O Chin - Now That It's Over

The life of writing is a long, arduous and solitary one, and impossible without the support and good faith of my family: Pa, Ma, Siew Yen, Harry, Thiam Teck, and Agustiniwati.

For endless inspiration and for keeping my heart in all the right places, the four bright stars of my life: Ryan, Gabriel, Kristine, Gareth.

For their generosity, kindness and constant encouragement, my big-hearted friends: Kok Wei, Jenny, Yew Pin, Angeline, Gavin Ng, Yvonne Lee.

A special callout to the A-team at Epigram Books: Edmund, for his vision and firm belief. My editor, Jason Erik Lundberg, for his invaluable advice, patience and guidance; for shaping and sharpening this book to its current form, you deserve the full credit. And also, to my beloved team of supporters/angels/ cheerleaders: Clara, Winston, Lan, Sophia. Always a pleasure working with all of you.

And finally, to my dear readers, for believing and supporting me through the years. This book is for you.

O Thiam Chin is the winner of the inaugural Epigram Books Fiction Prize, the richest literary award in Singapore, with a cash prize of S$20,000 and a publishing contract with Epigram Books. He is also the author of five collections of short fiction: Free-Falling Man (2006), Never Been Better (2009), Under The Sun (2010), The Rest Of Your Life and Everything That Comes With It (2011) and Love, Or Something Like Love (2013, shortlisted for the 2014 Singapore Literature Prize for English Fiction).

His short stories have appeared in Mãnoa , World Literature Today , The International Literary Quarterly , Asia Literary Review , Quarterly Literary Review Singapore , Cha: An Asian Literary Journal , Kyoto Journal , The Jakarta Post , The New Straits Times , Asiatic and Esquire (Singapore) . His short fiction was also selected for the first two volumes of The Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singaporean Short Stories anthology series.

O was an honorary fellow of the Iowa International Writing Program in 2010, a recipient of the NAC Young Artist Award in 2012, and has been thrice longlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. He has appeared frequently at writers festivals in Australia, Indonesia and Singapore.

Let’s Give It Up for Gimme Lao! by Sebastian Sim

Death of a Perm Sec by Wong Souk Yee

Sugarbread by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Annabelle Thong by Imran Hashim

Kappa Quartet by Daryl Qilin Yam

Altered Straits by Kevin Wong

The Epigram Books Fiction Prize promotes contemporary creative writing and rewards excellence in Singaporean literature. The richest literary prize in Singapore is awarded to the Singaporean, permanent resident or Singapore-born author for the best manuscript of a full-length, original and unpublished novel written in the English language.

The closing date for submission to this year’s prize is 1 September 2016. The winner will be announced in December and have his or her novel published by Epigram Books.

For more information, please visit EBFP.EPIGRAMBOOKS.SG

Born on the night of Singapore’s independence, Gimme Lao is cheated of the honour of becoming the nation’s firstborn by a vindictive nurse. This was the first of three things he would never know about himself. The second was the circumstances surrounding his parents’ marriage and the third was the profound, but often unintentional, impact he had on other people’s lives.

FORMAT:Paperback, 288 pages, 152x225mm

ISBN:978-981-4757-32-4

PRICE:SGD $24.90

AVAILABLE ONLINE AT: www.epigrambooks.sg

In 1980s Singapore, a top civil servant is found dead. It appears to be suicide, by a cocktail of morphine, alcohol and Valium. But upon investigation by a CID inspector, who might not be what he seems, the family discovers there may be far more sinister circumstances behind his death, reaching the uppermost echelons of government. Death of a Perm Sec exposes the dark heart of power politics, from the country’s tumultuous post-independence days to the socio-political landscape of the 1980s.

FORMAT:Paperback, 284 pages, 152x225mm

ISBN:978-981-4757-34-8

PRICE:SGD $24.90

AVAILABLE ONLINE AT: www.epigrambooks.sg

Pin must not become like her mother, but nobody will tell her why. She seeks clues in Ma’s cooking when she’s not fighting other battles—being a bursary girl at an elite school and facing racial taunts from the bus uncle. Then her meddlesome grandmother moves in, installing a portrait of a watchful Sikh guru and a new set of house rules. Old secrets begin to surface but can Pin handle learning the truth?

FORMAT:Paperback, 276 pages, 152x225mm

ISBN:978-981-4757-30-0

PRICE:SGD $24.90

AVAILABLE ONLINE AT: www.epigrambooks.sg

Copyright © 2016 by O Thiam Chin

Cover Design by Yong Wen Yeu

Cover Photograph by Eng Chun Pang

All rights reserved

Published in Singapore by Epigram Books

www.epigrambooks.sg

NATIONAL LIBRARY BOARD, SINGAPORE CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

NAME:O Thiam Chin.

TITLE:Now that it’s over: a novel / O Thiam Chin.

DESCRIPTION:Singapore: Epigram Books, 2016.

IDENTIFIER:OCN 946800817

ISBN:978-981-4757-28-7 (paperback)

ISBN:978-981-4757-29-4 (ebook)

SUBJECTS: LCSH:Indian Ocean Tsunami, 2004—Fiction. Tsunamis—Thailand—Phuket (Province)—Fiction. Disaster victims—Fiction.

CLASSIFICATION:DDC S823—dc23

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

FIRST EDITION:June 2016