphic novel about comics， made by Singaporean cartoonist Sonny Liew， who has created a fictional cartoonist （and his comics） as a means for telling Singapore's history with profound transparency。It sounds complicated， so it is best described by his own words， "as a real history of Singapore told through the lens of a fictionalized biography of an artist named Charlie Chan Hock Chye。" Charlie Chan creates comics that touch on the changing social and political landscape of Singapore as it struggles towards and through a turbulent and uneasy independence。 His story also explores the possible challenges that an early Singaporean cartoonist would face， in an unforgiving market that sought for popular trends and neglected a different take。I actually read the entire book thinking that Chan was a real person。 It was only after I talked to my friend that he told me， "you mean Charlie Chan the character right？ He's not real。" And this credit goes to the intricate detail that Liew puts into presenting his comics and art pieces in an authentic way。 Every piece is labelled with precise detail: date of creation， publisher， backstory etc。 Reading the book captures the feeling of viewing exhibits at a museum。 Siew interweaves the pieces excellently with real historical events， and the deep research convinced me that Chan was telling me his version of Singapore as he saw it。Non-fiction is a genre I struggle with。 If the book is not engaging， the facts slip through my mind and I'm left with a weak and uninspired impression。 But it's books like these that reignite my enthusiasm for the genre。 The history of Singapore is not just a set of events that are to be remembered， but a real life filled with strife that people lived through。 Underhanded and Machiavellian tactics were used， and people were greatly wronged in the process to get where we are today。The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye pushes the boundaries of what non-fiction and comics can be。 It is a hidden gem that I wish every Singaporean would read。 。。。more

Pablo Gaona Olivares ，

Actually a 4。5 it was marvellous， almost couldn't put it down all the time。The only small problem y found is that at times the history lessonsx conoletly eat the Charlie life's parts， i mean i loved the history lesson it was very well explained for a foreigner， but still would like to have a bit more Charlie at some points。 Actually a 4。5 it was marvellous， almost couldn't put it down all the time。The only small problem y found is that at times the history lessonsx conoletly eat the Charlie life's parts， i mean i loved the history lesson it was very well explained for a foreigner， but still would like to have a bit more Charlie at some points。 。。。more

Shauna ，

4。5 how is history written？ how do we go about deciding what is the truth？really delightful illustrations - evoked nostalgia presents an alternative singapore histor。 prods the reader to look at official narratives with a more critical eye。 that's the power of fiction -- it lets you explore the what ifs。 4。5 how is history written？ how do we go about deciding what is the truth？really delightful illustrations - evoked nostalgia presents an alternative singapore histor。 prods the reader to look at official narratives with a more critical eye。 that's the power of fiction -- it lets you explore the what ifs。 。。。more

Rasmus Tillander ，

Sarjakuvataidetta isolla T:llä。 Heti ensin on sanottava， että Sonny Liew on häkellyttävän lahjakas。 Tässä kokoelmassa on iskevä narraatio， upea kuvitus， todella oivaltavaa tyylikikkailua ja kaiken lisäksi kyseessä on erinomainen tietokirja。 Eipä sitä voi sarjakuvalta juuri enempää vaatia。 The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye esittelee nimensä mukaisesti Charlie Chan Hock Chyen sarjakuvataidetta。 Charlie on seitsemänkymppinen unohdettu singaporelais-suuruus ja tietenkin täysin fiktiivinen。 Liew on s Sarjakuvataidetta isolla T:llä。 Heti ensin on sanottava， että Sonny Liew on häkellyttävän lahjakas。 Tässä kokoelmassa on iskevä narraatio， upea kuvitus， todella oivaltavaa tyylikikkailua ja kaiken lisäksi kyseessä on erinomainen tietokirja。 Eipä sitä voi sarjakuvalta juuri enempää vaatia。 The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye esittelee nimensä mukaisesti Charlie Chan Hock Chyen sarjakuvataidetta。 Charlie on seitsemänkymppinen unohdettu singaporelais-suuruus ja tietenkin täysin fiktiivinen。 Liew on siis ikään kuin "koonnut" Charlien keskeisiä sarjakuvia ja piirroksia taidekirjaan ja Liewin itsensä hahmo on vain kommentaattori。 Charlien itsensä tarinana taiteilijana on vetävä kasvutarina， mutta kirjan oikea pihvi on siinä， että se kertoo Charlien sarjakuvien läpi Singaporen poliittisen historian 1940-luvulta nykypäivän tienoille。 Singaporen modernia historiaa pidetään satumaisena menetystarinana， mutta näiden sarjakuvien avulla Liew kertoo minkälaista sortoa on piilossa kiiltävien pilvenpiirtäjien varjossa: Postkoloniaalista kirjallisuutta parhaimmillaan。 Olin siis niin inessä Singaporen historiassa， että luin jopa kaikki loppuviitteet， tiristin viimeisenkin pisaran Liewin nerokkuudesta。 Aivan briljantti， lukekaa tämä。 。。。more

