Singapore’s literature scene has been impressive for a while now but that hasn’t stopped local authors from expanding their boundaries and experimenting with new genres and themes. Grace Chia’s first full novel, The Wanderlusters seems to call out to me by name alone – after all, my travel blog is also called WanderlustwithRovik. However, this story is about a lot more than just traveling – The Wanderlusters is about the circus, isolation, nomadicity and all the weird characters in between.

The narrative style of the book is ambitious. Chia provides three voyeuristic frames to witness the happenings of the Cirque Obelisque: the first is those of the actual performances themselves, the second is of Delilah (the main character of the story) and the third of the accompanying characters (including Joe, Delilah’s husband who also leaves her at the beginning of the book). There is little room to breathe at the beginning, as Chia throws us into the separation of Joe and Delilah in real-time. This is a welcome surprise to me as we are forced to make sense of the context and characters as the drama proceeds. However, this is the only time I feel optimistic about the book.

Perhaps I am not the target audience. The main narrative arch follows Delilah after Joe leaves her, now infatuated with Richard, an acrobat who refuses to engage in romance with her lest the circus judges them for frolicking so soon after Joe’s departure. This starts out promising, but Chia makes the rest of the story a series of groans and whims from Delilah as she quells about her sexual fantasies. It’s lazy writing at best and a waste of a decently promising setting.

The Wanderlusters is a lot of things but it’s definitely not a recommendable book. It’s a drawl, boring and melodramatic. The biggest climax in the book is when someone accidentally falls off the edge of his balcony while drunk and even that was a minor part of the book. Chia attempts to convey the damning freedom of the nomadic lifestyle, where there is a need to redefine “home”, “family” and “love”. She does this through the characters she builds, but Delilah, her main star is weak and tiresome. There are times where I am literally checking how much longer the book has to go before ending the chapter because fortunately, some of Chia’s other characters such as young Godfrey are actually worth attention.

I want to support our local writers but perhaps Chia’s first novel is not the right place to start. Here’s hoping for better ones in the future.

Here are my ratings:

Readability: 3/5

Intellectual Stimulation: 1/5

Perspective Shifting Capability: 1/5

Would I Recommend? – No.