PUBLISHED September 18th, 2021 05:00 am | UPDATED July 22nd, 2024 05:27 pm
The light at the end of the tunnel, dimmed at multiple points this year in Singapore. As fall approaches, we aim to keep your hopes with a curation of positive stories this September. Some are light-hearted and introspective, there are tales that’d make you chuckle to yourself. Others, would feel like a hug after a heart-to-heart session, helping you make sense of current times.
Miss Dior: A Story of Courage and Couture by Justine Picardie
Set the tone for autumn with Miss Dior: A Story of Courage and Couture. The acclaimed author of Coco Chanel shines the light on another game-changing name in the fashion industry, Christian Dior.
While many are familiar with the world the French designer has built, few know about the contrasted life of the woman who informed his vision – his sister Catherine Dior. Set against the war-torn backdrop of occupied France, the story tails Catherine’s bond with her brother, her dedication to the Resistance, her capture by the Gestapo and her hostage at a Nazi camp. Picardie brilliantly traces Catherine’s lesser-known, but brave and remarkable story, such that it lives up to her unsung legacy.
Miss Dior: A Story of Courage and Couture is available on Book Depository.
Inspired by the struggles of the Singaporean of the past, local writer Dave Chua’s Gone Case is an unassuming tale of a 12-year-old growing up in Singapore. Set in the 1990s, when the nation was making rapid progress and changes, the story trails the child who, interestingly, is just your average Joe.
Like any other child growing up in an HDB estate in Singapore, life is not overly dramatic, but it is in this mundane space that Chua eloquently conveys the everyday emotions of heartbreak and anxiety. The touches of colloquial language peppered across the story helped make it a light-hearted, relatable read.
Gone Case is available on Ethos Books.
My Body by Emily Ratajkowski
You might recognise Emily Ratajkowski from her appearances in the music videos of Robin Thicke’s notorious Blurred Lines and Gone Girl (2014) by David Fincher. The model and activist’s new book My Body is unpacks what it means to be a woman and to be seen as a commodity – no holds barred.
Delving into feminism and sexual harassment to activism, her essays tackle consent, her relationship with her body, and how it has unnecessarily been at the core of public debate. Expect chronicles in her life that led to profound realisations that are eye-opening and empathy evoking, which might also help us make sense of complex issues around power and sexuality.
My Body is available on Book Depository.
Breathtaking: Inside the NHS in a Time of Pandemic By Rachel Clarke
As much as we’d like to move on from COVID-19, it’s difficult when the pandemic is still taking a toll. Since we can’t beat it (yet), look to Breathtaking: Inside the NHS in a Time of Pandemic for perspective. This insightful tome is an insider’s account of a palliative care doctor looking after the COVID-19 wards in the early part of 2020 in the UK.
The book is, naturally, heartbreaking with recollections of interactions between critically ill patients and their families, the actions of well-meaning individuals, the government’s handling of the crisis – the list goes on. It is also a striking reminder of what we have fought through and the obstacles we have overcome, thus helping us to keep faith.
Breathtaking: Inside the NHS in a Time of Pandemic is available on Amazon.
Last Tang Standing by Lauren Ho
Crazy Rich Asians fans, you’ll love Last Tang Standing, the debut of Malaysian author Lauren Ho. While the premise is something of a trope – a woman in her early thirties who struggles between doing what she wants and trying to conform to society’s standards – it’s one that increasingly relatable as well.
All protagonist Andrea Tang has to do is make partner at the law firm she works at. Then, she would have everything – except the support of her meddling conservative and traditional Chinese Malaysian family. How will she keep them happy without compromising her values and goals? When tackling serious subjects like sexism and filial piety, Ho employs humour, which keeps us giggling even when things get heated. It’s perfect for fall, then, when there’s a tendency for things to get gloomy.
The Last Tang Standing is available on Book Depository.
Top Image: Photo courtesy of Ksenia Makagonova on Unsplash