Thirty-three-old Singapore-born Jemimah Wei’s debut novel The Original Daughter, is a gripping tale of two sisters- one adopted- long separated by acts of cruelty and the inability to forgive. Set in Singapore and New Zealand, Wei’s story reflects the practice, probably old but discussed with less stigma these days, of going no-contact when close relationships feel too painful, too broken to fix.  Wei illuminates both the need for, and the cost of estrangement. As a character says after suffering a loss, “How various our excuses, as we flail about in our attempts to avoid facing the shame of wanting love”. Singapore, … Continue reading Self-immolation in the realms of imagination, work and play