This Side of Heaven

“With deceptive simplicity, the mutable voices combine in a tale both irresistible and haunting. Reading this story feels like witnessing a communion, or perhaps vivisection, of familiar states of being. Evocative and unforgettable.”
—Shubigi Rao, author of Pulp

“Wong pulls the rug from under us but leaves us still standing, albeit transported via his magic carpet ride to a new vantage point and offered a different perspective.”
–KK Seet, author of Death Rites

“Densely written, erotic and poetic, with unexpected twists and turns, Cyril's narrative provides a journey into consciousness by the unconscious; full of acute, nuanced observation and crafted anecdote.”
—Sir Malcolm Jack, author of To the Fairest Cape

Cyril Wong is the Singapore Literature Prize-winning author of poetry collections such as Unmarked Treasure, Tilting Our Plates to Catch the Light and Satori Blues, as well as a collection of strange short fables called Let Me Tell You Something About That Night. He has served as a mentor under the Creative Arts Programme and the Mentor Access Project, as well as a judge for the Golden Point Awards in Singapore.

A past recipient of the National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award for Literature, he completed his doctoral degree in English Literature at the National University of Singapore in 2012. His books include poetry collections Tilting Our Plates to Catch the Light (2007) and The Lover’s Inventory (2015), the novel The Last Lesson of Mrs de Souza (2013) and short fiction collection Ten Things My Father Never Taught Me (2014).