The Law of Second Marriages by Christine Chia

The Law of Second Marriages Reviews

• 
  Mirvan. Ereon

  My beloved friend and idol, the Singaporean writer
  Cyril Wong gave me this as a gift.
  
  "The best liars always tell a mixture of truth and lies, and the very best believe their own lies in the end."
  
  This line from the book's introduction really caught me. In a way, I am affected by this passage and made me more interested to read the book. Lying is more common in fictional prose. Poems for me are more of the truth and therefore, more genuine. So it made me wonder, how could this poetry collection be, in a way, a product of lies? The author herself stated that this book would only be touching if the reader believes that it is the unequivocal truth.
  
  The Law of Second Marriages is a short but interesting book. It is a book of poetry about family, but it also talks about love, desire, pain and other emotions and realities of life. A family psychodrama indeed, as the poet herself stated. In a way, I see this book as a sort of novel, a drama wherein the story is written in the form of short poems. The poetry is very direct. Sometimes, there are no metaphors or any other literary devices. It is written in a plain and concise way that sometimes bothers me in a way because the images it creates are so stark. The poems can be interpreted in many ways because of the curt vignette-like structure of each one, little anecdotes that shows a momentary picture in the mind's eye. It is up to us readers how we would decipher the messages of the poem, the same way a painting paints a thousand words.
  
  After reading this short chapbook, I became interested to read more of Christine Chia's writings and I hope I would be able to procure some more of them soon.
• 
  Teresa

  I enjoyed the writing and found the method of storytelling via poems a refreshing one. That said, I did find some of the characters brought up confusing due to the lack of introduction to them - esp because “Mother” refers to different people. If the link was tighter it would have elevated the book even further. It stops a little short for me. There’s a lot of potential to do more. Easy read, nonetheless, and something worth exploring if you want to see how a local family / childhood drama is presented in a novel way.
• 
  Filbert Lam

  An excellent book, brimming with deep emotions
• 
  Artemis

  Some really good poems, I especially loved New Year Dress, loved
  Cyril Wong's introduction too. The ending felt a bit abrupt for me though!
  
  Still, I loved how this anthology/memoir was unafraid to delve into deeper, darker themes. Would be excited to read more from
  Christine Chia!
• 
  Melvin Tan

  Comic artists capture dynamic movement by drawing action at the very beginning of the range of motion. This is how Christine Chia writes her poems. Drama escalates and before it gets full-blown, she gently closes her poem. This keeps you reading on, making me finish this collection in one sitting. Also, I grew up in a normal family. This collection is an eye-opener about dysfunctional families.
• 
  Shao Kai

  Such a touching and truthful piece of family, a worthwhile read!
• 
  Shez Lee

  Simple, quick read. Yet like movie clips flashing across my mind. Some strong emotions.
• 
  Sabrina Loh

  A daring, sharp-edged poetry. Movingly succinct and heartfelt.