Now You See Us by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Now You See Us by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Read by Angela Lin

11 hours, 11 minutes

Published March 2023 by HarperCollins Publishers

Publisher's Summary: 

Corazon, Donita, and Angel are Filipina domestic workers—part of the wave of women sent to Singapore to be cleaners, maids, and caregivers.

Corazon: A veteran domestic worker, Cora had retired back to the Philippines for good, but she has returned to Singapore under mysterious circumstances. Now she’s keeping a secret from her wealthy employer, who is planning an extravagant wedding for her socialite daughter.

Donita: Barely out of her teens, this is Donita’s first time in Singapore, and she’s had the bad luck to be hired by the notoriously fussy Mrs. Fann. Brazen and exuberant, Donita’s thrown herself into a love affair with an Indian migrant worker.

Angel: Working as an in-home caregiver for an elderly employer, Angel is feeling blue after a recent breakup with the woman she loves. She’s alarmed when her employer’s son suddenly brings in a new nurse who may be a valuable ally...or meant to replace her.

Then an explosive news story shatters Singapore’s famous tranquility—and sends a chill down the spine of every domestic worker. Flordeliza Martinez, a Filipina maid, has been arrested for murdering her female employer. The three women don’t know the accused well, but she could be any of them; every worker knows stories of women who were scapegoated or even executed for crimes they didn’t commit.

Shocked into action, Donita, Corazon, and Angel will use their considerable moxie and insight to piece together the mystery of what really happened on the day Flordeliza’s employer was murdered. After all, no one knows the secrets of Singapore’s families like the women who work in their homes…

My Thoughts: 

Falling behind on reviews so we're going back to a tried and true way to get my thoughts down quickly.

Recommended by: 

• My aunt, whose book club read it. She and I aren't always in complete agreement about books but I always know, going in, her honest opinion about a book which makes it easier for me to decide which ones to read. 

What I Didn't Like: 

• My one quibble with this one was that Jaswal threw in a lot of "issues" here. That can feel a little forced at times, especially when there is plenty to consider as it is. 

What I Liked: 

• Angela Lin does a terrific job giving each of her characters a unique voice. 
• This book is why I read books about other cultures. I had no idea how the domestic worker industry works outside of the United States (to be honest, it probably works this way for a lot of immigrants in the U.S. as well). These people, who leave their own countries to try to earn money to give their families a better life, are treated as nothing more than a commodity. They aren't allowed to move freely between jobs; they are constantly accused of all manner of things, from laziness to theft to greater crimes; they are at the complete mercy of their employers, who may abuse them, refuse to pay them, and not allow them any time off. 
• Despite all of that, there was a lot of humor in this book, which kept it from being overwhelming. 
• It's a David vs. Goliath story and, at least to some extent, David gets the upper hand here. 

Would I Recommend It: 

• Yes, if you like to read books about other cultures and if you enjoy fiction that also teaches you. 
• Yes, for book clubs - there is a lot here to discuss. 

Lit: Uniquely Portable Magic

In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, I'm coming to you (albeit late), with some reading recommendations for you about the Asian, Pacific Islander and Asian Pacific American experience. 

First up is a list from Oprahdaily.com of 10 Must Read Books for AAPI Heritage Month. A little embarrassed to admit that not only have I never read any of these, but I also haven't even heard of most of them. 

I didn't fare much better with this list from the New York Public Library, or this list from the Los Angeles Public Library, or this list from NPR. I did slightly better with this list from Lithub, having read four of the books. 

Over the past few years, I've been trying to make a conscious effort to read more diversely; I've read books about Native Americans, books set in the Middle East and Africa, read a lot about the African American experience. I thought I was doing a similarly decent job at reading Asian works but I began to worry that I haven't read very many. So I came here to look over the books I've actually read and I felt a little better. 

I've read four of Jamie Ford's books, one set in Burma, three set in Vietnam, two set in Korea, three in Japan, and eight in China. Not as many as I maybe should have but that's only the Pacific side of Asia. I've read quite a lot more set in or about the immigrants of the western Asian countries. Still...

To make sure I'm including Asian work in my diverse reading, I've begun going through my books (physical and electronic) to see what I already own. As it turns out, I have a few and my plan is to begin to work them into my regular reading. It shouldn't be too tough - there are humorous books, graphic novels, fiction, essays - something for every mood. First up, I think, will be rachel Khong's Goodbye, Vitamin. 

