Neil Humphrey: Notes from an even smaller island

I read his first book, so I knew what was coming in this book. And so it came, never losing the kind of satirical, and maybe in a way flippant wit that has come to represent him as much as his writing style.

It was contagious and reading through it was sort of reading through an auto-biography, because much of it were brutally honest yet all too true projection of the daily life in Singapore - magnified through his personal quirks and idiosyncrasis, and of course, dabbed with a sense of self deprecating humour. Many of his descriptions quickly transformed into tasteless, almost unremorseful digs at issues such as the local female obsession with expatriates, or even the absurdity when it comes to the government poking their fingers into every single pie they can find. With tongue in cheek, Humphrey displays a admirable sort of intrepidity (presumably because he was bornt and educated overseas) and could be unapologetically and unfetteredly flippant towards issues as he deemed fit. This book might touch a few raw spots or chafe a couple of nerves - but at the end of the day, we all know it is all done in good o'le fashioned fun.