Reading is absolutely subjective. If I were to go by the Goodreads rating, I would have never gotten this book. I’m so glad I went with my gut.
I am taking part in the travel the world reading challenge and chose The Sun Sets in Singapore for January since it’s this month’s read of The Reading Black Girls book club.
The story revolves around three black women living the highlife as black Singapore expats whose lives are disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious man, Lani.
Dara, an overworked lawyer from the UK who is estranged from her mother and up for partnership at her firm. Lani is the newest senior associate at the firm, and she views him as her direct competition.
Dara’s best friend, Amaka, a Nigerian banker with family issues who is struggling with a shopping addiction she uses to compensate her insecurities. She is secretly involved with a coworker but is instantly attracted to the handsome Lani.
Lillian, “the American” pianist who’s in Singapore because of her husband’s work. Lillian never processed losing her parents when she was a child, which is putting a strain on her marriage. When she sees Lani, she becomes fixated on forming a bond with him because he reminds her of her father.
I identified with each woman as she struggles to come to terms with her past. Themes like identity, racism, misogyny, social class, immigration and mental health are explored. I loved that the women are in a book club and enjoyed their heated discussion on Americanah (there may be spoilers if you have not yet read Americanah) . There is a list of the books mentioned in the back of the novel. I intend to get the ones I haven’t read yet. I also loved the references to Greek mythology (Dara is a classics buff like me).
There are great discussions in this book. Discussions on abandonment, loss, and sexism. There is one scene where the three women are having breakfast with friends/acquaintances during a Bali getaway and the conversation veers toward the standards women hold other women to that left me reeling, because the men were getting on my nerves.
When I first read the synopsis, I thought this would be another Wahala but with a man coming to stir up trouble. But honestly, I didn’t see Lani as a bad guy. Privileged, yes. But it seemed like Lani triggers these women based on their past experiences of loss/trauma.
The story gives a glimpse of the laws in Singapore and touches on what it’s like living and dating in Singapore as an expat and the prejudices blacks, especially Nigerians, face. Still, Dara wanting to visit Vietnam a third time while reading The Bride Test mirrored my desire to return to Singapore 18 years after galvanting through Orchard Road and Sentosa Island with my Navy buddies in 2006 while reading this novel.
I’m not a literary critic. I like what I like. As long as a story is able to hold my attention, I’m good. And this is a dramatic, fun, character-driven read.
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