How about you? Have you read many of these? 

How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee

How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee
Published May 2019 by Hanover Square Press
Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher and TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary:
Singapore, 1942. As Japanese troops sweep down Malaysia and into Singapore, a village is ransacked, leaving only two survivors and one tiny child.

In a neighboring village, seventeen-year-old Wang Di is strapped into the back of a troop carrier and shipped off to a Japanese military brothel where she is forced into sexual slavery as a “comfort woman.” After sixty years of silence, what she saw and experienced still haunts her.

In the year 2000, twelve-year-old Kevin is sitting beside his ailing grandmother when he overhears a mumbled confession. He sets out to discover the truth, wherever it might lead, setting in motion a chain of events he never could have foreseen.

Weaving together two time lines and two very big secrets, this stunning debut opens a window on a little-known period of history, revealing the strength and bravery shown by numerous women in the face of terrible cruelty. Drawing in part on her family’s experiences, Jing-Jing Lee has crafted a profoundly moving, unforgettable novel about human resilience, the bonds of family and the courage it takes to confront the past.

My Thoughts:
Yesterday, on Literary Quicksand, Allison wrote, in her review of this book: "Why do we read stories of unimaginable suffering? Why do we revisit the pain, heartache, and shame others experience in their darkest times?"

Why, indeed? Books like How We Disappear demand so much from the reader, are so painfully difficult to read. They are also so important for us to push our way through - we cannot allow ourselves to forget the past and the terrible things that mankind is capable of when left unchecked. In her debut novel, Lee writes about a part of history that was long kept quiet, the so-called comfort women the Japanese essentially kidnapped and abused for years during the occupation of China, Malay, and Singapore.

Wang Di is a teenager when her village is occupied by the Japanese and she is taken from her family and kept for three years in a small room she was rarely allowed to leave, where she "serviced" thirty or more men a day. After one year, I wasn't sure I could read any more of it, even knowing, as I did, that Wang Di would survive. It was beyond heartbreaking, knowing that this story was based on real events and that many of these young women didn't survive and those who did were ostracized once the occupation was over.

Lee keeps things from being entirely overwhelming by weaving together Wang Di's past and present, as well as the story of young Kevin. Poor Kevin has more than his share of sadness. Bullied at school and harassed by a neighbor boy, Kevin is having a hard enough time making his way through life. Once he hers his grandmother's confession, he is haunted by her past. The weaving together of his story and Wang Di's story is remarkably well done. While Wang Di's past is, of course, the most emotional of the story lines, her present story line as well as Kevin's are strong as well, something that doesn't always happen when authors try to use this device.

How We Disappear is an impressive debut - the settings are vivid, the pain palpable, the characters unforgettable. I loved the many ways Lee explored all of the ways her characters "disappeared," all of the ways people can disappear.

For other opinions about this book, check out the full tour at TLC Book Tours. Thanks to the ladies of TLC Book Tours for including me on this tour.

Jing-Jing Lee is the author of the novel, If I Could Tell You. Her poems have been published in Ceriph, Poetry Quarterly, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, and Moving Words 2011: A Poetry Anthology. Jing moved to Europe in her early 20s and started to pursue writing full-time. In 2011, she gained a Masters of Studies in Creative Writing from the University of Oxford. She now lives in Amsterdam with her husband and is working on her second book of fiction. When she’s not working on her novel-in-progress or reading (or taking photographs), she can be found here and on twitter.

China Dolls by Lisa See

China Dolls by Lisa See
Published June 2014 by Random House Publishing Group
Source: checked out from my local library

Publisher's Summary:
It’s 1938 in San Francisco: a world’s fair is preparing to open on Treasure Island, a war is brewing overseas, and the city is alive with possibilities. Grace, Helen, and Ruby, three young women from very different backgrounds, meet by chance at the exclusive and glamorous Forbidden City nightclub. Grace Lee, an American-born Chinese girl, has fled the Midwest with nothing but heartache, talent, and a pair of dancing shoes. Helen Fong lives with her extended family in Chinatown, where her traditional parents insist that she guard her reputation like a piece of jade. The stunning Ruby Tom challenges the boundaries of convention at every turn with her defiant attitude and no-holds-barred ambition.

