It was an important life lesson that Hashwini had learnt to embrace—one must always count one’s blessings.
After all, she was only too aware of her own criminal history: impersonating a law enforcement officer, inadvertently causing the death of a migrant worker and triggering a riot, and twice blackmailing a civil servant.
She was lucky she was not serving time in jail.
About the Author
Photo by Eng Chun Pang
Sebastian Sim grew up in a two-room HDB flat with parents who were part of the pioneer generation of independent Singapore. Not one to shy away from the road less taken, he has travelled around the world to soak up different experiences and cultures, and tried his hand in diverse industries: as a bartender at Boat Quay, an assistant outlet manager at McDonald’s, an insurance salesman, a prison officer in a maximum security prison, and a croupier in a casino. He published three Chinese wuxia novels between 2004 and 2012, and his first English-language novel, Let’s Give It Up for Gimme Lao! (2016), was shortlisted for the 2015 Epigram Books Fiction Prize.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the team at Epigram Books, especially my editor Jason Erik Lundberg, who has given me invaluable guidance in shaping the manuscript into its current form. My gratitude goes to my mother and my brother, who are ever patient and supportive, and forgiving whenever my alarm goes off at 3am because they know I need to write at ungodly hours.
The annual Epigram Books Fiction Prize promotes contemporary creative writing and rewards excellence in Singaporean literature. The richest literary prize in Singapore is awarded to the Singaporean, permanent resident or Singapore-born author for the best manuscript of a full-length, original and unpublished novel written in the English language.
For more information, please visit ebfp.epigrambooks.sg
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