Ovidia Yu, gay feminist author from Singapore, takes a cosy-but-candid approach to addressing the Lion City’s ills
With two new crime novels out this summer that mesh their mysteries with subtle social commentary, Yu is showing that you don’t have to be angry and aggressive to make political points
Ovidia Yu’s straight take on her countrymen is characteristic of the way she sees a lot of things in Singapore, from the exploitation of migrant workers to the state of women’s rights.
“Singaporeans are very pragmatic, I think. We do what we can to survive. If there’s no point making a fuss, we don’t – until there is something to be gained.”
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Her refusal to shy away from controversial issues has seen Yu, 56, become one of Singapore’s most acclaimed, eclectic and internationally successful modern writers. But it all could have worked out very differently had she pursued a career as a doctor after earning a rare medical scholarship offered to women by the Singaporean government.
“Being Singaporean and kiasu [rough translation: competitive and ambitious], you apply for the hardest thing,” she says. “That was medicine.”
But she decided to drop out and pursue her dream of being a writer – a decision so controversial it prompted Singapore’s prime minister to make an angry telephone call to her father.
