At the turn of the twentieth century, two young men from Palakkad, Puthu and Krishnan, meet aboard a ship bound for Malaya, and strike up an instant connection. Over the next two decades, they set up a restaurant in Singapore selling curry puffs and kopi, become successful, get married and start families. However, Krishnan harbours a dark secret that threatens to destroy the dreams he and Puthu have built together, a secret that only carelessness can reveal…

The Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean Short Stories: Volume Five gathers the finest Singaporean stories published in 2019 and 2020, selected by guest editor Balli Kaur Jaswal from hundreds published in journals, magazines, anthologies and single-author collections.

Sally Bong is the typical do-gooder. But her journey as an exemplary citizen of Singapore is put into question when she meets people on the margins, upending everything she has learned in school. In a follow-up to the hilarious Let’s Give It Up for Gimme Lao!, Sebastian Sim delves deeper into a nation’s psyche with more shrewd humour than ever before. Reader Reviews: “An acerbic wit. Sim’s prose zips along breezily.” –The Straits Times “Hilarious and almost absurdist in its storytelling, And the Award Goes to Sally Bong! strings watershed events in Singapore’s short history with the life of a dauntless but heartfelt protagonist, homing in on what it means to lead our best and authentic lives.” –Cyril Wong, Singapore Literature Prize-winning author of This Side of Heaven

Behind the golden façade of a land filled with opportunities dwell two destitute souls, shipped to Singapore in the late 1800s. Oseki, an ingenue forced into prostitution as a karayuki, grapples with being betrayed by her own father and transforms into a monster she can’t recognise. Gobind, a deaf convict from India, serves his sentence as a punkhawala to a British hunter obsessed with killing Rimau Satan, a man-eating tiger of mythic proportions. Whenever Gobind hunts with his master, his butchered memories lurk in the darkness, aching to pounce. When Oseki’s and Gobind’s paths intertwine, they begin to face their inner demons to find their humanity—and their way back home.

Shining a brilliant light on expat life in Singapore, “Hawker Dreams” sweeps readers into the heart of the rule-abiding city-state where nearly a third of its six million inhabitants are foreigners, each with a story to tell. The memoir is equal parts travelogue, family history, and cultural exploration. Oanh Usadi takes you on her journey of home and belonging through the prism of language, cuisine, and class. In the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic island where language plays a central role in shaping identities and forging connections “Hawker Dreams” is a celebration of the ties that bind us to a place, no matter where we call home.

It is a challenging decision to migrate to another country. Doubts surface. Which country has the best work culture and how it is different from the others? Which country offers a fantastic work-life balance? In what ways is a dependent’s life more fulfilling in the UK than in the USA? Is Indian food really smelly? If Singapore is close to India, why do people aspire to go to far-off countries like Australia or New Zealand? Canada is inviting skilled immigrants in huge numbers now; what secrets should you know before moving there? Which is a better place to thrive—Germany or the Netherlands? France is beautiful, but what are the challenges involved in settling there? How are the health and education systems in China? What would your lifestyle be like in South Africa or the UAE? The ones who have walked this path themselves are the ones who can answer the questions best! Thirty-four people from twelve countries around the world joined the author to share the untold secrets of living abroad. This ultimate guide hopes to help you not only in chasing your dreams but also in living them with dignity. Madhu rises from the ashes to find her wings again. Hari redeems his life in the face of odds, to live with dignity! Compelling stories promise to give direction to your dreams and change your thoughts about living abroad forever! When dreams are fulfilled, and the alarm goes off, should you keep snoozing it, or should you traverse from one dream to another, a dream within a dream? Explore these untold secrets and embark on your own journey of a lifetime!