7 books by Singapore writers to look forward to in 2022
As people turn the page to a new year, 2022 promises a bumper crop of exciting new titles from home-grown authors. Here are seven books with a Singapore connection to look forward to this year.
1. The Verifiers
By Jane Pek
Expected on Feb 22
Claudia Lin, a mystery enthusiast with an English literature degree, gets recruited as a sleuth for Veracity, a dating detective agency in New York City.
She verifies people's online lives - or uncovers their lies, whatever the case may be - while fending off her own family's snooping into her work and love life.
But when a client with an unusual request goes missing, Claudia winds up breaking protocol to investigate.
The debut novel from Pek, a Singaporean lawyer based in New York, has gained early praise from acclaimed authors such as Emily St John Mandel and National Book Award winner Charles Yu.
2. Searching For Lee Wen
By Chan Li Shan
Expected in April
Chan delves into the story of one of Singapore's most prominent performance artists: Lee, a Cultural Medallion recipient famed for his iconic Yellow Man series, who died in 2019, aged 61, from a lung infection.
Chan is a mental-health advocate and PhD candidate at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, where she has been awarded the Biography Prize for her work on Lee.
Last year, the Singaporean published a picture book on the artist, Yellow Man, which was illustrated by comic artist Weng Pixin.
3. Watersong
By Clarissa Goenawan
Expected on June 9
The Indonesia-born Singaporean's third novel is, like its predecessors Rainbirds (2018) and The Perfect World Of Miwako Sumida (2020), an offbeat mystery set in Japan.
Shouji Arai is haunted by dreams of drowning and the words of a fortune teller, who warned him to avoid three women with water in their names.
After crossing a powerful client, he flees to Tokyo to track down his missing girlfriend Youko - only to realise that not everything she told him about herself was true.
4. Lucie Yi Is Not A Romantic
By Lauren Ho
Expected on June 21
The Singapore-based Malaysian author cracked The Straits Times' bestsellers list for fiction in 2020 with her frothy debut Last Tang Standing, and is now back for romcom round two.
After a disastrous break-up, management consultant Lucie Yi no longer wants to wait around for Mr Right to have kids.
Instead, she signs up for an elective co-parenting website to find someone to platonically have a baby with.
When she moves back home to Singapore, however, she must face the displeasure of her traditional family, as well as the reappearance of her ex-fiance. Read More…
