Now, before I discuss it, let me first clear something up. In class, Yeo mentioned how the title has a double meaning in that "routes" and "roots" both sound the same and are both major themes of his memoir. He also mentioned that this would be lost on American readers who apparently pronounce "routes" with an "ow" sound. As an American, let me just say that neither I nor anyone I've ever talked to says it like that and I'm not sure why people think we do (it isn't the first time I'd heard someone think so).
So anyway, the book:
I'll discuss both the "roots" and "routes" that I found as present in the memoir.
Roots:
Part of this was very dry, but most of this was very interesting. For example, the pages he focuses on his family tree held my attention like a bucket without a bottom. But the chapters on his childhood in Singapore was very interesting to me. I could compare it both with the different culture I experienced growing up and the different era I experienced. While some things were different, it is always a comfort to me to know that halfway around the world half a century ago, school kids were pretty similar. In terms of Yeo's family life, I thought the chapters provided me with a good snapshot of Singaporean family dynamics and working with a bilingual household and immigrant parents. Another of the chapters entitled, "Chinese cannot speak Chinese" details and encounter he had with the lady who served food at his school. She made a comment about the Chinese (and other ethnic groups by extension) losing their culture to a more western oriented Singapore. This sort of sets the stage for Yeo to become passionate about a Southeast Asian and Singaporean identity.
The other piece of the roots discussed is Yeo's involvement in the development of the Singapore English literature scene. He recounts compilations made with other Singaporean pioneer writers such as Goh Poh Seng who we have become familiar with. Yeo discusses his work with the emerging universities of Singapore and lower education systems. It is really the story of post independence Singapore's literary and intellectual scene, a view I would not have gotten from a book focused more on history.
Routes:
This is mostly about Yeo's travels first to Europe and then around Southeast Asia. He spends a while talking about two years he spent studying in London which helped to broaden his perspective to be more worldwide. This certainly caught my attention because, while my studies may not be nearly as serious, here I am in Singapore having a similar experience myself.He also talks about his time as a reporter in Thailand and his experiences with the effects of the Vietnam War in the region. A lot of his poetry was inspired by the cities he visited and the people he met and this further increased his sense and need to discover what his identity meant to him.
Throw in a few sections dealing with women and lost loves and You have yourself a memoir.
I was very impressed by all the connections he was able to make and the passions he was able to pursue. And of course I was inspired by all the stories of traveling and hope to find similar passions in my own life.
