Nimita's Place

Name: Nimita's Place
Author: Akshita Nanda
ISBN: 1912098563

by Akshita Nanda

What I like about it is, firstly, that it’s told from the much-welcomed perspective of a Singaporean Indian. In Singapore, other cultures do not tend to get as much space as the majority, which is the Singaporean Chinese perspective. It’s a wonderfully written, witty work of fiction that looks at parallel narratives. It’s a story of migration, firstly about a woman who moved to Singapore from India at a particular time in the 40s. Then it fast-forwards to pretty much the present day, to 2014, and you get some wonderfully incisive depictions of contemporary living—things like office politics or just what it’s like to live in the city. There’s wonderful evocation of detail there. It’s quite understated, and handled really well. Get the weekly Five Books newsletter It’s an ongoing social issue which I’ve heard about from people firsthand. Preference is given to people who hold a Singapore passport, and it’s unfair, as all draconian immigration laws are in the UK as well. When people try to impose a cap on immigration numbers and people have to earn above a certain income bracket—no matter how long they’ve established their lives in a particular place—that’s unfair. It’s very much about the treatment of women and looking at issues of migration, borders, citizenship and belonging. How do we claim where we belong? How long do you have to live somewhere, how do you earn that right? It is very safe, that is absolutely true. That’s another thing that I really liked reading this book: none of the details ring false. It does really incisively describe the kind of claustrophobia and complacency that comes with living in such a safe, really well-developed city. Yes, it’s multilingual. It’s not completely segregated at all. You do get the sense that it’s pretty cosmopolitan and multicultural.

Recommended by

Sharlene Teo

"What I like about it is, firstly, that it’s told from the much-welcomed perspective of a Singaporean Indian. In Singapore, other cultures do not tend to get as much space as the majority, which is the Singaporean Chinese perspective. It’s a wonderfully written, witty work of fiction that looks at parallel narratives. It’s a story of migration, firstly about a woman who moved to Singapore from India at a particular time in the 40s. Then it fast-forwards to pretty much the present day, to 2014, and you get some wonderfully incisive depictions of contemporary living—things like office politics or just what it’s like to live in the city. There’s wonderful evocation of detail there. It’s quite understated, and handled really well. Get the weekly Five Books newsletter It’s an ongoing social issue which I’ve heard about from people firsthand. Preference is given to people who hold a Singapore passport, and it’s unfair, as all draconian immigration laws are in the UK as well. When people try to impose a cap on immigration numbers and people have to earn above a certain income bracket—no matter how long they’ve established their lives in a particular place—that’s unfair. It’s very much about the treatment of women and looking at issues of migration, borders, citizenship and belonging. How do we claim where we belong? How long do you have to live somewhere, how do you earn that right? It is very safe, that is absolutely true. That’s another thing that I really liked reading this book: none of the details ring false. It does really incisively describe the kind of claustrophobia and complacency that comes with living in such a safe, really well-developed city. Yes, it’s multilingual. It’s not completely segregated at all. You do get the sense that it’s pretty cosmopolitan and multicultural."

Singapore · fivebooks.com