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The Shrimp People
As the drinks flowed, the noise and laughter became louder and louder. Female shrieks and uninhibited throaty guffaws. The band sensed the mood and began to play sing-along pieces. Bertha hugged Carl on the dance floor as he sang I m in Love with Two Sweethearts, asking him who the other was, assuming that she was one. They sang Forever Blowing Bubbles , Girl of My Dreams and Bengawan Solo . Then suddenly it was over. The last dance ... Singapore 1956. Bertha was from a Portuguese Eurosian family. Pa (Father was what one called the priest) was in the force and, together with Ma, Eric, and Beryl, her life revolved around Sunday Masses, school, hockey, Christmases, weddings and family gatherings, where one danced, flirted with the boys or simply hung around the bar reminiscing the good old days. But the cold winds of change were blowing. Political violence and racial riots spilled onto the streets threatening to end forever the peaceful lifestyle of a fragile community. Against this backdrop of fear and uncertainty, Bertha is dragged into a deadly game of terrorism and espionage. Only she can prevent the impending bloodshed of war. But is she willing to pay the price of loyalty and betray the man she loves for her country ... ?
478 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 15, 2024
A novel published in 1991, but set in 1950s/1960s Singapore, Malaya and Indonesia. The author was from Singapore’s Eurasian community, and this novel is set amongst people from that community. It was written in English although some of the spoken dialogue has the type of English idiom used in SE Asia. The book’s title is derived from geragok, a Malay word for a type of small shrimp, apparently used as a somewhat pejorative term for Eurasians.
This is a long novel – 476 pages - and I found it a very uneven one. For most of the book I thought it was heading for a 3-star rating, but it fell away over the last 100 -150 pages.
We begin with a young Singapore man called Robert Machado. On a business trip to Perth, Australia, he and an Australian friend have a chance encounter in a bar with “Old Joe”, an elderly Eurasian man also from Singapore. The novel suggests that the Eurasian community of Singapore and Malaya was small and tended to intermarry, so Joe knows all of Robert’s older relatives. Being older, he knows of events in Robert’s family, that Robert himself has only heard whispers of. There’s a particular focus on a woman called Bertha, Robert’s maternal aunt, about whom there is some mystery. Initially Joe’s presence is used as a means to relate Bertha’s story, but later in the novel this is dropped entirely and we are simply told the story from Bertha’s own first person perspective. This changeover seemed a bit messy to me.
The first 40% or so of the book are a domestic family story, with the lives and loves of Robert’s maternal grandparents, his mother and his aunt. It was fairly easy reading, but the novel then takes a sharp turn and the second half has a very different feel, to the extent it almost seems like a different novel. I won’t say more to avoid spoilers. Initially I was intrigued at the new storyline, but then the book got rather bogged down into political machinations in the lead up to the independence of Singapore and Malayasia, and Indonesian interference with that process. I had heard of Sukarno and of Lee Kuan Yew, but beyond that I lacked the background knowledge to really understand what was going on, and at times I found the story rather confusing. I think the author wrote the book for a more local readership.
The early part of the novel does provide us with a picture of a small and little known community, but later in the book some of the characters have overlong discussions about the Eurasians, their culture and their history. Overall, a bit of a disappointment.
This is a long novel – 476 pages - and I found it a very uneven one. For most of the book I thought it was heading for a 3-star rating, but it fell away over the last 100 -150 pages.
We begin with a young Singapore man called Robert Machado. On a business trip to Perth, Australia, he and an Australian friend have a chance encounter in a bar with “Old Joe”, an elderly Eurasian man also from Singapore. The novel suggests that the Eurasian community of Singapore and Malaya was small and tended to intermarry, so Joe knows all of Robert’s older relatives. Being older, he knows of events in Robert’s family, that Robert himself has only heard whispers of. There’s a particular focus on a woman called Bertha, Robert’s maternal aunt, about whom there is some mystery. Initially Joe’s presence is used as a means to relate Bertha’s story, but later in the novel this is dropped entirely and we are simply told the story from Bertha’s own first person perspective. This changeover seemed a bit messy to me.
The first 40% or so of the book are a domestic family story, with the lives and loves of Robert’s maternal grandparents, his mother and his aunt. It was fairly easy reading, but the novel then takes a sharp turn and the second half has a very different feel, to the extent it almost seems like a different novel. I won’t say more to avoid spoilers. Initially I was intrigued at the new storyline, but then the book got rather bogged down into political machinations in the lead up to the independence of Singapore and Malayasia, and Indonesian interference with that process. I had heard of Sukarno and of Lee Kuan Yew, but beyond that I lacked the background knowledge to really understand what was going on, and at times I found the story rather confusing. I think the author wrote the book for a more local readership.
The early part of the novel does provide us with a picture of a small and little known community, but later in the book some of the characters have overlong discussions about the Eurasians, their culture and their history. Overall, a bit of a disappointment.
January 10, 2015
The book is supposed to be about Eurasians. It's mostly a long ramble. There is little cohesiveness in the plot. You wished it was better. Editing is very weak ( an longtime resident Englishman did it). While it's flattering to have a book about Eurasians ( especially if you are one ) it's unbearable when it makes no sense. Reading it is like imposing a headache on yourself. There are better reads out there. You're better off reading a history book on Eurasians or visiting a museum exhibit. Skip the torture.
May 14, 2014
A decent read of the Eurasian community pre-independence. Amazing descriptions of the food, places, people and especially that drunk Old Joe's banter.
I think this book lost it's strong Eurasian flavour later on as the Konfrontasi plot creeps in. It does the rich descriptive scenes of her early life no justice, pretty much redundant.
This is a book that would've done better if it was probably split into two separate titles.
I think this book lost it's strong Eurasian flavour later on as the Konfrontasi plot creeps in. It does the rich descriptive scenes of her early life no justice, pretty much redundant.
This is a book that would've done better if it was probably split into two separate titles.
April 10, 2021
Hovering between 2 and 3 because i really liked the beginning of this book about teenage Bertha and how close knit the Eurasian community is but the second half was just too wtf for me. She didn't need to be a spy/terrorist to be an interesting character. I was perfectly entertained reading about her hockey team
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews