I look forward to more of Jaswal's excellent work. It's a shame this book and its author will probably never be promoted by the mostly conservative (self-)assigned leadership of Singapore's Sikh community, because it grapples with precisely the topics the community is loathe to address head on. Jaswal doesn't shy away from addressing the more damaging aspects of Singapore life, but neither does she allow criticism to reduce the narrative into any kind of manifesto or list of complaints. Narain's and Amrit's personal stories (and their relationship with each other) resonated most strongly with me, but every protagonist is made full and complex to the reader. Her prose is full of micro-insights into the lasting shock of moving from a house to much cosier HDB estate flat living. Jaswal describes the changing Singapore landscape - both physical and metaphysical - beautifully. Written with poise and grace, Inheritance offers a story of one family's struggles with love, loss, belonging, modernity and deviance in a developing Singapore.
This is the first novel to deal directly with my experience as a member of the Sikh diaspora in Singapore. This is the book i thought i'd have to write myself if i ever wanted to read it, and so much more.
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