Sembawang: A Novel

Sembawang: A Novel

  • Downloads：9729
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-29 07:54:05
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Anitha Devi Pillai
  • ISBN：9814893285
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

A historical fiction novel set in Singapore in the 1960s spanning a period of five decades。

Sembawang is home away from home for a tightly-knit community of bachelors and families who work at Her Majesty’s Naval Base。

Behind closed doors， a matriarch controls her daughters-in-law’s movements。 A bachelor from Kerala pines by his window for his forbidden lover。 A maid from a rubber estate across the border aches to hold her young son once more。 An inter-racial love between a conservative Tamil woman and a worldly Chinese man wreaks havoc in the life of an innocent bystander。

The idyllic village life is shaken when two midwives are viciously attacked at the maternity clinic， and again when one of their own beloved residents meets with an unnatural death。 As catastrophes strike， the village comes together as one。

A dramatic sweeping saga of Sembawang families across five decades。

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Reviews

Sandeep Krishna ，

The journey between right and wrong and how your emotions fluctuates with each event。 Loved the book。

Sangeeta ，

This is an AMAZING novel！ Love the storyline 😊👍🏽

Fazzyla ，

I have written my review bites at Instagram @kopi。o_writings: https://www。instagram。com/kopi。o_writ。。。 Hope to consolidate my review in full here after my crunch time in school！ Happy reading the quick thoughts for now :） I have written my review bites at Instagram @kopi。o_writings: https://www。instagram。com/kopi。o_writ。。。 Hope to consolidate my review in full here after my crunch time in school！ Happy reading the quick thoughts for now :） 。。。more

Mohamed Nazirudeen ，

My takeaways from this brilliant book？The good ol’ days had some bad ol’ times。You have to accept the past as it is， warts and all and not just indulge in nostalgic views through rose -tinted glasses。 You don’t get to pick and choose the past。Yes， they were simple times。 But simpler times often came at the expense of convenience， health care and even the right of some people to be treated as people。Overbearing and cold mothers-in-law， the rumour-mongering， the thieving， the dishonest， the lustfu My takeaways from this brilliant book？The good ol’ days had some bad ol’ times。You have to accept the past as it is， warts and all and not just indulge in nostalgic views through rose -tinted glasses。 You don’t get to pick and choose the past。Yes， they were simple times。 But simpler times often came at the expense of convenience， health care and even the right of some people to be treated as people。Overbearing and cold mothers-in-law， the rumour-mongering， the thieving， the dishonest， the lustful， the drunken wife-beaters， all existed amongst the good-natured people and people who believed in the communal spirit。 And even among these good-natured people， there were deep seated cultural prejudices。Think of a Tamil tv drama series without all the notorious air-time filling fluff but with well-developed and complex characters and relationshipsSembawang is a time-travelling experience。 Rich historical details of Singapore and Malaysia flesh out and give context to the environment the characters operate in。 The historical exactitude of the environment and the day to day life of its characters make this one of the select few local books worth your time。 。。。more

Debasree Diya ，

Sembawang is a novel which enthralls and engages the reader from the start to the end。 The narrative is analogous to a time-machine which draws us in and transports back to the lost pages of a quiet history。 A history of men， women and children， rescued from the margins of time， and placed under a sensitive literary microscope。 What's most compelling about Sembawang is how beautifully it shows us that history does not comprise of cold facts trapped in the pages of text-books。 Every person contri Sembawang is a novel which enthralls and engages the reader from the start to the end。 The narrative is analogous to a time-machine which draws us in and transports back to the lost pages of a quiet history。 A history of men， women and children， rescued from the margins of time， and placed under a sensitive literary microscope。 What's most compelling about Sembawang is how beautifully it shows us that history does not comprise of cold facts trapped in the pages of text-books。 Every person contributes to its writing， and the characters live and breathe into this literary landscape。 Kamaladevi Aravindan's strong writing and Anitha Devi Pillai's wonderful translation shows us how personal stories defy time and the limits of language， as they dissolve into the reader's consciousness。 With excellent characterization， a layered plot， a nuanced way of approaching the past and vividly lucid imagery， this has to be one of the best books I have read， and will always find pride of place in my heart。 。。。more

