A Candle or the Sun

Literature & Fiction

Baratham, Gopal

British & Irish

Serpent's Tail

This exciting collection brings together thirty-nine of the late Dr. Gopal Baratham’s characteristic and revered pieces. In his usual blunt, strong and controversial style, Baratham’s socio-political critiques are 'peopled' by characters from virtually every background and class—with their frustrated hopes, wild illusions and excesses. Paired with a stylistic and evolving narrative voice, as seen in dialogue that fluctuates from poetic to quirky, this writer’s ambivalent medium is also his message. Readers are drawn into the depth of his work, and left with a sympathetic, sensitive understanding of events, people, actions and the complexities of relationships.

Collected Short Stories: with an introduction by Kirpal Singh

Literary

Marshall Cavendish International (Asia)

“Early in my working life I had discovered that salesmanship consisted not of providing people with what they needed, but with that was essential to their dreams. I was confident that our dining-room suite, complete with carpets, curtains and an artificial fireplace, would shortly be snapped up by people occupying oven-hot semis in the newer and, as yet, treeless, housing estates on the island. The possibility of winter is essential to the happiness of people living in the tropics.” Hernie Perera runs the furniture department in Benson’s, the largest store in Singapore. In his spare time, he writes stories. Suddenly, his comfortable life is shattered. His father is found to have terminal cancer, he loses his job, and his lover joins the 'Children of the Book.' a Christian sect committed to overthrowing an oppressive government. An old acquaintance and government official promises Hernie literary success in exchange for information on the 'Children of the Book.' He must now decide between the rewards of political corruption and his conscience. With passion and humour, A Candle or the Sun reveals a Singapore far different from the tourist brochures.

A Candle of the Sun

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Books by Baratham, Gopal