We Are Not Alone Here

by O. Thiam Chin

An intricate blend of mystery and horror with a feminist take on the roles of womanhood, especially motherhood, in contemporary times   An unnamed young woman and her companion strike up a conversation in the dark in a quiet room, in the middle of nowhere. As they talk, the young woman starts to open up her life, to talk about her past and childhood, growing up in a single-parent household under poor impoverished conditions, living under the cold, steely eye of an estranged and manipulative mother who physically and emotionally abused her. The woman gradually divulges the lies and secrets that have plagued her life from a very young age, and how all of it has led her to make hard choices along the to be a mistress to her boss at her first job, to have a child out of wedlock, to rear a child all on her own and then to tragically lose him in a drowning.

The truth becomes stranger and more complicated as the woman continues to tell her story, braiding and twisting the facts and sequence of events as she narrates, that soon reveals a long unvoiced history of pain and violence and deception, that ultimately culminates in her committing a series of horrific and terrible acts. What has seemed clear and straightforward at the start of the woman's story soon becomes a strange febrile dream that holds the woman and her companion in a complicit, unbreakable spell.

Genres: Fiction

180 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2023

About the author

O Thiam Chin is the winner of the inaugural Epigram Books Fiction Prize in 2015 for his first novel, Now That It's Over, and his second novel, Fox Fire Girl, was shortlisted for the 2016 EBFP; both novels are published by Epigram Books.

He is also the author of five collections of short fiction: Free-Falling Man (2006), Never Been Better (2009), Under The Sun (2010), The Rest Of Your Life and Everything That Comes With It (2011) and Love, Or Something Like Love (2013). Love, Or Something Like Love was shortlisted for the 2014 Singapore Literature Prize for English Fiction, and Never Been Better and Under The Sun were included in the top ten fiction books in the POPULAR Readers’ Choice Awards in Malaysia.

His short stories have appeared in Mānoa, World Literature Today, The International Literary Quarterly, Asia Literary Review, Quarterly Literary Review Singapore, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Kyoto Journal, The Jakarta Post, The New Straits Times, Asiatic and Esquire (Singapore). His short fiction was also selected for the first two volumes of The Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean Short Stories anthology series.

O was an honorary fellow of the Iowa International Writing Program in 2010, a recipient of the NAC Young Artist Award in 2012, and has been thrice longlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. He has appeared frequently at writers festivals in Australia, Indonesia and Singapore.

Reviews

[nadiaizzaty]

My review on : www.instagram.com/trulybynia

[Pam Z (Pam's Shenanigans)]

This book certainly did not go where I thought it was headed, which, frankly speaking, I didn’t have many theories on because it’s so hard to guess where it was going. The guesses I made, in the beginning, were incorrect.

But one thing is for sure though, this is an especially jarring read because I read it from the perspective of an unreliable narrator who seems to be spiraling down mentally. The reveals when the mom relayed the same story she “told” earlier made my jaw literally drop and whisper “no way”. They were such simple reveals and nuggets of what I think is the “real” truth, but they had so much impact that I had to pause and collect my thoughts.

Looking at it now that I’ve finished the book, the author’s decision to not have chapters or breaks in it makes a whole lot of sense since the story is supposed to be read and digested in one sitting as it was transpiring that way with the mom, the narrator.

So am I going to recommend this book? I think yes, but to people looking for a specific mood or setting or writing style. The book is a bit difficult to explain because just reading the blurb won’t give many details on what the book truly is. But another thing is for sure, I’ll be thinking about this for quite some time. It was quite a reading experience.

TW: suicide, physical, psychological, and parental abuse, kidnapping, death

[Chris Baterna]

4.5* I've never read something quite like this and... oh my god?? this book is insane in the best ways possible.
Not only does it keep me guessing the whole way through and gasping at horrors - but it also sprinkles intensely interesting points on the inner child, tainted childhood, and the inheritance of our parents' worst.
Only (-0.5 star) issue was that some passages dragged on a little too much, but this was a minor issue anyway.

