Now You See Us
Balli Kaur Jaswal
William Morrow: 2023
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In her latest novel Now You See Us, Balli Kaur Jaswal has created a social world that magnifies the indignities and frustrations of everyday life as a migrant domestic worker in Singapore. The three protagonists, Donita, Cora and Angel, are Filipino women employed as live-in domestic workers in three different households, their fates as migrant workers intertwined yet distinct, their well-being reliant on their employers’ benevolence or cruelty.

Cora is the ‘luckiest’. Her Ma’am Elizabeth, a wealthy widow, is generous and kind. The problem, though, is that she is overly solicitous, blind to—or immune from?—the impenetrable boundaries that delineate one’s place in society. When Elizabeth brings Cora as her lunch date to an expensive Italian restaurant, or invites her as a seated guest to a wedding tasting at a fancy hotel, Elizabeth is oblivious to the slights from the people around them and Cora’s unease. It is up to Cora to remind her rich and connected employer that “there must be a line between us”, because Cora gets “funny looks” and “people say things to me”.

Donita, the youngest of the three, has an ogre of an employer. Mrs Fann conducts humiliating body checks to make sure Donita has not stolen or hidden anything, constantly berates Donita, confiscates her phone and allows her to consume only leftovers. Mr Fann, meanwhile, is depressed and thoughtless in unremarkable ways, giving money to Donita to buy a single packet of chicken rice, nary a thought as to Donita also requiring a meal. Angel, meanwhile, is caregiver to Mr Vijay, a widower who recently suffered a stroke. She feels concern and affection for this struggling old man, but becomes increasingly agitated by unwanted advances from his son, Raja, and insecure about her own role when the family hires a nurse to care for Mr Vijay.

• Tags: Balli Kaur Jaswal, Issue 32, Singapore, Stephanie Chok