Book Review: Now You See Us by Balli Kaur Jaswal

 

Book: Now You See Us

Author: Balli Kaur Jaswal 

Pages: 320 

Read on: Kindle

Read in: 4 hours 

Plot Summary: Corazon, Donita, and Angel are Filipina domestic workers—part of the wave of women sent to Singapore to be cleaners, maids, and caregivers.

Corazon: A veteran domestic worker, Cora had retired back to the Philippines for good, but she has returned to Singapore under mysterious circumstances. Now she’s keeping a secret from her wealthy employer, who is planning an extravagant wedding for her socialite daughter.

Donita: Barely out of her teens, this is Donita’s first time in Singapore, and she’s had the bad luck to be hired by the notoriously fussy Mrs. Fann. Brazen and exuberant, Donita’s thrown herself into a love affair with an Indian migrant worker.

Angel: Working as an in-home caregiver for an elderly employer, Angel is feeling blue after a recent breakup with the woman she loves. She’s alarmed when her employer’s son suddenly brings in a new nurse who may be a valuable ally...or meant to replace her.

Then an explosive news story shatters Singapore’s famous tranquility—and sends a chill down the spine of every domestic worker. Flordeliza Martinez, a Filipina maid, has been arrested for murdering her female employer. The three women don’t know the accused well, but she could be any of them; every worker knows stories of women who were scapegoated or even executed for crimes they didn’t commit.

Shocked into action, Donita, Corazon, and Angel will use their considerable moxie and insight to piece together the mystery of what really happened on the day Flordeliza’s employer was murdered. After all, no one knows the secrets of Singapore’s families like the women who work in their homes. 

Things I Liked: 

1. This is a lovely book with a lot of heart! Just like Jaswal's debut novel - Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows- was! I was so happy to read another great book by this author, given I did not enjoy the second book she wrote! In this one, Jaswal is back in form - writing with a lot of heart and giving us some wonderfully memorable characters to boot! 

2. This book is set in the world of domestic workers in Singapore. Most of these hardworking women are from the Philippines and in this book we get to peek into their lives and come away horrified! Anyone who knows even a little about how domestic workers are treated in Asian countries will know that Filipina maids have endured horrible working conditions both in Singapore and the Middle East. The author goes beyond the headlines and looks the very real, big and small, ways in which these women are dehumanised on a regular basis as if that is such a normal thing to do. From Donita's abusive "madam" - Mrs. Fann to Angel's boss' son- Raja, who can't seem to keep his hands off of her, we get to see some types of abuse these women are subject to. It is horrifying and heartbreaking! 

3. Even though it was difficult to read about the abuse and challenged faced by Donita, Angel and Cora, I loved getting to know them! The author brings these women to life so skilfully and makes the reader get to know and fall in love with them! Each of these women is strong, resilient and have not lost their spirits in spite of everything they've been through over the years. You just root for each of them to live their best possible lives! 

4. Though this book is being marketed as a literary thriller, it is not really a murder mystery. The three woman don't really use their "considerable moxie" to "piece together the mystery of what really happened". Nope. That does not happen. So, if you think you are going to get a story about three maids solving a murder, nope, that's not what this book is about at all and thank God for that! 

This book does have a murder in it and one of the maids these three women know is arrested for it but there is no active investigation done by three of them as a team. The book is very real in the sense that these are not women with any meaningful amounts of free time that they can go about solving murders. They do what they do within the very real limitations of time, concerns about their own futures and how much realistically they could achieve given they are so marginalised and looked down upon within the Singaporean establishment. 

5. The writing is lovely and atmospheric. The world of each of these women comes alive and you feel like you are right there with each of them during moments of fear, anger and dread. 

6. The character growth and journeys are very nicely done and very satisfying. Don't want to spoil the book for you but it is a journey worth going on with our ladies! 

Rating: 4.5/5