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State of Emergency

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Winner of the Singapore Literature Prize 2018
Shortlisted for the NUS Singapore History Prize 2021
Shortlisted for the Singapore Book Awards 2018, Best Fiction Title

Siew Li leaves her husband and young children to fight for freedom in the jungles of Malaya. Decades later, a Malaysian journalist returns to her homeland to uncover the truth of a massacre committed during the Emergency, while Siew Li's son uncovers the truth of his family's past.

Informed by years of painstaking research, Jeremy Tiang's debut novel dives into the tumultuous days of leftist movements and political detentions in Singapore and Malaysia. It follows an extended family from the 1940s to the present day as they navigate the choppy political currents of the region.

State of Emergency questions whether we can grasp the truth after the fact. And yet, in the very telling of its interlocking stories, it reaffirms the importance of trying.

'State of Emergency is a compelling, important piece of work from one of Singapore's finest living authors.' The Straits Times


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An <em>anti-racist</em> social enterprise bookstore specialising in BIPOC books.
About Amplify Bookstore

An anti-racist social enterprise bookstore specialising in BIPOC books.

Only about 11% of books published are by BIPOC authors — so unless you specifically seek out books by BIPOC authors, you aren't likely to find very many of them organically. At Amplify, BIPOC authors are highlighted and celebrated. Here, they don't have to fight to be seen, and you don't have to fight to find them.

We hope that in our shop, you can discover a new favourite read, find stories that speak uniquely to you, learn about a culture outside your own (or more about your own histories), and gain a better understanding of the systems that connect us all.

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