Foreign Bodies(Om) - Softcover

Tan, Hwee Hwee

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141009985 ISBN 13: 9780141009988

Publisher: Penguin, 2002

Synopsis

Trouble often comes with a late-night phone call. So it comes to Mei, a twenty-something Singaporean lawyer about to face the greatest trial of her life. Her English boyfriend Andy, working in Singapore as a teacher, has been arrested, accused of masterminding an international betting ring. Under Singapore's draconian system of justice, he has but nine short days to prove his innocence or face life in prison. With time running out, Singapore native Eugene, Andys best friend and Mei's childhood playmate, flies in from Holland to help uncover the truth, a search that will unearth long-hidden secrets and forever challenge the moral, ethical, and spiritual framework of their lives.\n\nExploring the chasm between Singapore's pop culture and traditional values, the friends' Gen-X cynicism and their gnawing hunger for direction and meaning, Hwee Hwee Tan delivers a powerful novel of clashing cultures and swirling spiritual quests, in which the wit is as sharp and unafraid as the insight it offers.

About this title

Review:

"Kirkus Reviews"

Witty, hip, engrossing -- and utterly astonishing both in breadth of feeling and depth of intelligence: one of the strongest and most original works of the year.

"The Wall Street Journal"

A milestone.

"The New York Times Book Review"

A gripping story...

"The Economist"

A novel of distinction almost indecently accomplished for a twenty-three-year-old.

Larry Beinhart

author of "American Hero" (filmed as "Wag the Dog)"

Hwee Hwee Tan is a child-genius and Nobel laureate embryo.

"The New York Times Book Review"

Tan's prose resembles that of British writers like Helen Fielding and Nick Hornby....A promising, original debut.

"Los Angeles Times Book Review"

Tan digs through the irony to get at her characters' buried secrets -- their "foreign bodies" -- making us care about these precocious, clueless border-crossers.

"Publishers Weekly"

Tan's lucid and wide-ranging first novel is a memorable portrait of disenchanted and feckless youth, a narrative that gains indelible resonance as the plot unfolds....This seductive novel moves with furious grace to a transcendent conclusion.

Chuck Wachtel

author of"Joe the Engineer" and "The Gates"

The world the narrators of this extraordinary novel inhabit -- ours, now -- tries to deny them the knowledge of how much it injures them just to live in it. In voices that are lightning fast and sharply observant, that are as uncertain as they are wise, that dare to be funny even when they should not be, they struggle to take back the meaning of their lives. This -- in our particular moment in human history -- makes them heroes, and makes their story a great pleasure to read.

"The New York Times Book Review"A gripping story...

"The Economist"A novel of distinction almost indecently accomplished for a twenty-three-year-old.

Larry Beinhartauthor of "American Hero" (filmed as "Wag the Dog)"Hwee Hwee Tan is a child-genius and Nobel laureate embryo.

"The New York Times Book Review"Tan's prose resembles that of British writers like Helen Fielding and Nick Hornby....A promising, original debut.

"Kirkus Reviews"Witty, hip, engrossing -- and utterly astonishing both in breadth of feeling and depth of intelligence: one of the strongest and most original works of the year.

"Los Angeles Times Book Review"Tan digs through the irony to get at her characters' buried secrets -- their "foreign bodies" -- making us care about these precocious, clueless border-crossers.

"Publishers Weekly"Tan's lucid and wide-ranging first novel is a memorable portrait of disenchanted and feckless youth, a narrative that gains indelible resonance as the plot unfolds....This seductive novel moves with furious grace to a transcendent conclusion.

Chuck Wachtel author of"Joe the Engineer" and "The Gates" The world the narrators of this extraordinary novel inhabit -- ours, now -- tries to deny them the knowledge of how much it injures them just to live in it. In voices that are lightning fast and sharply observant, that are as uncertain as they are wise, that dare to be funny even when they should not be, they struggle to take back the meaning of their lives. This -- in our particular moment in human history -- makes them heroes, and makes their story a great pleasure to read.

"The Economist" A novel of distinction almost indecently accomplished for a twenty-three-year-old.

"Publishers Weekly" Tan's lucid and wide-ranging first novel is a memorable portrait of disenchanted and feckless youth, a narrative that gains indelible resonance as the plot unfolds....This seductive novel moves with furious grace to a transcendent conclusion.

Larry Beinhart author of "American Hero" (filmed as "Wag the Dog)" Hwee Hwee Tan is a child-genius and Nobel laureate embryo.

"Los Angeles Times Book Review" Tan digs through the irony to get at her characters' buried secrets -- their "foreign bodies" -- making us care about these precocious, clueless border-crossers.

"The New York Times Book Review" Tan's prose resembles that of British writers like Helen Fielding and Nick Hornby....A promising, original debut.

"The Wall Street Journal" A milestone.

"Boston Globe" Audacious.

"The New York Times Book Review" A gripping story...

"Kirkus Reviews" Witty, hip, engrossing -- and utterly astonishing both in breadth of feeling and depth of intelligence: one of the strongest and most original works of the year.

The New York Times Book Review A gripping story...

Kirkus Reviews Witty, hip, engrossing -- and utterly astonishing both in breadth of feeling and depth of intelligence: one of the strongest and most original works of the year.

Boston Globe Audacious.

The Wall Street Journal A milestone.

Larry Beinhart author of American Hero (filmed as Wag the Dog) Hwee Hwee Tan is a child-genius and Nobel laureate embryo.

Chuck Wachtel author ofJoe the Engineer and The Gates The world the narrators of this extraordinary novel inhabit -- ours, now -- tries to deny them the knowledge of how much it injures them just to live in it. In voices that are lightning fast and sharply observant, that are as uncertain as they are wise, that dare to be funny even when they should not be, they struggle to take back the meaning of their lives. This -- in our particular moment in human history -- makes them heroes, and makes their story a great pleasure to read.

Publishers Weekly Tan's lucid and wide-ranging first novel is a memorable portrait of disenchanted and feckless youth, a narrative that gains indelible resonance as the plot unfolds....This seductive novel moves with furious grace to a transcendent conclusion.

The New York Times Book Review Tan's prose resembles that of British writers like Helen Fielding and Nick Hornby....A promising, original debut.

The Economist A novel of distinction almost indecently accomplished for a twenty-three-year-old.

Los Angeles Times Book Review Tan digs through the irony to get at her characters' buried secrets -- their "foreign bodies" -- making us care about these precocious, clueless border-crossers.

About the Author:

Hwee Hwee Tan was born in 1974 in Singapore. She has lived in the Netherlands and studied English Literature at the University of Oxford. Her award-winning short stories have been broadcast on the BBC. She currently lives in New York City, where she is a New York Times Fellow at the NYU writing program.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0141009985
• ISBN 13: 9780141009988
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 284