Love stories set against the backdrop of colonial Singapore and other parts of Southeast Asia bring back the nostalgia of yesteryear, writes Elena Koshy.
Olivia and Sophia
Author: Rosie Milne
Publisher: Monsoon Books
432 pages
So what’s it like to be the wife of an expatriate living in a foreign land where social customs, languages and people are somewhat alien to all that you are familiar with?
One expat wife does more than just tell her story. Chronicling the lives and loves of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, Lieutenant-Governor of British Java, Governor-General of Bencoolen and founder of modern Singapore, together with his two wives Olivia and Sophia, she brings an intriguing story of the lives of two women setting up homes in foreign territories thousands of miles away from 19th-century England.
Olivia Mariamne Fancourt nee Devenish was the first wife of Raffles. Ten years his senior, Olivia was a widow with an illegitimate daughter when she married him. Struggling with her own sense of shame due to her chequered past, Olivia sets sail with her husband to the far-off lands of Penang, Malacca, Java, Sumatra and India as he navigates his way through the political maze of the British empire.
Told in first person narrative in diary format, we stand behind the shoulder of his often ill wife as she chronicles her life story, struggles, secret infatuations and disappointments. Described as a “raffish” beauty, Olivia turns the heads of two other men, a poet and a soldier, the latter being one of Raffle’s bitterest rivals.
With liver ailments dogging her steps, Olivia is unfazed, spirited and determined to stand by her husband’s side. Her writing (or rather Milne’s) is poignant as towards the end of her life, she acknowledges how much she loves her husband: “I know better than ever my love for him is true — it drenches me like our drenching rains.” A suitable love epithet in a monsoon-ridden country.
Sophia Hull, who’s described as “no great beauty”, takes on the role of his wife after the death of Olivia, and embraces the opportunity of an exciting life abroad. Curious and intelligent, Sophia wrestles with jealousy over Raffles fondness for his late wife, but succeeds in the one thing that Olivia, with all her beauty and devotion, couldn’t do — give Raffles children. Yet life with Sophia is marred by tragedy — shipwrecks, death of their children save one, financial loss and even the threat of bankruptcy.
We get a glimpse of life as it was in colonial Malaya, Singapore and other parts of Asia through the eyes of these two women. Milne is careful not to over-sentimentalise their voices and the diary entries are not merely entries of their personal matters of the heart but vignettes of their daily lives — be they descriptions of the region’s climates, interactions with the locals or being a fly on the wall where their husband’s career path with all its social and political manoeuvrings, was concerned.
In an interview with the Telegraph, Milne said: “Raffles’ wives made the same journey 200 years ago that I did, from Europe to Asia. But in those days, there was no Skype, no WhatsApp, and no picking up the phone to speak to your family. It was like going to the moon. Letters took up to a year to arrive and there were very few European women there. I didn’t set out to write it specifically for expat women but I think they’ll enjoy it and find parallels with their own experiences, especially expat women in Asia.”
What’s Hot: Surprisingly I enjoyed the book. History makes me snoozy but Milne managed to keep my interest going long enough to want to get to know both wives and their distinctive voices. The world that both Olivia and Sophia created gave me a glimpse of life in the bygone era, and although Milne took great artistic liberties in creating a story out of historical facts, it was done in such convincing and articulate prose.
What’s Not: Some parts were dry. Understandably so. I mean, back in those days wives had little much to do (no Internet, no Netflix, no good coffee, no malls) except take a lively interest in their husbands’ work problems. Raffles and his many issues at work left my eyes glazed over at times. Then again, it’s not personal. Work politics make me want to sleep anyway.
Bamboo Island
Author: Anne Bennett
Publisher:Monsoon Books
330 pages
Author Anne Bennett has emerged with a trilogy of historic fiction set against the backdrop of WWII, and Bamboo Island is the second of the three books. The idea for a Southeast Asian WWII trilogy came when she was researching her father’s wartime experiences.
Bennet’s father had been a prisoner of war on the Thailand-Burma railway and her research took her back to Asia, a place she grew to love and has returned to many times.
Bamboo Island takes us on a journey to both Malaysia and Singapore before, during and after the Second World War. Leading an almost reclusive life on her Malayan rubber plantation since the Second World War, protagonist Juliet Crosby is suddenly visited by a young woman from Indonesia who claims to be her niece.
The arrival of Mary Batari opens up a lot of old wounds as Juliet is forced to dredge up painful memories of her past including an abusive marriage, being a prisoner of war in Japanese-occupied Singapore and the loss of family and friends she held close to her heart. The story begins in the present when she is whiling away her time on her plantation inherited from her late husband since the war robbed her of almost everyone she loved. When Mary arrives unexpectedly in search of her roots, Julia needs a lot of convincing to accept the possibility that this young woman might be remotely related to her.
As she journeys with Mary to Singapore and hence on to Bamboo Island where the sinking of the Rajah of Sarawak cost the life of her sister Rose, Juliet struggles with her painful memories that she’s tried so hard to bury. Flashbacks are used liberally throughout the novel in an effort to add details and information about Juliet, her past and how it all links up to Mary. It also opens the door for Julia to embrace some parts of her past that might point to a different future altogether, if she can get past her pain.
What’s Hot: Despite the heavy content, Bennet manages to carve a pretty decent story about life, love and friendships forged in days long past. With the exotic draw of Southeast Asia in the background, the story is interesting enough despite the many flashbacks that go two and fro between the present and the past. And I do like (spoiler alert) happy endings. I’m sentimental that way.
What’s Not: While it’s readable, there are times when the flashbacks get a little irritating. It’s used too much to tie up loose ends, and despite the fact I’m no Sherlock, I sniffed out the plot twist a few chapters before it happened. So yes, throw in predictable in the mix. Read this story on a holiday trip. It’s no Pulitzer-winning novel but it makes a good read with a Singapore Sling in hand.