Set in Malaysia between 1935 and 1945, Vanessa Chan’s impressive and assured debut offers a little-told perspective on a turbulent period of history. Inspired by her own grandparents’ experiences under British colonial rule and Japanese occupation during the second world war, Chan – who lives in the US – captures the hope and the hardships of this extraordinary decade.
In 1930s Kuala Lumpur, Cecily is a bored wife and mother seduced by the personal allure of a Japanese general, Fujiwara, and by his vision of “an Asia for Asians”. It’s a stark contrast to her husband’s middle-manager obsequiousness towards the British, and Chan captures the silky racism within the hierarchies of colonial rule, where Malaysians could only ever be second-class citizens in their own country.
