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Singapore"s water companies aim to quench China"s $850 billion thirst
Monday 3 June 2013
Singapore"s water companies aim to quench China"s $850 billion thirst
Singapore"s water companies aim to quench China"s $850 billion thirst
Shades of Manila 1945: Novel about Singapore deals with Japanese occupation
It is a fictional history of Singapore from 1929, the year of the stock market crash in the United States, to the present. But, distinguo, as the Jesuits would say, it is a work of fiction and author Tan, wary perhaps of lawsuits, calls the city-state the Black Isle of the title.
A dead giveaway, however, is the map featured just before the text. It shows a large blackened island directly south (joined no doubt by a causeway) of the then British Malaya.
“The Black Isle” by Sandi Tan (Grand Central Publishing, NY, 2012; 469 pages) is a long flashback, with occasional shifts to the present. The narrator-heroine is Cassandra (Ling during her childhood), a psychic. Like the boy in the movie “Sixth Sense,” she sees “dead people.” And, when motivated, she can invoke the restless spirits to wreak havoc upon the land.
As the tale begins, we see Cassandra, now 88, living in self-exile in Tokyo, alone and friendless and not particularly caring about this. She has outlived all who have loved or hated her. Cassandra is, however, stalked by a Professor Maddin who is fascinated by her life story (and who, unknown to Cassandra, has her own agenda).
And Cassandra or Ling is persuaded to recount her incredible story.
Ling spent her childhood in Shanghai during the 1920s, when the city “was either the Pearl of the Orient (like Manila?) or the Devil’s Den.” The unloved child had a neurotic mother, an indifferent father and a twin brother with whom she had a near incestuous relationship.
The Wall Street crash in 1929 affects the family, and the father and the older twins (Ling and Li) are forced to migrate to the Black Isle to become “overseas Chinese.” Left behind are the mother and two younger children (also twins).
The island is a British colony.
Swirling around Cassandra are other fully realized characters: Daniel, scion of a rich family who falls in love with Cassandra; his sister Violet, who despises Cassandra; Issa, a shaman who becomes the revolutionary terrorist Isakandar; Cricket, an errand boy who becomes a businessman with many wives and children; Kenneth, a scheming politician and later prime minister with blood on his hands; and Taro, the charismatic Japanese officer who transforms Cassandra into a sex slave.
Surrealist images
The novel has many surrealist images, like a giant octopus making love to a Japanese woman, a ghostly dog-man and thousands of jellyfish clambering over the beach as war is about to erupt.
Under the Japanese yoke, the Isle deteriorated, just like Manila during the 1940s: “The rest of the city regressed.” And Cassandra asserts, “the Japanese were animals.”
“The Black Isle” is not the first Asian novel to document Japanese atrocities in fictional form, nor will it be the last. There is the recent “The Glass Palace” by Amitav Ghosh, and we have our own “Without Seeing the Dawn” by Stevan Javellana, “More than Conquerors” by Edilberto Tiempo,” and “Sugat ng Alaala” by National Artist-designate Lazaro Francisco.
For the Japanese, unlike the Germans, have not really repented of their World War II crimes. This is the reason behind the continuing tension between Japan on one hand, and China and the Koreas on the other.
The Chinese and Koreans have a sense of history; we don’t.
“The Black Isle” is available in Fully Booked, tel. 8587000; National Book Store; and PowerBooks.
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The Black Isle
Shades of Manila 1945: Novel about Singapore deals with Japanese occupation
Shades of Manila 1945: Novel about Singapore deals with Japanese occupation
It is a fictional history of Singapore from 1929, the year of the stock market crash in the United States, to the present. But, distinguo, as the Jesuits would say, it is a work of fiction and author Tan, wary perhaps of lawsuits, calls the city-state the Black Isle of the title.
A dead giveaway, however, is the map featured just before the text. It shows a large blackened island directly south (joined no doubt by a causeway) of the then British Malaya.
