THE PLOT: ‘Ponti’ by Sharlene Teo is a literary novel about an intense teenage female friendship that haunts both women into adulthood. 2003, Singapore. Friendless and fatherless, sixteen-year-old Szu lives in the shadow of her beautiful, former actress mother, Amisa. But when Szu meets the privilege, acid tongued Circe, the two outsiders strike an unlikely best-friendship that offers Szu an escape from her mother’s domination. Yet an event happens that breaks their friendship apart, driving Szu to the brink of sanity. Seventeen years later, Circe is struggling through a divorce when a project comes up at work: a remake of the cult seventies horror film that defined Amisa’s acting career. Knocked off course by memories of the mother and daughter she once knew, guilt threatens to consume her.

SUMMARY: I adored the writing style of this novel. The sentences weren’t over-written or over-complicated, but still contained a magical quality that can simply be summarised as ‘voice’. Told from the perspectives of all three women, it’s a novel about friendship and family, about the consequences of our decisions and the roads not taken. I’m giving this four-and-a-half stars because I wanted a tad more plot. With such great characters and rich setting, I feel like there could be even more drama. But this is just personal taste and I do appreciate this is a quiet, intentional novel. Suffice to say, I will be buying this author’s next book!

GOOD BITS:  This book is all about the relationships between the characters, and the writing is about the spaces in between the dialogue. As someone who hasn’t always fit in, I felt keenly desperate for Szu, yet I also understood Circe’s frustration. These are characters who will stay with me for a long time. Teo’s writing feels fresh and rich yet wholly relatable and understandable. She invokes such a strong atmosphere; a master at creating liminal spaces and highlighting the things left unsaid. From the suck and swell of the mangroves to the streets of Penang, I was so moved to read this in Malaysia, which allowed me a deeper appreciation of some of the descriptions.

NOT SO GOOD BITS:  I kept expecting more plot, as if we were ramping up to a climax that never really came. It’s not a problem per se, but I guess just wanted more, more, more because the characters were so well-observed and the setting was so rich. For example, I want to know more about Aunt Yunxi and more about Szu’s father and more about Circe’s mother and I could read a whole extra novel about them! They all felt like real people who I want to stay with.

OVERALL: I’d recommend this book to fans of ‘America Is Not the Heart’ by Elaine Castillo and ‘Swing Time’ by Zadie Smith. This isn’t a book for everyone. If you want a fast-paced thriller or a swoony romance, just skip this one. But readers who love this book, who want to analyse authorial voice and character development, will be loyal fans of Teo’s.

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