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Dr Wong Souk Yee. The book depicts the mystery and fallout surrounding the demise of the
Permanent Secretary of the housing ministry, Chow Sze Teck, after he was accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes over his career. The novel explores the dark heart of power politics, from the country’s
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Set in 1980's
Singapore, the novel examines the death of Permanent Secretary of the housing ministry, Chow Sze Teck, who was accused of accepting millions of dollars in bribes over his career. While the death first appears to be suicide by a cocktail of alcohol, morphine and Valium; doubts emerge as
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in 1986. The novel, Wong said, " set in the 1980s, but there are flashbacks to the 1960s, when
Singapore was rolling toward independence." This historical period, Wong commented, was not widely covered in local literature "till the last few years, there have been more books, fiction and nonfiction,
27:
179:, before taking on its current title. Upon the novel's completion in 2004, Wong submitted the manuscript to a local publisher but was rejected. Sharing on her decision to submit the novel for publication in 2015, Wong said:
220:"I want to find out more about my own country's history and write about our political history and the what-ifs and what-could-have- beens, while also looking at how political developments can have personal consequences."
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inspector who might not be what he seems, the family discovers there may be far more sinister circumstances behind Chow's death, that reach to the very top of government.
183:"I didn't try again until Epigram offered the $ 20,000 prize. Then I thought, what the heck, since I already wrote it, I'll just give it a shot. I have nothing to lose,"
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that touch on the history of our independence - who were the real heroes, who were the unsung heroes." Wong has cited historical events such as
Singapore's
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tapped on her interest to rediscover
Singapore's post-independence history, as well as the death of former
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517:"Jeremy Tiang wins Singapore Literature Prize in English fiction category for novel on leftist movements"
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is a 2016 novel written by
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Shortlisted for the
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was written while Wong was pursuing a PhD in creative writing and literature at the
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tumultuous post-independence days to the socio-political landscape of the 1980s.
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has received praise from individuals such as
Singaporean poet and playwright
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as events she sought to depict in the novel. Of the motivation to write
542:"Epigram Books sweeps English fiction category in Singapore Lit Prize"
175:, as part of her doctoral studies. The novel was initially entitled
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was shortlisted for several awards upon its release, including:
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Fiction Prize in 2015, and was subsequently shortlisted for the
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440:"Seven things to know before leaping into the literary scene"
276:. Singaporean playwright and senior research fellow at the
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new facts come to life. With an ongoing investigation by a
360:"50 authors in running for Singapore Literature Prize"
467:"Singaporean playwright and novelist Wong Souk Yee"
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566:"Epigram Books's review of Death of a Perm Sec"
492:"Book Trailer: Death of a Perm Sec - YouTube"
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192:In interviews, Wong has shared that writing
134:was one of four finalists for the inaugural
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198:Minister for National Development
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287:as his favourite book of 2017.
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236:Shortlisted for the inaugural
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173:University of New South Wales
278:Institute of Policy Studies
56:Political Thriller, Mystery
16:2016 novel by Wong Souk Yee
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590:"My Book of the Year 2017"
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248:Singapore Literature Prize
140:Singapore Literature Prize
127:Singapore Democratic Party
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188:Historical Inspirations
270:Prisoner of conscience
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246:Shortlisted for the
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20:Death of a Perm Sec
635:Novels about murder
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230:Death of a Perm Sec
214:Death of a Perm Sec
210:Operation Coldstore
194:Death of a Perm Sec
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122:Death of a Perm Sec
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625:Singaporean novels
208:with Malaysia and
594:Singapore Unbound
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546:The Straits Times
521:The Straits Times
420:The Straits Times
388:www.goodreads.com
364:The Straits Times
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620:2016 novels
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159:Development
614:Categories
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291:References
84:April 2016
225:Reception
142:in 2018.
92:Singapore
69:Publisher
61:Published
177:Expelled
45:Language
314:Epigram
164:Origins
48:English
283:cited
250:, 2018
206:merger
37:Author
53:Genre
108:ISBN
101:Book
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