“The Black Isle” by Sandi Tan (Grand Central Publishing, NY, 2012; 469 pages) is a long flashback, with occasional shifts to the present. The narrator-heroine is Cassandra (Ling during her childhood), a psychic. Like the boy in the movie “Sixth Sense,” she sees “dead people.” And, when motivated, she can invoke the restless spirits to wreak havoc upon the land.
As the tale begins, we see Cassandra, now 88, living in self-exile in Tokyo, alone and friendless and not particularly caring about this. She has outlived all who have loved or hated her. Cassandra is, however, stalked by a Professor Maddin who is fascinated by her life story (and who, unknown to Cassandra, has her own agenda).
And Cassandra or Ling is persuaded to recount her incredible story.
Ling spent her childhood in Shanghai during the 1920s, when the city “was either the Pearl of the Orient (like Manila?) or the Devil’s Den.” The unloved child had a neurotic mother, an indifferent father and a twin brother with whom she had a near incestuous relationship.
The Wall Street crash in 1929 affects the family, and the father and the older twins (Ling and Li) are forced to migrate to the Black Isle to become “overseas Chinese.” Left behind are the mother and two younger children (also twins).
The island is a British colony.
Swirling around Cassandra are other fully realized characters: Daniel, scion of a rich family who falls in love with Cassandra; his sister Violet, who despises Cassandra; Issa, a shaman who becomes the revolutionary terrorist Isakandar; Cricket, an errand boy who becomes a businessman with many wives and children; Kenneth, a scheming politician and later prime minister with blood on his hands; and Taro, the charismatic Japanese officer who transforms Cassandra into a sex slave.
Surrealist images
The novel has many surrealist images, like a giant octopus making love to a Japanese woman, a ghostly dog-man and thousands of jellyfish clambering over the beach as war is about to erupt.
Under the Japanese yoke, the Isle deteriorated, just like Manila during the 1940s: “The rest of the city regressed.” And Cassandra asserts, “the Japanese were animals.”
“The Black Isle” is not the first Asian novel to document Japanese atrocities in fictional form, nor will it be the last. There is the recent “The Glass Palace” by Amitav Ghosh, and we have our own “Without Seeing the Dawn” by Stevan Javellana, “More than Conquerors” by Edilberto Tiempo,” and “Sugat ng Alaala” by National Artist-designate Lazaro Francisco.
For the Japanese, unlike the Germans, have not really repented of their World War II crimes. This is the reason behind the continuing tension between Japan on one hand, and China and the Koreas on the other.
The Chinese and Koreans have a sense of history; we don’t.
“The Black Isle” is available in Fully Booked, tel. 8587000; National Book Store; and PowerBooks.
Follow Us
Recent Stories:
The Black Isle
Shades of Manila 1945: Novel about Singapore deals with Japanese occupation
Four Seasons Hotel Singapore Appoints Lee Kelly as Director of Food and ...
Monday, June 03, 2013
09:46
Four Seasons Hotel Singapore Appoints Lee Kelly as Director of Food and Beverage
(drinks media wire Drinks Hotels) –Recently appointed as Director of Food Beverage, Lee Kelly will oversee One-Ninety, Jiang-Nan Chun, The Bar and Alfresco, Room Service and Banquet Operations in his new capacity at Four Seasons Hotel Singapore.
Prior to arriving in Singapore, Kelly was Director of Food Beverage at Four Seasons Hotel London at Canary Wharf, where he managed seven food and beverage areas including Catering. A UK resident with more than 17 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Kelly’s career in Four Seasons includes Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire, Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsular Papagayo and Four Seasons Hotel Miami. He joined the latter Hotel’s opening team as Conference Services Manager.
While studying at the University of Surrey where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Hotel and Catering Management, Kelly worked at Mosimann’s Party Service, London. During his stint there, he managed the service of special events at venues including 10 Downing Street, St. James Palace, House of Parliament and Highgrove House – the country home of His Royal Highness Prince of Wales by appointment.
