The Garden Of Foolish Indulgences

by Oh Yong Hwee, Koh Hong Teng (Illustrator)

The Garden of Foolish Indulgences is a new work by Koh Hong Teng and Oh Yong Hwee based partly on an academic essay "Rambutans in the Picture" by Dr Lai Chee Kien.

In 1915, Han Wai Toon left Hainan Island to seek his fortune in Singapore. Through hard work, self-study and ingenuity, he became a global expert in diverse fields from ceramics, agriculture to Taoist deities. His rambutan orchard was particularly well-known and frequented by Chinese literati then, oddly because the rambutans were cultivated to taste like his hometown lychees.

Some 90 years later, Ye Feng’an came to Singapore with his family to seek better prospects for his son. One day, his encounter with a fruit seller set Feng'an to delve into the world of little-known Han Wai Toon.

Inspired by the biography of Han Wai Toon, this story explores the struggles of integration and retaining identity in an adopted country.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

128 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2016

About the author

Yong Hwee is the CEO and creative director of Patroids, a Singapore-based digital agency, and a part-time writer. He loves alternative and indie music, graphic novels, contemporary literature, mathematics, computer science and programming stuff. He received his BSc in Computing from the University of London in 1997 and served 8 years as a naval officer in the Singapore Navy.

Reviews

[aqilahreads · Rating 2 out of 5]

its a graphic novel about a family of recent chinese immigrants who are adjusting to life in singapore, inserting excerpts of han wai toon's own story.

omg idk but i felt like theres something missing in this book. was really interesting to read about an immigrant's point of view but i felt like it would be much better to focus more on adapting and learning from each other with the locals - which i feel there is a lack of representation.

there was one part where there was a conversation between the immigrant parents - mentioning how an indian girl in singapore is learning mandarin at such a young age and how mandarin is getting popular globally - and because of such, they do not need to bring their son for the so-called english environment. i don’t really see the point of mentioning it that way like why we locals have to learn mandarin in order to communicate with them when actually the main and most official language in singapore is english. i understand that singapore is majority made up of chinese but its important to educate readers that it is still a multicultural and multiracial country and that, it really does goes both ways to understand each other and living in a foreign country. i just wished things mentioned were being rectified and to be clear of misunderstandings.

i still managed to finish the book and thought that the art was pretty good and engaging!! it was also really nice to read more about han wai toon and his accomplishments. however, just felt like there are actually so many opportunities where this book could have shown a lot more of the good examples.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A graphic novel about pioneer Chinese immigrant polymath Han Wai Toon and his time in Singapore. His rambutan orchard was the Garden of Foolish Indulgences where literati gathered to reminisce about home as his rambutans were cross cultivated to taste like lychees from China.

I think the book is trying to convey the ambiguities of integration and identity faced by immigrants, and that this has not changed over time - except that current day immigrants have more options of where they want to go and need not necessarily settle in one place. But the parallel story of the current day fictional Chinese immigrant character is a bit weak, and does not resonate with me.

But what an intriguing title for a book. As intriguing as The Secret Garden. I would like to have my own secret garden of foolish indulgences - everyone needs one of these to survive the pragmatic illusion of "real" life :)

Easy book to read in one sitting.

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

The srudy of the legacy of the Chinese diaspora in Singapore as seen through an extraordinary self made man Han Wai Toon and his amazing accomplishments. A wonderful effort by Oh, Koh and Chua in birthing this graphic novel.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple yet beautiful drawings telling an important story of migrants past, present and future.

[GooglyEye Superman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book an unreasonable amount. Love that feeling that it conveys, of a little bit of emptiness inside every characters, wanting to belong somewhere, befriend someone, or to finally have that better life they have been vying for for so long. In contrast, a man in the past, in their similar position, had accomplished an awe-inspiring and beautiful life. But we can only look from afar, or rather from the future, never really understand him nor his minds, whether he felt exactly like we do right now.

What a beautiful book.

[WF · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story and parallel between the historical and contemporary diasporic experiences. The storytelling was slightly marred by the stilted English and some actual errors, and I don't refer to the Singlish, which also isn't quite right either.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is closer to a 3.5 - I found the story of a migrant finding his roots in Singapore unique, and the open-interpretation bits of the graphic novel to provide space for the readers to fill in their own narratives into the story.

[z · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weaving the stories of immigrants past and current, the illustrations sensitively capture the nuance and flavour of modern Singapore with authentic and nuanced dialogue.

[Michelle Chan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Singapore through the eyes of the immigrant. An interesting story although the ending left me hanging

[Ming · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated how thoughtful and well-researched it was