To pay homage to the bustling literary scene in Singapore, ReadNUS celebrated Singlit month in August by exploring four titles from beloved Singaporean literary figures. In keeping with the theme of Singapore Literature, this week’s newsletter provided by NUS Libraries explores four riveting Singapore Literature Reads to broaden our reading horizons.
- Read 4 new Singapore Literature titles
- In our Literary Journal, Natalie explores the wistful enigma that is Daryl Qilin Yam’s book, the Kappa Quartet
- Daphne presents her analysis of award winning author Balli Kaur Jaswal’s Inheritance
- The ReadNUS team shares their insights on reading and reading habits!
Singapore Literature
Clicking on the title or book image will link you to the full text.
Explore the wistful enigma that is the Kappa Quartet – Natalie discusses her take on Kappa Quartet, a charming novel written by Daryl Qilin Yam. Natalie writes: “Kappa Quartet is an intriguing infusion between both Singapore and Japanese culture, harkening to Yam’s experience studying at the University of Tokyo for a year. Rather than following the perspective of a single character, Yam chooses to weave an overarching narrative amongst a wide selection of characters, set between both Singapore and Japan. In a way, the novel acts as an anthology, where each chapter serves as a character study where readers are able to peer into the hearts of the characters that Yam gives a brief window into. Though fleeting, I feel these snippets into a certain group of individuals are enough to give a good sense of each character’s motivations and feelings.” To read more, head over to our website now!
Inheritance – Daphne presents her analysis of award winning author Balli Kaur Jasawal’s Inheritance.
In this article, Daphne breaks down Inheritance into its underlying themes, and marvels at its ability to pull its readers into the complex family dynamic of the traditional Punjabi family at the heart of this novel. To read more, head over to our website now!
Reading with the ReadNUS Team – To build enthusiasm about the practice of reading widely, our Editorial team shares their personal favourite titles, reading habits and more in this light-hearted article. To read more, head over to our website now!