Czarina ，

Never going to shut up about this book。 The exploration of complex social and political events in Singaporean history was extremely profound in this story， especially with the use of allegories and alternate histories。

Shah Nair ，

For want of alternative narratives to MSM's own。 For want of alternative narratives to MSM's own。 。。。more

Fooie ，

Did you know that the 'si' in Malaysia came from Singapore？*And so begins this brilliant multi-meta layered narrative through the eyes of a comics artist chronicling ~50 years of Singapore's political history as well as his life， via various comic art styles - many of which have familiar popular influences （Sang Kancil was such a nostalgic throwback， and I LOL-ed at the local take on Scrooge McDuck）。 It is an intelligently nuanced satire on the price of Singapore's growth， while also painting th Did you know that the 'si' in Malaysia came from Singapore？*And so begins this brilliant multi-meta layered narrative through the eyes of a comics artist chronicling ~50 years of Singapore's political history as well as his life， via various comic art styles - many of which have familiar popular influences （Sang Kancil was such a nostalgic throwback， and I LOL-ed at the local take on Scrooge McDuck）。 It is an intelligently nuanced satire on the price of Singapore's growth， while also painting the heartfelt struggles of an artist trying to make a living and find his place in a small city state that has little room for dissenting opinions。 Fiction even meets real life here when the Singapore National Arts Council whom initially provided an $8，000 grant decided to withdraw after this book was published。 This is one of those titles I will cherish on my shelf and never let go， a slice of history that will stand the test of time。 It winning 3 Eisner awards in 2017 （the equivalent of Oscars in the comics industry）， as well as multiple book of the year awards and lists （Singapore Literature Prize， Singapore Book Award， Economist， NPR， and more） was very well deserved。 *I'll be a pedant and clarify that 'sia' also included Sabah and Sarawak。 In latin/greek， -ia is a suffix commonly used to denote abstract nouns， in this case for countries - 'land/place of' which is why many romanized country names ends with that。 。。。more

Rae ，

The range of art styles and the historical perspective was amazing！ It was very interesting to see the history of Singapore through a comic book lense。

Chan Wing Tin ，

ICONICMUST READ！

Katie Tu ，

Masterful， ingenious。 A masterpiece for the ages。 I was swept up in this retelling of Singapore’s recent history- a must read to compare with the official narrative and ponder over state media / narrative / role of free speech in democracies

LuckyBao ，

Liew manages to bring his character to life with art that transcends time。

Tessa ，

What an interesting， creative， and meta way to tell the fictional story of Charlie Chan against the backdrop of Singapore's history and political scene。 Even though I don't usually read comics and have little knowledge of Singaporean history， I found the work very impressive， intricate， and well-thought-out。 Also a bit embarrassing to admit， but I didn't realize it was a fictional story until after finishing it， which is really a testament to how real and authentic Liew made the character。 What an interesting， creative， and meta way to tell the fictional story of Charlie Chan against the backdrop of Singapore's history and political scene。 Even though I don't usually read comics and have little knowledge of Singaporean history， I found the work very impressive， intricate， and well-thought-out。 Also a bit embarrassing to admit， but I didn't realize it was a fictional story until after finishing it， which is really a testament to how real and authentic Liew made the character。 。。。more

xin jie ，

i liked how the author explained Chan’s political views; it was done in a very perceptive and succinct way， though the highlight was really Chan’s comics themselves， most of which were commentaries about real life political events。 The illustrations themselves were obviously really good， but even the plot and dialogue contained a certain degree of linguistic depth and humour。 Chan’s view about the historical events and the political measures adopted by PAP were incisive and more or less critical i liked how the author explained Chan’s political views; it was done in a very perceptive and succinct way， though the highlight was really Chan’s comics themselves， most of which were commentaries about real life political events。 The illustrations themselves were obviously really good， but even the plot and dialogue contained a certain degree of linguistic depth and humour。 Chan’s view about the historical events and the political measures adopted by PAP were incisive and more or less critical， which opened my eyes to the less rosy side of the SG narrative and made me better understand why our culture is the way it is today。 but my fav part of the whole book， which filled me with much reverence and admiration as i closed it， was really not the history， but how the heroes in the book， including Chan himself， pursued their dreams to the end even without due recognition or any sort of material comfort to be guaranteed。 He never really got the praise or pay he deserved， but he continued making his art and the simplicity of that joy really moved me。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0