Synopses & Reviews
A dazzling novel telling the history of Singapore through the moving stories of three families whose lives become intertwined.
Riding a trolley bus through Singapore's crowded Chinatown, ten-year-old Howard and his mother find themselves in the midst of a communist riot. As Howard watches, a British policeman is wounded by the mob. But Howard finds that, instead of horror he feels satisfaction. It is 1927 and in a Singapore still under British colonial rule, opportunities open to local people are few. On the bus with Howard is a young Chinese girl whose fears and frustrations are of a different kind. Born into a wealthy Chinese dynasty, with a grandmother still suffering from bound feet, Mei Lan faces a life of feminine submission if she is unable to break free. In the years to come, the pair will be drawn together, but when war arrives, followed by the brutal Japanese occupation, their sense of self will be thrown into question, and their relationship tested to breaking point.
In a novel of breathtaking scope, Meira Chand tells the story of three families caught up in the tumultuous history of Singapore, as it journeys along the long, hard path to independence. From the opportunist Raj Sherma, an Indian immigrant made good, to the young Communist Greta, fighting the imperialists in the 1950s, and from the mixed loyalties of the Eurasian and Chinese communities to the sufferings of British prisoners of war, A Different Sky paints a vivid panorama of Singapore society through the personal struggles and victories of characters the reader will find it hard to forget.
Review
"Chand is a skilled storyteller and a conscientious researcher who weaves gripping adventure, magnificent romance and well-informed history into the sort of book its difficult to put down and impossible to read in bed if you want a good nights sleep!" Historic Novels Review
Review
"This meticulously researched book is alive with engrossing detail, whether on the odour of Chinatown, the privations of a guerilla camp or the appalling rituals of foot binding." Guardian
Review
"Historical fiction at its most complex and engaging . . . balances the communist groupings, Japanese occupation and emerging nationalism with skill . . . As history A Different Sky is engrossing: as fiction, highly enjoyable." Literary Review
Review
"[Chand] proves herself a master of the modern Asian epic in this tale
[she] offers a credible, compelling panorama of the tragedy and resilience, culture and individuality, political evolution, dissolution, and renaissance of 20th-century Singapore."Publishers Weekly
Review
"the protagonists are richly and deeply drawn, the sights, sounds, and smells of Singapore are gorgeously rendered, and the principal characters' interwoven stories combine to form a compelling narrative."Booklist
Synopsis
Singapore, 1927. Three young people are starting to question whether this in between island can ever truly be their home. Mei Lan comes from a famous Chinese dynasty but yearns to free herself from its stifling traditions. Ten year old old Howard seethes at the indignities heaped on his fellow Eurasians by the colonial British. Raj, fresh off the boat from India, wants only to work hard and become a successful businessman. As the years pass, and the Second World War sweeps through the east, with the Japanese occupying Singapore, the three are thrown together in unexpected ways, and tested to breaking point. Richly evocative, A Different Sky paints a scintillating panorama of thirty tumultuous years in Singapores history through the passions and struggles of characters the reader will find hard to forget.
About the Author
The author of seven previous novels, MEIRA CHAND is of Indian-Swiss parentage. Born and educated in London, she has lived most of her adult life in Japan, apart from some time in India during the seventies. In 1997 she moved to Singapore where she now currently lives. She is involved in several programmes to mentor young writers in Singapore, and has recently been writer in residence at Mansfield College, Oxford and also at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia.