I really enjoyed reading this story for its premise, construction, and the setting, which is what I believe is the true image of a society I am not very familiar with. Characterization is very good and detailed, too; however, the main character is not the kind of person I could relate to, which is not a reflection on the author’s craft.

Gretchen Lin, the protagonist is thirty years old and she moves from San Francisco to Singapore with the idea of working temporarily in her family’s business of a very special soy sauce. She has left behind a husband who is a dud and who has little love for her or maybe he doesn’t know his mind, as the ending suggested. Gretchen while in her hometown has to deal with her mother’s serious illness mostly caused by heavy drinking, her father’s inability to see things as they are, a romance with the playboy son of a client, a cousin who has mismanaged the factory and caused a scandal, bringing shame to the family and the business but he also doesn’t want to go away, either.

All these, however, are her outside stresses. Inside her, she is in bigger trouble, the way I see it, as she flounders in the way she thinks and arrives at conclusions and also in the way she treats her best friends so shabbily. In the end, as if her saving grace, she settles a bit and can make a few decisions concerning her life. Maybe the main character is not to blame for her indecision and seemingly odd actions as she may be reflecting the society’s ills and her parents’ marriage which seems fine on the outside but incompatible inside.

On the other hand, the prop of the novel, the soy sauce, steals the show more than the main character since everything seems to be revolving around it. I also enjoyed a certain limited view of Singapore with its several languages, Singlish being the most used one, and its people’s fascination with the culture of the west without letting go of the orient’s ways.

With the exception of a bit hasty ending, the storytelling and the use of the language are very good and the story is easy to read due to its smooth pace.

to see how other people at the other end of the world live, think, and behave.

the pride the family took on their specialty product, regardless of gain.

is Kirsten Chen, a native of Singapore who moved to the U.S.

I liked its many interesting parts, even if I couldn't relate to the main character.

The way it looks in Amazon's reviews, many people hated this book. I don't think it will win the Pulitzer or anything, but it is a good readable novel, although I was really annoyed with the main character's wimpy thinking, which might just be the result of cultural differences.

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Created Aug 14, 2018 at 6:54pm • Submit your own review...