Pseudo Book Club: “Drive”

Written by Kervin Tay (2I323)
Photographs by Tan Hong Kai (1A321)

On 18 June, HCI’s Library Club conducted a meeting of the Pseudo Book Club at Jurong Regional Library from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. on “Drive,” one of the stories from Simon Tay’s Singaporean fiction collection Stand Alone. The objective of the PBC was to give a presentation on the content of the selected text and discuss it with the attending audience. Due to mature themes, teenagers aged 12 and above were invited for the discussion. The event took place at the stage on Level Four of the library.

The presentation highlighted three excerpts from the short story. “Drive” is a story that highlights various traits typical of Singaporeans, such as the importance of social classes/stratification. The excerpts were explored in detail with the audience to provide a better understanding of the topic, which would later allow the audience to answer questions posed for discussion. This was followed up by an open discussion of the recent news where heartlanders were labeled as uncouth, and unwelcome in cultured places such as Holland Village. The main presenters were Foo Yang Yi (3I108) and Kervin Tay (2I323), who had assistance from other Library Club members during discussions to get the ball rolling. The presentation utilized about 50 minutes of the allocated time.

This was followed up by a mind map activity, where one group discussed the effects of social stratification, while the other group listed the advantages and disadvantages of social stratification. Presentations were made thereafter and it was evident that the participants gained deeper knowledge of the topic after the discussion.

The Pseudo Book Club is a recurring event, held every month with a new text for discussion.

Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
Reviewed by Foo Yang Yi (3I108)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is a book (deemed a mystery novel by the book’s narrator) written from the point of view of a 15-year-old autistic savant named Christopher. During the course of the book, Christopher demonstrates his photographic memory in detail. He uses a DVD as an analogy of what he is able to do, being that he can easily remember specifics, including what his mother was like when she was still alive, and even what she smoked, wore or read at a particular moment, as well as the exact words she said. Thus the narration resembles a transcript rather than a proper narrative, with more emphasis on the actions and words of others instead of their emotions. This uniqueness also stems from the fact that early in the book we find out that Christopher has difficulty understanding facial emotions and cannot describe feelings very well.

Despite his photographic memory, we also find out that the “mysteries” depicted in the book are indeed, from his point of view, mysteries, due to his inability to come to conclusions easily. For example, when he discovers a letter to him from his supposedly dead mother, he wonders if it was sent to the wrong person, while ignoring the possibility that his mother is not dead.

In general, the narration of the book may repel certain readers who prefer their narration to be more straightforward and less long-winded, due to a lot of sidetracking and anecdotes brought up in the story. However, it can also be viewed as insightful, since the narrating style used by Christopher is very uncommon due to his emotional disabilities. The information overload he experiences is also an insight that shows how he is able to analyse things that we normally do not pay attention to or take for granted.

This novel is a recommended read for those who like twists, no matter how minor they might possibly be, as there are numerous twists, both foreshadowed and unexpected, throughout the story.