Read: Emily of Emerald Hill

Title: Emily of Emerald Hill
Author: Stella Kon
Publisher: Constellation Books (2002)

After several visits to the exhibition, Emily of Emerald Hill: Singapore Identity on Stage, I decided it was necessary to buy myself a copy of Emily of Emerald Hill by Stella Kon and read it!

I had read it a few months ago. This one-woman play is a page-turner. I remember I had finished it within a relatively short span of time. Although there are a number of Peranakan Malay expressions found throughout the play, it is still accessible to read. My general sense of the play is that many scenarios were written in an open-ended way so readers like myself are free to draw our own conclusions on various incidents such as how did Emily's son actually died.

Some of the moving moments in the play as I read it were when there was a softening of Emily's attitudes towards her daughter, Doris, towards the end of the play. In addition, the kindness that Emily has for her friend, Bee Choo, seemed to reveal that deeper in Emily, there is an essence of humanity. What a stark contrast to Emily's persona that she seemed to be portraying during much of the play.

Reading this play has deepened my appreciation of the exhibition. I recommend visitors to the exhibition, Emily of Emerald Hill: Singapore Identity on Stage, to consider reading this book if they have yet to.

***
Also see:
http://emilyofemeraldhill.com
http://www.emilyofemeraldhill.com/SKBooks.html