Shadow Theatre

Set in Singapore, a tale of friendship, love, violence, multiple murders, and the supernatural. Shakilah Nair has returned, after fifteen years in the United States, pregnant but with not even the glimmer of a ring upon her finger. Her former teacher's loyal maid, her onetime best friend, her own mother, the schoolgirls who have heard rumors, the woman whom she loved, and other women recount events connected with Shakilah and the mysterious Diamond Woman for whom a magic potion was once prepared by the local bomah. They reveal the dark undercurrents in the lives of these women of Chinese, Indian, Malay, and mixed ancestry, all of whom believe in the all-pervasive power of seen and unseen spirits.

Set in Singapore, a tale of friendship, love, violence, multiple murders, and the supernatural. Shakilah Nair has returned, after fifteen years in the United States, pregnant but with not even the glimmer of a ring upon her finger. Her former teacher's loyal maid, her onetime best friend, her own mother, the schoolgirls who have heard rumors, the woman whom she loved, and other women recount events connected with Shakilah and the mysterious Diamond Woman for whom a magic potion was once prepared by the local "bomah. They reveal the dark undercurrents in the lives of these women of Chinese, Indian, Malay, and mixed ancestry, all of whom believe in the all-pervasive power of seen and unseen spirits.

Fiona Cheong was born in Singapore, received an M.F.A. from Cornell, and now teaches at the University of Pittsburgh. She is the author of The Scent of the Gods, a novel. Her short fiction has been anthologized.