We, the Survivors

More a 3.75 than a 4.0 because I got terribly irritated that the author - a Malaysian who lives abroad - couldn't fact-check that Malaysia has not had a jury system since 1995. When that error occurred in the first quarter, it took me more than 50 pages to settle into the story because the mind was wondering what other fact about my country - our country - he got wrong.

But once I got settled in, the tragedy of Hock Lye drew me in. The story focuses not just on the dark and exploitative migrant labour scene in Malaysia but also on people - like Hock Lye and his Mom - who are stuck in a vicious cycle of poverty. The Malaysia that is painted in this story is not pretty - everyone is corrupt (exaggeratedly so, I must say) and the system (like the drains) is broken. It's in these broken places that people like Keong, Hock Lye's friend, and the people running the illegal labour racket, survive.