An excellent historical novel that should be on the Malaysian secondary school syllabus. Fascinating account of the forces at play that led to the decimation of the Malayan Communist Party and the watering down of Malaysian anti-imperialist leftist politics more generally. So many stories contained within, like the Batu Caves siege, are lost to history and need to be made visible again. Anthony's attempt to weave several narratives together with the fictionalised account of an interracial love story between to CPM members is quite effective. Five stars for reclaiming the narrative of the communist struggle and making it available to the Malaysian public again; now if only they would read it.

My full review is available here. ( )