Seasons of Darkness, subtitled A Story of Singapore, is an attempt at mapping Singapore's history within its South-East Asia context -- as it has related to Malaysia, Indonesia and other Asian countries. Its history is traced through the life of Thomas Siddon.
The book has been well researched and history buffs will certainly enjoy its very frequent switches from the plot to actual historical events. Those who are not historically inclined may find those very passages rather hard-going.
Within the main plot are real gems, however, which left me wanting more.
One portion which I especially enjoyed was the story of life in the internment camp during the Japanese occupation of Singapore. Like me, some other people might say, Oh no! Not another war story!
But this story is different. This one is seen through the eyes of a child.
The child, only two years old at the start of the war, has been interned in a prisoner of war camp because his father was British. At a young age he learns that to survive he has to forage for food and look after himself. He hardly ever sees his mother and never sees his father again because his father has already been killed without his mother knowing about it. The world of the camp is interpreted for us through the eyes of the child, and it does not show adults in a good light.
Another episode which I found particularly interesting was the period in the life of the hero, Siddon, when as an adolescent he joined the Secret Society. The episode was not only exciting, but revealing as to what prompts an adolescent to turn to gangs. Again adults are seen contributing to the delinquency of the boy.
There also appears to be an innate anger in the boy which finds release in aggression. Yet that aggression has remained latent until it is encouraged to surface because the boy must survive in an unfriendly world. Later, as man, Siddon finds a similar release of aggression in his dedication to karate.
In his synopsis of the book, Shimmen says that the book is "the story of a British-descent Eurasian -- born, raised and striving in his island home, perceiving that he isn't regarded as part of the fabric of his country, and experiencing rejection through racial bigotry, not only during the former British era but even after independence. Just because he is Eurasian."
He goes on to say, in his synopsis, that "He (Siddon) witnesses the transformation of his island into a Sino-society..."
However, the synopsis doesn't not really do the book justice. It sacrifices the person to the political viewpoint of the author. The book itself goes further than mere politics and we are forced to take a long, hard look at what the man inherits from the boy.
Siddon is an idealist. His first wife is Japanese. They have two children. He gives his first son a Chinese name and his second son, a Malay name. His second and third wives are Chinese. His third son has a Chinese name. He sees the naming of his children as part of his contribution towards the growth of a multicultural society, and his very idealism becomes his undoing when he realises that it is not the intention of the society to move towards multiculturalism.
He becomes bitter and finally rejects his own society in favour of his father's society, a society he really knows very little about.
The one aspect of the book which distracts me is too accurate to be fictitious. Actual people are named. The priest is well known and well respected by every one in the town at the time. His name is real.
I ended the book wondering...therefore...wondering...the author's wife is Limei, Siddon's third wife is Su-Mei... and I am still wondering...
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