Kelly also enjoys cooking, travelling and a good workout in his spare time. In addition to having qualified in the Sommelier Introductory Course from the Guild of Masters Sommeliers, Kelly completed a professional wine course from the Florida International University. He is also a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and trainer.
Hotel Press Contact
Michelle D. Wan
Public Relations Director
190 Orchard Boulevard
Singapore, Singapore 248646
T. (65) 6831-7130
© Copyright-free press only
See the picture
Contact
E-mail:
Web: http://www.fourseasons.com
Company: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
Address: –
Country: UNITED STATES
Four Seasons Hotel Singapore Appoints Lee Kelly as Director of Food and ...
Four Seasons Hotel Singapore Appoints Lee Kelly as Director of Food and ...
Monday, June 03, 2013
09:46
Four Seasons Hotel Singapore Appoints Lee Kelly as Director of Food and Beverage
(drinks media wire Drinks Hotels) –Recently appointed as Director of Food Beverage, Lee Kelly will oversee One-Ninety, Jiang-Nan Chun, The Bar and Alfresco, Room Service and Banquet Operations in his new capacity at Four Seasons Hotel Singapore.
Prior to arriving in Singapore, Kelly was Director of Food Beverage at Four Seasons Hotel London at Canary Wharf, where he managed seven food and beverage areas including Catering. A UK resident with more than 17 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Kelly’s career in Four Seasons includes Four Seasons Hotel Hampshire, Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsular Papagayo and Four Seasons Hotel Miami. He joined the latter Hotel’s opening team as Conference Services Manager.
While studying at the University of Surrey where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Hotel and Catering Management, Kelly worked at Mosimann’s Party Service, London. During his stint there, he managed the service of special events at venues including 10 Downing Street, St. James Palace, House of Parliament and Highgrove House – the country home of His Royal Highness Prince of Wales by appointment.
Kelly also enjoys cooking, travelling and a good workout in his spare time. In addition to having qualified in the Sommelier Introductory Course from the Guild of Masters Sommeliers, Kelly completed a professional wine course from the Florida International University. He is also a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) and trainer.
Hotel Press Contact
Michelle D. Wan
Public Relations Director
190 Orchard Boulevard
Singapore, Singapore 248646
T. (65) 6831-7130
© Copyright-free press only
See the picture
Contact
E-mail:
Web: http://www.fourseasons.com
Company: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
Address: –
Country: UNITED STATES
Four Seasons Hotel Singapore Appoints Lee Kelly as Director of Food and ...
Concorde Hotel Singapore earns 2013 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence - TravelDailyNews Asia
Concorde Hotel Singapore earns 2013 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence
Honoured as a top performing hotel as reviewed by travelers on the world’s largest travel site
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SINGAPORE – Concorde Hotel Singapore announced that it has received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence award, for the third year running. The accolade, which honours hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveler reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. Only the top-performing 10 percent of businesses listed on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious award.
To qualify for a Certificate of Excellence, businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by travelers on TripAdvisor, and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months. Additional criteria include the volume of reviews received within the last 12 months.
“Concorde Hotel Singapore is pleased and proud to receive the 2013 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence award for the third consecutive year,” said Mr. Leo Llambi, General Manager, Concorde Hotel Singapore. “This accolade underscores and rewards our Team’s efforts in providing an exceptional Guest experience.”
“TripAdvisor is delighted to celebrate the success of businesses around the globe, from Sydney to Chicago, Sao Paulo to Rome, which are consistently offering TripAdvisor travelers a great customer experience,” said Alison Copus, Vice President of Marketing for TripAdvisor for Business. “The Certificate of Excellence award provides top performing establishments around the world the recognition they deserve, based on feedback from those who matter most – their customers.”
Concorde Hotel Singapore earns 2013 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence - TravelDailyNews Asia
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