Q

Read 8th Apr 15

Recommended and borrowed by J. He warns of cheese beforehand, but that it has its good moments. That’s pretty much the most accurate summary I can come up with. It’s quintessentially Singaporean – the best parts of it. We thrive in the cheesy, the nostalgic, toe-ing the line of tacky (stay within it and we’re safe). Teenage Textbook is your JC puppy love condensed into a slim one-sitting novel. The style is tongue-in-cheek, stripped of its pretension. Think of it as an exceptionally compelling series of Dad Jokes. The gems are aplenty, humour is consistent throughout the novel (approx. 4 per page if you’re curious).

Beyond the funnies, this is all in all well-written. A good dose of meta, helmed in smoothly because of how the book is structured. Which brings me to how it’s structured: interspersed with excerpts of the actual Teenage Textbook. I have to applaud Adrian Tan for his effort: the Textbook bits were unnecessary but thoroughly enjoyable breaks. Just bask in Tan’s wit and sometimes attempt-wit, also the retrospectively hilarious 1980s-ish fashion/dating advice.

The nostalgia. I’d think a novel so heavily creamed with slapstick (plus of course written > 2 decades ago) wouldn’t be very relatable to me, but nope. Still evoked that hazy, pleasant, carefree JC daydreams. I was especially touched by the references to curry puffs, which for some reason seems to resonate with all Singaporeans with fond memories in school canteens. Anyway.

Teenage Textbook is perfect for anyone who’s greedy for several elements at once 1) light-heartedness, 2) indulgent feel-good, 3) clever narrative, 4) something to prepare you for that nostalgic SG50 trip. In fact yes, I think TT is just right for 2015. I wish more local writers would be fearless enough to try something other than hipster/wispy, or rid of the compulsion for explicit, literary ~depth. Sometimes all we need is some good, conscious writing rooted in everyday life. And everyday life is more of a comedy than deep rumination tbh.