Gardens at Phoenix Park

Book excerpt: Gardens at Phoenix Park is a fictional story set against actual events, of three students who meet during the turbulent period of anti-government protests in Singapore of the late 1970s. As these fellow travellers cross the continent of the next four decades, their relationships with each other transform in complexity against a backdrop of social and political engineering. Min Chan is detained under the Internal Security Act. Shu Peng becomes complicit in the machinations of the ruling party. And Martin comes out of the closet during the 2011 general election. Even as the characters’ lives are shaped by events of the day, they also push back to shape a better future for themselves, as well as for the country.