The novel starts off with hints of Joy Luck Club, (in a style that seems to have gained popularity of late) by alternating the narrative between the main characters: Mei, a Singaporean female and fresh Law graduate from NUS (National Uni. of Singapore); Eugene, a fellow Singaporean and childhood friend of Mei who graduated from college in England; Loong, an all too textbook typical Singaporean high-flyer and Oxford scholar, and Andy, the slightly clueless British literature graduate who comes to Singapore in search of employment.

Several themes predominate here. The mother and daughter tension over past unresolved issues; Eugene's waryness of Loong whom he feels is responsible for the death of a childhood friend, Andy's inability to get his life together, and finally doing so through converting to Christianity, yet losing it all again.

It is an enjoyable read, more so, perhaps for the Singaporean who can appreciate the cosmopolitan aspect of its more well heeled inhabitants while still maintaining links to its pidgin Singlish speaking past. Its an all too familiar scenario.

As Amy Tan's work is cited by the author as an influence, one suspects that the two asian males in the story have not been portrayed in the most flattering light. (ok, three if you count the father who rapes his daughter). Eugene aspires to academic success but failing short by one stupid mistake. The proverbial second place boy. Naturally, he feels inferior to Loong. Loong is an Oxford scholar with well connected parents. He seems to operate with hardly a conscience. Andy comes off as the inexperienced wet behind the ears kid who gets drawn into Eugene's ploy for revenge against Loong.

Loong himself is adamantly anti organized religion. Perhaps a little too much so. One such as himself would much rather be indifferent rather than exhibit such a strong distaste. Perhaps Tan needs his views to set up this dynamic?

Mei is the protagonist of the story, and in some ways, is supposed to mirror the author. Her witticisms and quips seem to be more on par with Andy's character (he's the Literature graduate) sometimes, and if you're not paying careful attention to the character changes, can be a confusing read.

Andy has victim written all over. Whether it is intentional or not, he comes off as the foreigner caught in the maelstrom of unresolved anger.

Unfortunately the novel's portrayal of Singapore is none too positive. The draconian judicial system favoring Loong's well connected parents, the mother-daughter conflict and the go-getter ethos of the Singaporean male (usually at someone else's expense). Add this up with the disillusionment of the "expat" culture, pointless and chain pubbing, the overall theme of the novel borders on mild depression.

Hwee Hwee Tan's stunning debut novel, Foreign Bodies, written at the age of 23, both surprised me and gave me food for thought. The story of nine tension-filled days in the lives of three Gen-X friends in Singapore enthralled me with its discussion of the challenges of living as an ex-patriate in a country that may or may not be welcoming, the clash of two vastly different cultures, and the author's effective use of three different narrators to tell the story.

I expected the novel to be a comedy of cultural manners when I started it, but I soon realized that the work, while including those elements, transcended that. The title, Foreign Bodies, very cleverly points to the central theme of the novel--that life often presents us with tensions and paradoxes that we can't always resolve into nice, neat packages. As a hard of hearing woman whose life straddles both the hearing and deaf worlds, I can especially appreciate the meshing of two cultures that makes up Singapore. Much like the Singlish that Tan uses to good effect in her novel, I, at times, communicate using a sign language that is a patois of American Sign Language conventions in an English word order. I can understand the feeling of being part of two cultures, and yet feeling not completely a part of either one. I could also relate to Mei, the lawyer in the novel, in her struggles as a woman in a male-dominated culture and in her attempts to feel a part of her family, despite traumatic childhood events that have infected her like a foreign body.

Despite the novel's obvious linguistic and stylistic aim at the Gen-X age group, it has a more universal appeal due to its discussions of sin, of keeping and breaking promises, and of moral and spiritual redemption that transcends all ages, races, and the genders. I can't wait for Ms. Tan's next novel!

Highly recommended.

A novel about religion, first and foremost, how it helps Andy, who goes from being a drifter, angst-ridden, and full of doubt, to someone who accepts fate, even in a Singaporean jail; about Mei, who learns to live with secrets through her religion, and about Eugene, their friend, who does not have this faith, and therefore, ultimately suffers.

As an Overseas Chinese, I was amazed by the pervasiveness of the Old Culture - the Singaporean attitude to education and marriage is not just typical of Singapore - it can be found wherever there are older generation Chinese/Asians.

Tan's book covers a lot of ground - anxieties faced by young people in search for themselves, the mother-daughter relationship, religion, Singapore and foreigners...

It is an amazing book and the first written by a modern Asian that I have truly enjoyed.