Judges' Comments

As a type of narrative, creative nonfiction or modern prose can function both as a grand narrative and local narrative to represent the whole and part respectively. It can also contain both factual and imaginative writing. On the one hand, the genre has been used to write about countries and the world, peoples and history, time and memories, and current affairs. On the other hand, it has also been used for personal experiences and individual perspectives of the surroundings, and analyses of inner selves.

Nonetheless, both the macro and micro perspectives do not dilute the cultural traits of creative nonfiction writing. Wong Koi Tet is a prominent Chinese author in Singapore. Set during the Covid-19 circuit breaker period in Singapore, Wong’s work,《小东西》(literally “the little things”), depicts the daily lives of ordinary Singaporeans in the looming shadow of disease and death. In the face of such events, all the little things seem insignificant. Narrating in an evocative voice and with an eye for details, the author described the not oft noticed parts of nature and artefacts in Singapore. As the years went by and things transformed, the author’s growth and living environment remain intertwined with the history and development of the city.

Regaling the reader with a seemingly endless supply of stories, or could it be that the author does not wish for his story-telling of the pre and post-Covid Lion City to stop? In addition, the intentional insertion of photographs in the book creates an artistic blend of visuals and words that hints at larger meanings. The reader is also reminded that in this orderly, advanced and capitalistic city full of skyscrapers, all of life becomes apparent when examined from the perspective of the tiniest objects.

An embodiment of quality over quantity, each article in the book is of the appropriate length. Even though, the articles first appeared individually in a newspaper column, the use of “the little things” theme is a masterful move by the author to weave them together. His descriptions in this book can best be described as sagacious and transcendent. Instead of burdening the reader with tedious descriptions of the subject matter, the author is judicious with the right amount, leaving the rest to the reader’s imagination.