A wildly unexpected and late entry into my top 10 of the year...

[aliyahrambely]

⚠️⚠️ ⚠️: suicidal, suicide, emotional and physical abuse, family violence, murder

Honestly, i found it quite hard to review this book as it left a void in me. The process of accepting what happened in the story is not easy as the thin pages of the book. Less than 200 pages but the after-effects are major 💔 till the moment i wrote the review, i still can imagine most of the tragic scenes 😔

At the first 50 pages, i feel like the book is hazy and quite slow pace but i am glad that i keep myself reading it and realise that the story is not dull as I expected. It’s carried loads of emotional baggage and makes me feel sorrowful and miserable 😔 I am thinking about how many poor kids and families out there that needed help but didn’t get any.

It’s becoming more terrifying after she started to share deeply about her past self which makes me know her better. I had most questioned that being asked in the book too but then i know why… It’s so sad and hurtful for her for what she had experienced that shaped her that way.

One takeaway from the book is not everyone deserves to be a parent. The idea of having a family is good but the responsibility onward is something that should be thought of many times. For me, this book portrays a serious motherhood issue that happened in our society that shouldn’t be taken lightly. A mother needs full support and mostly only herself is not enough. Husbands, both families, community, and society had taken part to help especially those who are single-parent.

Even though this book is a psychological thriller but it’s more of a saddening read for me. I wish there is someone that can help the narrator to get a beautiful experience of family but i understand that not everyone is lucky to have that ❤️‍🩹

Thank you so much to @penguinbooksea for sending me this book as a change of honest review. I am grateful for it 🫶🏻

[Nadirah]

"We Are Not Alone Here" by O Thiam Chin is told from the perspective of a mother who has recently lost her child, and it utilizes a style of narration that creates a haunting effect as our unreliable narrator recounts the events of her life that led to her current predicament.

Written in the first person narrative, the mother speaks to the other person in this story in a seemingly one-sided conversation, where the twists and turns kept readers guessing as to the real truth behind her words. The stylistic choice with no chapter breaks reminded me of Fernanda Melchor's books, and it's a style that's particularly effective in making readers lose themselves in the story if done right. The sinister undertone underpinning the mother's breathless tale feels like an intimate confession, and the gradual reveal of this winding narrative is beautifully done.

The book starts off pretty slow as it sets the stage for what is to come, but stick with it and you'll be rewarded with a nuanced social commentary on motherhood and the role of women in a society that still downplays the effects of its one-sided policies. I love the author's focus on the psychological aspects of what makes a human being snap. While this is set in Singapore in modern times, it’s applicable to everywhere else in the world given the similar challenges women and mothers face at the moment. Given how slim this novella is, I was amazed at how it managed to deal with quite a number of themes in a way that doesn't feel too contrived.

I can't say more about the plot without giving the game away, as that would be robbing the readers of experiencing this immersive tale and the ways in which its layers of horror unfold. Ultimately, the premise of this book might not be groundbreaking, but the writing really elevated this simple novella into an unforgettable take on psychological horror and it is also the perfect companion read for #spooktober reads. The ending passages lingered with me for days after finishing the book, which probably speaks for itself.

Many thanks to the publisher for this review copy as it introduced me to O Thiam Chin; I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of his books!

[Yalan]

Intriguing plot. Great use of the unreliable narrator device. Was a bit confused as to who the narrator was talking to and why the writer switched between you and the girl; need to think more to understand it. Good prose style, albeit a bit much at times. Not sure about the novel’s supposed feminism if MC unravelled eventually because of a man, and as a mum, I can’t imagine ever killing my child. But then again, my past is a lot more stable and uneventful than MC’s. Overall, I enjoyed this.

[tq ꩜⋆⁺₊⋆]

In a dark room, a woman tells a hazy story that we slowly find out is the unravelling of her sanity.

I liked how this was written from the perspective of an unreliable character and how I was misled by her initially.

Overall, this was quite a heavy read and I felt the sorrow of the narrator deeply, however unredeemable her actions may be.

[Simple Lady]

3.5