Bang My Car by Ann Ang

Bang My Car Reviews

• 
  Jiaying

  This is such a delightful & light-hearted read! Truly enjoyed immersing myself in the characters & it harbours a sense of familiarity even though this book was published in 2012. Reading SingLit books these days makes me reminisce the days of analysing books, poems & prose back when I was still a Secondary School or A-level kiddo!
  
  It's clever how these series of short stories not only take on the form of a prose, instead it also comes in the form of research papers, live Q&A segments (think those people who come door-to-door to ask you questions; fill up surveys or those people you see standing outside of supermarkets or other sorts of public spaces asking for your input & whatsoever), a newspaper article, or one of my few most memorable ones i.e. a personal statement for a university application where the student brings up about his/her grandfather & the 'senseless' things he does till he is absent & one is left to think about the things you got to document before all goes lost in years to come. Or even one of the stories simply titled, "Drink More Water". It's a common thing that we Singaporeans like to say isn't it? Sounds like a snarky comment & one of control yet in the context of Singapore it's also one of care & concern. There's just so much to think about & the country we reside in.
  
  Those who abhor or have a slight disdain towards Singlish should give this book a chance; that beyond the creole language itself is one filled with hidden stories & tangled meanings. It all starts from the archetype of the typical 'Uncle' in Singapore, which frames the rest of the narrative I believe!
• 
  Eric Fitzsimmons

  'Bang My Car' by Ann Ang Bang My Car was gifted to me by a friend returning from a work trip in Singapore. I am not sure what linked me to this book in their mind but I am glad things worked out as they did. Bang my Car is a short story collection dealing most notably with language in Singapore, specifically the use and acceptance of "Singlish," an English dialect particular to that country. But, as language goes so goes identity, politics, economics, and family, all of which come through in this collection.
   
  I, like the dust jacket and the intro, make a lot of the use of Singlish, but the language isn't any more difficult than Junot Diaz [for non-Spanish speakers]. The language represents one facet of concerns across generations and classes about identity. Ang writes a lot about family, with the parents representing a westernized post-industrial economy driven by the need to work and improve their station while older generations pushing against these foreign influences. It's the older "uncles" usually speaking in Singlish, where the parents are interested in wine, violin lessons, and schooling. And we observe from the perspective of the youth, uncertain what to make of it all.
   
  Many of the stories are written in the second person, often an old man ranting at the "you" [in the person of some neighbor or party in a care accident]. The effect can be alienating, like watching a subject under glass. The remove is most obvious in "Imaginary Geographies of the Singapore Heartland" where interviews with an unidentified man are dissected and analyzed through an academic lens. But while other stories skip the analysis, the anonymity and one-sidedness seem more like a person being watched than an interactive experience. 
   
  I'm a sucker for stories about language. Hollywood loves films about Hollywood, news companies love stories about news, and I love stories that interrogate our relationship with language. Ang's stories try to capture the intricacies of Singlish, but also probe it and the society from which it comes. What does it say when a person chooses to speak Singlish or to speak English for that matter? These questions are being asked all over the world; they can be as wide as the conversations between nations and be as intimate as a person understanding their own identity. But as Ang illustrates, the battles themselves are played out thousands of times a day in small interactions: a survey-taker and an old man, a father and his father, a man complaining to his neighbor about people of a different ethnicity moving to their area. There are plenty of people trying to decode the major events of the day, and they sometimes seem right for a moment. Ang focuses us on the small questions, the ones that persist and point to something bigger.
• 
  Ariya

  Thank you Bo, for making it harder to choose the topic/story for the final paper by introducing me a really good short stories collection here. I must read more South-East Asian and local color lit because *sigh* how can I project all the perceptions of literary value without perceiving more than mainstream cultures like British and American? The lack of cultural references during reading a book is always the cause of my frustration (well said the person who used to 'skip' all of those things to claim that I already 'read' it. Such a painful confession.) How can we assume we understand what we read if we don't understand what made us to read?
  
  It's so far out of the points of this book. *shrug* Anyway to wrap all things up from now on I need to read more local books to get rid of the same mindset I have from being shaped to think as usual. I need to *borrow the word from a teacher* deconstruct myself as we always should do.
  
  what a messed up rambling. Ariya you're a shame.
• 
  Marcus

  I love everything about this book: the local nuances, the use of Singlish, the playful change of form and style, and the indirect sketching of a very direct character-type. I have savored this slowly, and as a non-Singlish speaker I found myself intrigued by the use of the language. I would recommend this highly to anyone interested in Singaporean culture, Singlish, and the pseudo-archetype that is Uncle.
• 
  YJun

  Rating: 4.5/5
  
  During my lower secondary school days, Ann Ang once came to my school to promote her book. Even though my memories of her presentation have collapsed into a pile of hazy flecks of dusts comprising of vague recollections, therein my mind still lies a significant question which she had asked the audience:
  
  “Do you think that it’s alright for us to use Singlish in books?”
  