Mercy ，

Sembawang was a time machine into 1960s Singapore。 The cast of characters were authentic， down-to-earth and relatable。 A strength of this novel was in its drive to foreground and present the lives， thoughts and feelings of the everyday person who lived at that time。 There was no grand personage or narrative in this book - each individual character was fleshed out and stood out for the reader。 The author expertly weaved the life histories， thoughts and feelings of characters without overwhelm。 I Sembawang was a time machine into 1960s Singapore。 The cast of characters were authentic， down-to-earth and relatable。 A strength of this novel was in its drive to foreground and present the lives， thoughts and feelings of the everyday person who lived at that time。 There was no grand personage or narrative in this book - each individual character was fleshed out and stood out for the reader。 The author expertly weaved the life histories， thoughts and feelings of characters without overwhelm。 I enjoyed the fact that women were foregrounded and these women were not ashamed to speak their minds and take action， no matter what。 They did not stand in corners， wringing their saree ends and rail at their fates and husbands or lovers。 Instead， they grabbed at any opportunity to become who they thought they needed to be。 It is not to say that such decisions did not have consequences but these women faced these head-on。 I felt that the author expertly presented the interior lives of her characters， men and women alike and in doing so was able to draw on the context of that time- the culture， politics and economics of a new era that was emerging in the roaring 60s。 I only wished that there was more description of the spaces of that time。 I grew up in 1970s Singapore in Sembawang - I wished to experience more of what was just before i grew up。 Overall， I enjoyed the book。 Kudos to the author and translator。 Tamil is not an easy language to translate - its nuances are complex and its tempering spicy。 Such words do not translate easily into English。 Yet， I felt the translator， Anitha Devi Pillai expertly made the characters speak most eloquently in another tongue。 Congratulations。 I am looking forward to the next book。 。。。more

Shoba ，

A rare peek into the surprising lives of ordinary people， set in a place in Singapore not many talk about。 Sembawang: A Novel is strangely familiar in more ways than one for me。

Gopalkrishna ，

I have finally finished reading your book， Dr。 Anitha。 Tugged at the heartstrings and evoked delightful memories of my growing up in Naval Base。 This book is a kaleidoscope of Sembawang memories and a beautiful marriage between fiction and reality。Rgds， Gopalkrishna （Devadas as in Sembawang days）

Marcus Ng ，

There is a dire lack of stories from the 'underclass' of local （Malaysian/Singaporean） society – perhaps because few survive to tell of their struggles， or even want to – compared to tales from the high polloi。 Anitha Devi Pillai and Kamaladevi Aravindran now redress this with 'Sembawang'， a novel that spans Malaya's rubber estates and Singapore's northern frontier in the 1960s， seen through the eyes of the people who came to these parts （by force or faith， perhaps both） and the passions （and co There is a dire lack of stories from the 'underclass' of local （Malaysian/Singaporean） society – perhaps because few survive to tell of their struggles， or even want to – compared to tales from the high polloi。 Anitha Devi Pillai and Kamaladevi Aravindran now redress this with 'Sembawang'， a novel that spans Malaya's rubber estates and Singapore's northern frontier in the 1960s， seen through the eyes of the people who came to these parts （by force or faith， perhaps both） and the passions （and compassions） that drove them into each other's arms （and to arms）。 Still in the early chapters， but the book doesn't slack and neither does it hold back in baring the brutality of life on the fringes of more familiar grandeur， and the naked emotions of those who bore the brunt of it。 The writing （in translation too） is layered， unforced and infused with a sense of place and personhood （the novel centres the people who made up Singapore's 'Little Kerala'， but the characters are far more than their colours） – there is drama （and danger） already in the opening chapters， and it cuts close for these anxieties are all too real in a time when there is little （or too much） at stake to keep emotions away from the edge。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Sembawang: A Novel

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Sembawang: A Novel&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Sembawang: A Novel&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0