Now You See Us: A Novel

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I would’ve started it when that was something I was interested in; unfortunately this time, I had been looking for a book where more happened. Jaswal’s non-fiction has appeared in the New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar India, Refinery29 and Salon. Instead the author threw issue after issue into the mix, which muddied the message and reeked of desperation to elicit a negative reaction to all things Singaporean. That might sound like it’ll lead to a bit of a madcap read, but it doesn’t - it is funny at times, but mostly it’s thought provoking and serious, raising important awareness of these issues.

Three maids (Corazon 'Cora", Donita, and Angel) have been stationed by Merry Maids on the luxurious island of Singapore, but they are all in vastly different situations.

To access your ebook(s) after purchasing, you can download the free Glose app or read instantly on your browser by logging into Glose. Donita takes up the cause and embarks on finding out the truth, with Angel and even reluctant Cora along the trail.

It places the focus on the women who keep Singapore’s elite’s homes running, whilst trying to remain invisible. Each youth was convicted by juries of various charges related to the assault; four were convicted of rape. Her latest novel "The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters" was released to critical acclaim in 2019, and is now available in paperback. This is billed as a cross between Crazy Rich Asians and The Help, both of which I liked, so I thought I'd try it. Angel is recovering from heartbreak after losing her girlfriend, Suzan, but she doesn't have much time to dwell when a new in-home care worker threatens her position in the household.

So if you come into this, come into it expecting an almost diary-like portrayal of three women’s lives. She has held fellowships at the University of East Anglia and Nanyang Technological University, where she also completed her PhD in South Asian diaspora writing.

But, on the negative side none of this really makes a lot of sense and there is no way you can enjoy it if you think. Angel's character development seemed to center almost solely around the fact that she had a lesbian relationship and Donita, being a bit of a wild child, also felt redundant in a lot of her sections. I easily fell in love with the wildly different Corazon, Donita, and Angel and enjoyed seeing them take agency in their own lives and with their differing employers. Working as an in-home caregiver for an elderly employer, Angel is feeling blue after a recent breakup with the woman she loves.

Mini-review: I would love to tell you what this book is about, in a front to end sense, but the plot was really convoluted and I had trouble following it the whole way through. I think I enjoyed Cora’s story the most, but I really liked getting to know each of the women and I was glad I got an insight into what it is like to be a female domestic worker outside of your own country. Then, a shocking murder accusation is made against one of their friends which disrupts their day-to-day status quo.