The Straits Times Weekly Bestsellers May 17

Fiction:
The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei.
PHOTO: WEIDENFELD & NICOLSON
1. (1) The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei
2. (-) You And Me by Jang and Fox
3. (5) Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins
4. (6) Fearless by Lauren Roberts
5. (2) King Of Envy by Ana Huang
6. (9) Lost Souls Meet Under A Full Moon by Mizuki Tsujimura; translated by Yuki Tejima
7. (-) Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi , translated by Geoffrey Trousselot
8. (-) The Housemaid by Freida Mcfadden
9. (-) Powerless by Lauren Roberts
10. (-) Babel by R.F. Kuang
Non-fiction:
Elevate Your Assets, Elevate Your Wealth by Kelvin Fong.
PHOTO: BOOK BAR
1. (1) Elevate Your Assets, Elevate Your Wealth by Kelvin Fong
2. (2) Why Palestine? Reflections From Singapore by Walid Jumblatt Abdullah
3. (9) Atomic Habits by James Clear
4. (-) Net Positive by Paul Polman
5. (-) Hope: The Autobiography by Pope Francis
6. (4) The Psychology Of Money by Morgan Housel
7. (-) The Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga
8. (-) Prisoners Of Geography by Tim Marshall
9. (-) Thinking, Fast And Slow by Daniel Kahneman
10. (-) Fifty Secrets Of Singapore's Success by Tommy Koh
Children's:
The Incredible Basket by Quek Hong Shin.
PHOTO: KINOKUNIYA
1. (8) The Incredible Basket by Quek Hong Shin
2. (-) National Geographic Kids Almanac 2026 by National Geographic Kids
3. (-) Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
4. (6) Agents Of S.U.I.T: Wild Ghost Chase by John Patrick Green
5. (-) Dog Man 2: Unleashed by Dav Pilkey
6. (-) Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter
7. (8) Sly The Fly by R.S. Robbie; illustrated by Debbie Yuen and Jessley Sim
8. (-) Secrets Of Singapore: Changi Airport by Lesley-Anne Tan and Monica Lim; illustrated by James Tan
9. (-) Elephants Live Upstairs! by Melissa Ong; illustrated by Javon Chan
10. (-) The Mango Tree by Hidayah Amin
This is The Straits Times' compilation of bestseller lists from Kinokuniya, Epigram, Wardah Books, Book Bar and Afterimage bookstores.
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Straits Times

7 days ago

• Straits Times

The Straits Times Weekly Bestsellers June 14

Fiction: Singaporean writer Jemimah Wei's debut novel The Original Daughter. PHOTO: WEIDENFELD & NICOLSON 1. (1) The Passengers On The Hankyu Line by Hiro Arikawa; translated by Allison Markin Powell 2. (2) The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei 3. (3) The Emperor Of Gladness by Ocean Vuong 4. (5) Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins 5. (7) The Convenience Store By The Sea by Sonoko Machida; translated by Bruno Navasky 6. (-) Madonna In A Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali 7. (-) Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood 8. (-) Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde 9. (-) Heart Lamp: Selected Stories by Banu Mushtaq; translated by Deepa Bhasthi 10. (-) Marigold Mind Laundry by Jungeun Yun; translated by Shanna Tan Non-fiction: Elevate Your Assets, Elevate Your Wealth by Kelvin Fong. PHOTO: BOOK BAR 1. (2) Elevate Your Assets, Elevate Your Wealth by Kelvin Fong 2. (1) Why Palestine? Reflections From Singapore by Walid Jumblatt Abdullah 3. (-) Ikigai by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles 4. (-) How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle by Ray Dalio 5. (3) Apple In China by Patrick McGee 6. (8) Atomic Habits by James Clear 7. (5) Agentic Artificial Intelligence by Pascal Bornet and Jochen Wirtz 8. (-) The Not To-Do List by Rolf Dobelli 9. (4) The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins 10. (-) I Want To Die But I Want To Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee; translated by Anton Hur Children's: Top 10 Weirdest Critters Of Singapore's Rainforest by Amaani Arfian; illustrated by Clarice Woon. PHOTO: BOOK BAR 1. (-) National Geographic Kids Almanac 2026 by National Geographic Kids 2. (-) Pokemon Super Duper Extra Deluxe by Scholastic Inc 3. (6) The World's Worst Superheroes by David Walliams 4. (2) Agents Of S.U.I.T.: Wild Ghost Chase by John Patrick Green 5. (-) Spy School by Stuart Gibbs 6. (-) I Am Not Jessica Chen by Ann Liang 7. (-) Top 10 Weirdest Critters Of Singapore Rainforest by Amaani Arfian; illustrated by Clarice Woon 8. (9) Eye Spy Singapore by Pippa Chorley 9. (-) Jemma Dreams Of Sushi by Mark Chen and Ruo-Ting Goh; illustrated by Cacticyn 10. (-) Chickenpox by Remy Lai This is The Straits Times' compilation of bestseller lists from Kinokuniya, Epigram, Wardah Books, Book Bar, and Afterimage bookstores. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

Independent Singapore

11-06-2025

• Independent Singapore

Fractured sisterhood: A review of Jemimah Wei's ‘The Original Daughter'

