Chui Hong the 2nd daughter from a Peranakan family who grew up in Penang and her parents subsequently migrated to Singapore. She grew up in the midst of local believes in "Pantang" and the supernatural.
Something happen in the past which shadowed and shaped her life. Two men seems to hold the answers that can free her, Naga and Rysiek. Naga is her step-cousin while Rysiek is a Polish man.
Rysiek, is also a very confused man. A filial son who was felt guilty on not being at his mother bedside when she pass on. Married a nice girl but subsequently the marriage lost its charm. They migrated to Australia but that didn't help. The wife left him to go back to Poland. He was offered a job in Brunei where he met Chui Hong.
For me, this is a rather hard book to read. Too many ambiguous scene. The first part of the story was devoted to Chui Hong and her feeling about her sister. Then there comes the part of bomoh, pocong and charms.
This part was rather eerie for me as I was reading that in the middle of the night. The things that Chui Hong's Amah described was very scary. Good job on this.
The second part was devoted to Rysiek. That one is easy to understand. Quite straight forward.
As for Naga....hmm...not very sure of his part in this book.
Till the end of the book, I am still not too sure how Chui Hong and Rysiek supposed to heal each other. What I saw is that they had an affair. But what does that have to do with Chui Hong and Rysiek's past?
Sounds like a complicated book to read...
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