The girls become fast friends, relying on one another through unexpected challenges and shifting fortunes. When their dark secrets are exposed and the invisible thread of fate binds them even tighter, they find the strength and resilience to reach for their dreams. But after the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, paranoia and suspicion threaten to destroy their lives, and a shocking act of betrayal changes everything.

My Thoughts:
Our theme this year for my book club is "The American Experience." I've tried to select books with varying historical perspectives, set throughout the country, and told from the view point of a variety of peoples. So when we had to make a shift in what we were reading and I needed a book that would be available through the library and also fit our theme, I figured something by See would be perfect. It both was and it wasn't.

China Dolls was perfect for our theme - we got to see the American experience of Chinese and Japanese immigrants in the 1940's, we got to see a view of our country during World War II that we don't usually see, we got to learn about other cultures and a part of history none of use were previously aware of, and we got to see places throughout the country. All that to say, this book opened our eyes up to a lot of new things.

Where it failed was, surprisingly, in the writing. I was not alone in feeling that while Helen, Grace, and Ruby might have become friends in the first place, their "friendship" didn't feel true beyond the early days. Even more, it was not believable to us that they would have continued to do things together when they so clearly no longer trusted each other. Relationships that are based solely on the fact that you don't feel like you have anyone else to rely on aren't friendships; these three had developed such a toxic relationship by the end, in fact, that it was a wonder they could be in the same room, let alone fighting over how they would stay together.

As with most historical fiction, you know I had to go see how much of this book was true. There were, in fact, Chinese nightclubs including The Forbidden City which catered to lo fan (Caucasians) and many of the people See references were real people. Other characters were fictionalized versions of real people.  Groups of the performers did perform in venues all over the country. Late in the book, the Helen's granddaughter asks Grace how she felt about perpetuating racial stereotypes. It's a interesting point to consider but, like so many pieces of history, something we always need to consider in the setting and time in which it occurred. These nightclubs gave the performers a venue to perform they would not otherwise have had; they gave people jobs when jobs were hard to come by. Was it ideal to perform as something of a curiosity? Of course not. But did it allow these people to live well and help support their families? Yes. And in that regard, I guess, they were able to live the American dream.

How To Get Filthy Rich In Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid

How To Get Filthy Rich In Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
Narrated by Mohsin Hamed
Published March 2013 by Penguin Publishing
Source: my audiobook purchased at my library book sale

Publisher's Summary:
The astonishing and riveting tale of a man’s journey from impoverished rural boy to corporate tycoon, it steals its shape from the business self-help books devoured by ambitious youths all over “rising Asia.” It follows its nameless hero to the sprawling metropolis where he begins to amass an empire built on that most fluid, and increasingly scarce, of goods: water. Yet his heart remains set on something else, on the pretty girl whose star rises along with his, their paths crossing and recrossing, a lifelong affair sparked and snuffed and sparked again by the forces that careen their fates along.


My Thoughts:
I was wow'd by Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist so I knew it would be then next audiobook I would listen to as soon as I saw it. Like The Reluctant Fundamentalist, the book is written in the second person, here not even naming any of his characters.  I admire Hamid's ability to write from interesting new points of view. I also admire his ability to be political without being overt, to blend here a love story with the story of a world in flux, and his ability to make readers care about a character that is less than admirable.

"Less than admirable" is, Hamid is clear, not necessarily a bad person. Our hero is a man who sees, all around him, the toll that being poor exacts and the unscrupulous means that others will use to take advantage of those in need and the opportunities that life provides. Those same people whose palms had to be greased on the way up and who will also be happy to pull back down those who have become successful.

We're never told where our nameless character lives but that, too, is hardly important. Here's the thing - we can look at the way people take advantage of others, the shortcuts they take, the rules they will break, and judge them as wrong, as evil people. But if you know the history of the United States (and, for that matter, any other  world power), you know that exactly the same kinds of things happened here as this country grew and prospered.

Perhaps my favorite thing about this book is "the pretty girl" who remains "the pretty girl" to the end of the book, to her death as an elderly woman. Because, to our hero, despite the years and anything she might have done to survive and prosper, she remained the pretty girl. Wouldn't we all like to think that our beloveds will still think of us that way when our hair is grey, our faces are wrinkled, and we need a cane to walk?

In the end, How To Get Filthy Rich In Rising Asia didn't wow me in the same way that The Reluctant Fundamentalist did. But it certainly has something to say about our world and it is certainly well said.