FireWife by Tinling Choong
Nan A. Talese,
HK$164
Japanese men, British dogs and American women are the three most pampered creatures in the world, according to Tinling Choong. That doesn't necessarily make them good choices for reincarnation - the next life may be punishment rather than reward. But chances are they're in the right karmic ballpark.
FireWife - A Story of Fire and Water, is at times an exhilarating novella about women and marks the arrival of a fresh and interesting voice in fiction. The central character of FireWife is Nin, who repackages concept consumerism for a boutique restaurant chain.
She has a loving husband, a decidedly undeveloped character, who understands perfectly when she says she needs to escape for five months to take photographs. Nin is, of course, trying to escape herself and her past, which includes the accidental death of her little sister back in childhood Malaysia. She drowned in a well of tapioca after Nin abandoned responsibility, which has bound up her life and made her a prisoner of her actions.
Choong has opted for an intriguing structure, alternating chapters between an airborne Nin who can see the past in her business-class window on her night-time flights from city to city and the subjects of her pictures.