SINGAPORE: 'The Original Daughter' is the debut novel from Jemimah Wei, perhaps best known for her years as a presenter and host. The book, which was published last month, has earned rave reviews for Ms Wei, getting featured in no less than The New York Times and being chosen as a book club pick by Good Morning, America. It certainly portrays Singapore as substantially less glitzy and glamorous than the one popularized by Crazy Rich Asians and its sequels. It is quieter, more desperate, and far more affecting. To sum it up, it's the story of a family, and the bonds and demands that familial love places upon us. More specifically, it's a story of a fractured sisterhood, perhaps how our sisters break our hearts over and over again. Genevieve Yang is the only daughter of a taxi driver father and a librarian mother living in an HDB unit in Bedok. The novel's timeline spans from the 1990s to 2015. Genevieve's life changes forever with the discovery of a cousin she never knew about. Her grandfather, whom she long believed was dead, had actually left Singapore decades before the story began, and had moved to Malaysia to start another life, another family. With his passing when Genevieve was eight, the family ended up acquiring another daughter, seven-year-old Arin, the daughter of her father's half-brother in Malaysia. Torn from the only life she's ever known and rejected by Genevieve's grandmother and, to a lesser degree, by her father. And while Su, Genevieve's mother, is loving, as Genevieve morphs into 'Jie Jie' (older sister), she becomes Arin's entire world. The two grow up together side by side, but as they get older, Genevieve experiences one failure after another, while Arin comes into her own and excels, first at school, later as a YouTube personality, and then finds a successful career as a bona fide Hollywood star. A painful betrayal splits the sisters asunder, and this affects the whole family. While the tone of the book is often the opposite of lighthearted, though there are bits of humour scattered here and there, it ends on the suggestion of a grace note. The appeal of 'The Original Daughter' lies within its main character. Some who've read the book have pointed out how unlikeable Genevieve is, and yet Ms Wei's skill as a writer is shown in how relatable her protagonist is, and how understandable her motivations are—the pressures, rivalries, jealousies, pettiness, and above all, her desire to be needed and loved. It's a modern trope that the eldest daughter has a big burden to bear, and perhaps this is especially true in Asian families, where they are relegated to the role of the responsible one whom everyone else gets to lean on from a very young age. A particularly poignant exchange occurs between Genevieve and her mother at the point when the protagonist strives to free herself from ties that bind, and she can sense that Su is less than thrilled. 'So what if you're not extraordinary to everybody else?' her mother asks Genevieve, adding, 'Is it not enough to be special to me?' 'The Original Daughter: A Novel' by Jemimah Wei is available at Kinokuniya, Epigram, BookBar, Amazon, and other retailers. /TISG Read also: Two Singapore writers share 2021 Epigram Books Fiction Prize

Straits Times

07-06-2025

• Straits Times

The Straits Times Weekly Bestsellers June 7

Fiction: The Passengers On The Hankyu Line by Hiro Arikawa. PHOTO: HIRO ARIKAWA 1. (1) The Passengers On The Hankyu Line by Hiro Arikawa; translated by Allison Markin Powell 2. (2) The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei 3. (3) The Emperor Of Gladness by Ocean Vuong 4. (-) One-legged Football And Other Stories by Patricia Pui Huen Lim 5. (4) Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins 6. (-) Welcome To The Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum; translated by Shanna Tan 7. (-) The Convenience Store By The Sea by Sonoko Machida 8. (-) The Vegetarian by Han Kang 9. (-) King Of Envy by Ana Huang 10. (6) Fearless by Lauren Roberts Non-fiction: Why Palestine? Reflections From Singapore by Walid Jumblatt Abdullah. PHOTO: EPIGRAM BOOKS 1. (1) Why Palestine? Reflections From Singapore by Walid Jumblatt Abdullah 2. (2) Elevate Your Assets, Elevate Your Wealth by Kelvin Fong 3. (6) Apple In China by Patrick McGee 4. (4) The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins 5. (-) Agentic Artificial Intelligence by Pascal Bornet and Jochen Wirtz 6. (-) Multipliers, Revised And Updated by Liz Wiseman 7. (9) Empire Of AI by Karen Hao 8. (10) Atomic Habits by James Clear 9. (-) The Art And Making Of Arcane by Elisabeth Vincentelli 10. (-) The Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga Children's: The Incredible Basket by Quek Hong Shin. PHOTO: EPIGRAM BOOKSHOP 1. (3) The Incredible Basket by Quek Hong Shin 2. (-) Agents Of S.U.I.T.: Wild Ghost Chase by John Patrick Green 3. (5) Matilda by Roald Dahl 4. (-) Dog Man 13: Big Jim Begins by Dav Pilkey 5. (-) Singapore Is 60: Celebrate With Us! by Sharon Koh; illustrated by Kristen Kiong 6. (-) The World's Worst Superheroes by David Walliams 7. (10) Just A Little Mynah: Makan Mischief by Evelyn Sue Wong; illustrated by Dhanendra Poedjono 8. (-) Beware The Sunda Slow Loris And Other Singaporean Fables by Chen Junhua; illustrated by Chan Shu Yin 9. (-) Eye Spy Singapore by Pippa Chorley 10. (-) Navigating The World With Comfort And Joy As A Little Corgi by Corgiyolk This is The Straits Times' compilation of bestseller lists from Kinokuniya, Epigram, Wardah Books, Book Bar and Afterimage bookstores. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.