  I was your typical English puritan who gave a resounding no. During that time, I denounced Singlish as a disease which Singaporeans were inflicted by – it was the main problem as to why we could not speak proper English, and that was something to be ashamed of. We were often proclaimed as a first-world country with a top-notch education system, but why was it that we still failed at speaking proper English?
  
  Or so I thought.
  
  A few years later and after deeply introspecting my identity and culture, my opinion has flipped 180 degrees, and this time round, I can confidently say that yes, it is alright for us to use Singlish in books because it is an embodiment of our unique local culture and identity. Ann Ang’s Bang My Car is living proof to this statement.
  
  In the book, Ang introduces us to the definition of what an “uncle” is – “a patriarch-like figure considered beyond the bounds of eligibility or attractiveness, whether married or unmarried.” These minute and precise deconstructions of our local culture and perceptions which we have taken for granted are littered throughout the book, and they are one of the main reasons as to why this book was so fascinating to read.
  
  The book revolves around our protagonist, lovingly known as Uncle, and throughout his conversations, we uncover the various gems which culminate into our various quirks – our kiasuism, competitive education system, tendency to follow everything by the book and our fears for the future. It is unsurprising that Singaporeans are generally paranoid of the unknown, what with our shaky start in nation-building and lack of geographical and economical prowess. This mentality is clearly exemplified in the conversation below:
  
  “Why you scared? Why you scared do everything wrong? Everything scared die?”
  
  I cannot die. If I die, no one will pay for the house and the car instalments. If I break a leg, someone may take my place at the accounting firm. Not that my wife doesn’t work, but this is an expensive world to live in. Katie needs to go to university.
  
  It is often difficult to flesh out what makes Singaporeans Singaporean. It is easy to distil these traits into cold, cutting nouns such as “pragmatic”, “utilitarian” and “future-oriented”. What Ang does expertly is to show us the humane side to these nouns and the driving factors behind them which all of us can relate to through the art of Singlish.
  
  Through the various lens which are the chapters are written – Uncle’s conversations, newspaper format, a university admission essay and interviews – we are drawn into a fragmented world which ultimately conceptualises into the Singaporean identity. It is through these expert and slightly satirical deconstructions where we are able to discover what makes us us.
• 
  Maya Saputra

  The book is one-of-a-kind. I couldn't hold myself back from reciting the Singlish monologues by the uncles in my head! Haha. Beyond the unique presentation and the authentic Singaporean flavour captured in the book, the uncle characters are actually poignantly representing the gap between the older generations and their increasingly Westernized offsprings. They are often perceived as "outdated" or even a "nuisance" as depicted in the stories. I can't deny the accuracy of this sentiment.
  
  On the other hand, it really seemed like yesterday when I witnessed the days leading to the election as a foreign student in Singapore.. :)
• 
  David Poon

  This is the best Singlish book I’ve read that is not over the top nor tries to be funny, but still achieve some level of comic relief through its down to earth characters such as the uncle, the roadside sales girl and the poor granddaughter who lived in the future and has no time for nature.
  
  The observations about a people who learnt to be international before being national hits too close to the heart i feel, and the ‘warning’ at the end for uncle is something tragic that I see the past will do to you if you hold on to it too tight.
• 
  Kate Walton

  Nice collection of Singaporean micro fiction, some stories using Singlish.
• 
  Breadfly

  This book is an urban geographer’s fever dream. I really enjoyed it.
• 
  mar :)

  singlit never fails to strike a chord in my heart
• 
  zo

  heheheh nice
• 
  Zenda

  Such a whimsical read, never a dull moment.
• 
  Nichole

  I adore this book so much. Presents graceful mastery of prose (in various formats and styles). Singlish interwoven beautifully and it never feels forced. Bought this book intending to sell it off once I finished but I will keep this on my shelf forever and buy many more to gift to friends so they may also experience Ann ang’s work
• 
  Sabrina Loh

  A book written in so much Singlish--that it actually works! A rollicking good time.
• 
  Guan You

  Loved how the urban neighborhood spaces of Singapore is so much portrayed as a liminal space, in which different personas occupy and assert their individual identities at various times.
• 
  PS

  I feel that this book has clearly captured the everyday life of Singaporeans. Really love how the author capture those tiny details!
• 
  Fikri

  Novel yet deeply familiar. I usually have mixed feelings about authors using Singlish (especially if they're bad at it and/or clearly do not use it irl), but it works in this one.