Trivialities About Me and Myself
- Description
- Praise
- About the Author & Translator
-
Selected byĀ AsiaweekĀ as one of the 10 BestĀ Chinese Novels of 2006
Winner, Singapore Literature Prize for Chinese 2008
Selected byĀ The Business TimesĀ as one of the Best Books of 2014Look inside the book Ā IĀ Ā Get the E-bookĀ
The Chinese protagonist of Cultural Medallion recipient Yeng Pway Ngon's novel,Ā Trivialities about Me and Myself, is a journalist turned entrepreneur who possesses a split personality. āMeā is a figure consumed by greed and sexual desire, two impulses that undermine his careers, his two marriages, and his relationship with his son. Throughout the novel he engages in a dialogue with his other identity, the moralistic āMyselfā, whose principled stances try but usually fail to win over his other half.
The protagonistās lifetime, from childhood to his dying days in a rest home, parallels the modern history of Singapore itself and its evolution from a colonised city to a consumer-oriented nation, one in which an English-language educational system and commercial interests suppress indigenous languages and traditions. While the meticulously described action takes place in the city, the real setting is within the psyche of the narrator, whose two halves are engaged in an epic struggle for dominance.
The Cultural Medallion is Singaporeās highest cultural award, given to those who have achieved artistic excellence in theĀ areas of literature, dance, music, theatre and art. It was instituted in 1979 to recognise individuals whose artistic excellenceĀ and commitment to the arts have enriched and made a distinction to Singaporeās arts and cultural landscape. Epigram BooksāĀ Cultural Medallion series seeks to translate the works of Cultural Medallion winners writing in Tamil, Malay and ChineseĀ into English. Matching writers with some of the best translators working in the field today, these books are being madeĀ available to an English-language audience for the first time.
-
āTranslated into English for the first time, this complex and layered novel by Chinese language writer and Cultural Medallion recipient Yeng Pway Ngon centres on a protagonist whose lifelong struggles with his identity mirrors Singapore's own dilemmas.ā
āHelmi Yusof,Ā The Business TimesāAny struggle with morality and identity is a struggle with reality. Until now, the protagonist lives in me. Itās scary.ā
āAnthony Waugh Koh, writer-bookseller, inĀ āMy Book of the Yearā, Singapore Poetry -
Yeng Pway NgonāChinese language poet, novelist, playwright and criticāis one of Singapore's most prolific authors, having published over 25 volumes of poetry, essays, fiction, plays and literary criticism. His work is noted for its examination of the modern human condition, and has been translated into English, Malay and Dutch. Yeng received the National Book Development Council of Singapore's Book Award in 1988, and the Singapore Literature Prize in 2004, 2008 and 2012. He was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 2003 for his contributions to literature in Singapore, and the SEA Write Award in 2013.
Howard Goldblatt was a Research Professor of Chinese at the University of Notre Dame from 2002-2011 and is a translator of numerous works of contemporary Chinese (mainland China & Taiwan) fiction, including The Taste of Apples by Huang Chunming and The Execution of Mayor Yin by Chen Ruoxi. Goldblatt has also translated works of Chinese novelist and 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Mo Yan. Notably, his translation of six major novels and collections of stories by Mo Yan contributed to the Award granted without the knowledge of Chinese by the Committee members. His translation of Notes of a Desolate Man by Chu Tien-wen garnered a 2000 National Translation Award, and he was a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2009.
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Description
- Description
- Praise
- About the Author & Translator
-
Selected byĀ AsiaweekĀ as one of the 10 BestĀ Chinese Novels of 2006
Winner, Singapore Literature Prize for Chinese 2008
Selected byĀ The Business TimesĀ as one of the Best Books of 2014Look inside the book Ā IĀ Ā Get the E-bookĀ
The Chinese protagonist of Cultural Medallion recipient Yeng Pway Ngon's novel,Ā Trivialities about Me and Myself, is a journalist turned entrepreneur who possesses a split personality. āMeā is a figure consumed by greed and sexual desire, two impulses that undermine his careers, his two marriages, and his relationship with his son. Throughout the novel he engages in a dialogue with his other identity, the moralistic āMyselfā, whose principled stances try but usually fail to win over his other half.
The protagonistās lifetime, from childhood to his dying days in a rest home, parallels the modern history of Singapore itself and its evolution from a colonised city to a consumer-oriented nation, one in which an English-language educational system and commercial interests suppress indigenous languages and traditions. While the meticulously described action takes place in the city, the real setting is within the psyche of the narrator, whose two halves are engaged in an epic struggle for dominance.
The Cultural Medallion is Singaporeās highest cultural award, given to those who have achieved artistic excellence in theĀ areas of literature, dance, music, theatre and art. It was instituted in 1979 to recognise individuals whose artistic excellenceĀ and commitment to the arts have enriched and made a distinction to Singaporeās arts and cultural landscape. Epigram BooksāĀ Cultural Medallion series seeks to translate the works of Cultural Medallion winners writing in Tamil, Malay and ChineseĀ into English. Matching writers with some of the best translators working in the field today, these books are being madeĀ available to an English-language audience for the first time.
-
āTranslated into English for the first time, this complex and layered novel by Chinese language writer and Cultural Medallion recipient Yeng Pway Ngon centres on a protagonist whose lifelong struggles with his identity mirrors Singapore's own dilemmas.ā
āHelmi Yusof,Ā The Business TimesāAny struggle with morality and identity is a struggle with reality. Until now, the protagonist lives in me. Itās scary.ā
āAnthony Waugh Koh, writer-bookseller, inĀ āMy Book of the Yearā, Singapore Poetry -
Yeng Pway NgonāChinese language poet, novelist, playwright and criticāis one of Singapore's most prolific authors, having published over 25 volumes of poetry, essays, fiction, plays and literary criticism. His work is noted for its examination of the modern human condition, and has been translated into English, Malay and Dutch. Yeng received the National Book Development Council of Singapore's Book Award in 1988, and the Singapore Literature Prize in 2004, 2008 and 2012. He was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 2003 for his contributions to literature in Singapore, and the SEA Write Award in 2013.
Howard Goldblatt was a Research Professor of Chinese at the University of Notre Dame from 2002-2011 and is a translator of numerous works of contemporary Chinese (mainland China & Taiwan) fiction, including The Taste of Apples by Huang Chunming and The Execution of Mayor Yin by Chen Ruoxi. Goldblatt has also translated works of Chinese novelist and 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Mo Yan. Notably, his translation of six major novels and collections of stories by Mo Yan contributed to the Award granted without the knowledge of Chinese by the Committee members. His translation of Notes of a Desolate Man by Chu Tien-wen garnered a 2000 National Translation Award, and he was a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2009.
