For this Book Salon, we will read The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng.

About the book (publisher's description):

Set against a changing Singapore, a sweeping novel about one boy's unique gifts and the childhood love that will complicate the fate of his community and country.

Ah Boon is born into a fishing village amid the heat and beauty of twentieth-century coastal Singapore in the waning years of British rule. He is a gentle boy who is not much interested in fishing, preferring to spend his days playing with the neighbor girl, Siok Mei. But when he discovers he has the unique ability to locate bountiful, movable islands that no one else can find, he feels a new sense of obligation and possibility – something to offer the community and impress the spirited girl he has come to love.

By the time they are teens, Ah Boon and Siok Mei are caught in the tragic sweep of history: the Japanese army invades, the resistance rises, grief intrudes, and the future of the fishing village is in jeopardy. As the nation hurtles toward rebirth, the two friends, newly empowered, must decide who they want to be, and what they are willing to give up.

An aching love story and powerful coming-of-age that reckons with the legacy of British colonialism, the World War II Japanese occupation, and the pursuit of modernity, The Great Reclamation confronts the wounds of progress, the sacrifices of love, and the difficulty of defining home when nature and nation collide, literally shifting the land beneath people's feet.

Note: We originally planned to read Summer Rolls by Tuyen Do. However, due to delivery issues, we have switched to a different book.

This event is for Asia Society Members only. How to become a member?

Attendance is free. We appreciate if you let us know that you'll be attending in the Book Salon WhatsApp group chat or via mail to [email protected].

About Asia Society Book Salon

In Asia Society Switzerland's Book Salons, we open a direct window into Asian lives. Histories, discourses, and cultures make up the textures of novels. Together we read and discuss fiction from or about Asia in an informal setting to intentionally exchange our perspectives as a practice in curiosity, openness, and empathy. We meet four times a year – in person in Zurich, if possible. For more information about upcoming meetings and books to read, please join the WhatsApp group or contact us at [email protected].