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A review by ipekreading
The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng
5.0
Starting in the early 1940s, The Great Reclamation tells the story of Ah Boon, a boy from a fishing village (kampong) in Singapore with a unique ability, and his childhood friend Siok Mei. The two grow up amidst a changing Singapore, a place reckoning with the legacy of both British colonialism and Japanese occupation while also striving to achieve modernity.
I was frequently forcing myself to take a break from Heng's absorbing prose to read up on Singapore's history, a slice of history I realized I knew very little about. Heng managed to balance history, coming-of-age against a time of political change, and themes of love and home with a touch of magical realism so masterfully. While this one is 400+ pages and by no means a fast paced story, every time I sat down to read this, I found myself reading it for far longer than I intended to. I loved the themes and loved how atmospheric the writing was.
Thank you Riverhead for the ARC of this!
I was frequently forcing myself to take a break from Heng's absorbing prose to read up on Singapore's history, a slice of history I realized I knew very little about. Heng managed to balance history, coming-of-age against a time of political change, and themes of love and home with a touch of magical realism so masterfully. While this one is 400+ pages and by no means a fast paced story, every time I sat down to read this, I found myself reading it for far longer than I intended to. I loved the themes and loved how atmospheric the writing was.
Thank you Riverhead for the ARC of this!