How We Disappeared: LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2020

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Although Singaporeans take for granted the fact that local women were abducted during the Occupation, no victims have come forward to give testimony. During my research, I came across several interviews in which war survivors mentioned having seen, or heard about, such events. The women involved, invariably, would be a distant relation or a friend of a neighbour – someone conveniently removed from the interviewees’ own private sphere so that they can remain fairly untouched by the trauma and shame. So no, the issue is not being discussed as openly as in Korea and China. I believe the size of the country is a one factor. Its smallness prohibits any sense of anonymity, so that there’s nowhere to hide from the shame of being a rape victim once you’ve confessed to having been a comfort woman for the Japanese soldiers.” In questi casi leggere mi provoca del male fisico e profondo, ogni pagina è una mattonata all’anima. E sprofondo sempre più giù.

As a parent I thought having the 12 year old supervise the recordings of her story was wrong. I’m not sure what a good age would have been. Jing-Jing Lee has woven a net of stories about a family that experiences hardship, loss and trauma due to the occupation of Singapore 1942-45. One main focus lies on Wang Di who is abducted from her parents and forced to work as a prostitute serving Japanese soldiers; another main thread is set in the 21st century and introduces us to Kevin who tries to uncover the secrets of his grandmother - the story is propelled forward by the question how the stories of Wang Di and Kevin might be connected, and while trying to figure that out, we are jumping between timelines and meeting their parents and other family members, thus hearing about various destinies marked by historical events while they where happening and long afterwards.

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For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. Hannah’s new novel is an homage to the extraordinary courage and endurance of Frenchwomen during World War II. In the creative hands of Jing-Jing Lee, the rawness and the brutality of the war years in Singapore become a reality for all of us. Once occupied by the British, Singapore became a land seemingly passed from hand to hand always waiting for the boots of strangers to fill the room with echoes of uncertainty. The other part of the story focuses on a young boy name Kevin. He learns secrets that his grandmother had been keeping that were also ‘unspeakable’. Baker, Phil (5 May 2019). "Fiction review: How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee; Dublin Palms by Hugo Hamilton; Ash Before Oak by Jeremy Cooper". The Times . Retrieved 7 May 2022.

In great tragedy there is a light that filters through with hope. Jing-Jing Lee elevates her story to a new height with a search for identity in the latter part of the book. And she does it well. This is one of those fine books in which one can marvel over the resilience of human nature over the often crushing heel of evil.

Parallelamente alla sua storia, c’è il racconto del piccolo Kevin un ragazzino singaporiano bullizzato a scuola che, alla morte della nonna, scopre un grande segreto celato alla famiglia per anni.

The dual time line of Wand Di’s narrative is a story of her past, one that she was not been able to tell even her husband of many years before he dies and her present day struggling to deal with not having told him and wanting to know the secrets of his past as well. A second narrative in the present day is that of twelve year old Kevin who is visually impaired, bullied and trying to follow through with a promise to his grandmother on her deathbed. This was perhaps a little slow at times, but overall it was compelling as I waited to see how Kevin and Wand Di’s paths would cross. Heartbreaking in many ways, but a satisfying ending of to important story. This novel set in Singapore grapples with a history that many in the city-state would rather leave forgotten. The story is told from alternating points of view, that of an elderly woman, Wang Di, facing the imminent death of her beloved husband; the teenage Wang Di and her family, struggling to survive the Japanese occupation during World War II; and Kevin, a precocious 12-year-old schoolboy facing bullying in the 21st century. Wang Di's narrative as a young woman is the most compelling, as the reader learns that the Japanese military kidnapped her as a teenager to work as a "comfort woman" providing sex for Japanese soldiers. Not only did Wang Di face the threat of death should she not comply while enslaved by the Japanese military, but she faced censure from the rest of society after the war ended. These themes of silencing a tragic history run through Kevin's chapters as well, as the intrepid boy seeks to uncover his grandmother's secrets. However, Kevin's chapters do not match Wang Di's in power, and the constant shifting of perspective can be distracting. The novel has many graphic scenes of violence and rape, but they are never gratuitous. Ultimately, debut novelist Lee creates a compelling story of generations haunted by war and the silence surrounding their suffering. Le donne sono le protagoniste di questo libro. Corpi abusati, maltrattati, come bambole rotte. Vuoti. A heartbreaking and powerful read. Did I mention this was heartbreaking? It shattered my heart and it’s stayed with me ever since. There were times I didn’t want to read any more but I did, as to stop would have felt like abandoning the characters to their fate alone. This book got to me in many ways, I’m not going to lie. This not-knowing when it came to my parents; things I’d never thought about, even if they were clear as day, clear as the fact that my parents had their own parents, had their own childhoods and histories. And then one day you open a drawer and out come all the secrets that have just been sitting quietly, waiting to be found, even though you never thought about them, never suspected they existed in the first place.A heartbreaking story told with such humanity and grace. The details of How We Disappeared are so vivid they return to me in dreams."-- Marti Leimbach, bestselling author of Daniel Isn't Talking