She found this process very entertaining. “You have to think to yourself, what would cats look at? A lot came from the feeling that cats feel superior to us, and if they could talk, they would probably tell us how to live our lives,” she told FMT Lifestyle with a laugh.
A talking cat is one of the main characters in “Deplorable Conversations With Cats and Other Distractions”, Yeoh’s second novel published by Penguin Random House SEA.
The novel tells the tale of Lucky Lee, a Singaporean café owner with a charmed life, blessed with almost everything he could possibly want. Things are unexpectedly upended, however, after the sudden death of his sister, go-getting TV chef Pearl Lee.
Paralysed by grief, things take a surreal turn for Lucky when Coconut, his departed sister’s cat, suddenly starts talking. It tells him stories, makes observations on his life, and asks difficult questions, such as where Pearl is.
Soon, an unexpected discovery about his family leads the two on a road trip across Malaysia. And what Lucky experiences will change him forever.
Expect a moving, sometimes surreal story of choice, family, and self-discovery. And lots of coffee, Yeoh teased: this hearty brew features heavily in the pages.
According to Yeoh, the novel took shape from her realisation that the intricacies of sibling relationships are rarely explored or analysed.
“We talk a lot about romantic relationships, but we don’t think a lot about our sibling relationships, although they are so dynamic and complex,” said the Singapore-based writer, who has a sister living in Australia.
“You love them and hate them. They are usually the first peers you meet. Your first moment of tenderness probably came from a sibling. Or your first betrayal.”
Coconut, Yeoh said, was an amalgamation of all the cats she got to know over her lifetime. Her mother was a huge cat lover, and Yeoh grew up living with four or five of them. She was often scolded for getting in THEIR way, the author laughed.
Despite the novel’s whimsical premise, grief is one of its major themes, and Yeoh hopes the book will inspire readers to consider the nuanced nature of this emotion.
“There is no proper form or proper time for grief. There is no need to be hard on ourselves if our grieving process doesn’t match what other people expect. Grieving feels different for different people, and there are infinite permutations for what it might look like.”
Yeoh, a former magazine features editor now in digital marketing, has always been a voracious bibliophile. As a child, she would read so quickly, her mother suggested she write her own stories to save her from constantly having to buy new books!
Yeoh took these words to heart, and look where she is now. Her short stories have been included in anthologies such as “Best Singaporean Short Stories: Volume Three”, and her 2020 short story “Dog Tiger Horse” won the Boston Review’s annual Aura Estrada short-story competition.
Her debut novel, “Impractical Uses Of Cake”, won the Epigram Books Fiction Prize in Singapore in 2018. She names authors such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Tash Aw as among her favourites.
Yeoh is currently at work on her third novel: her only cryptic hint is that it will involve plants. Fans of her second novel will also be pleased to hear that more may be coming for one of her characters!
“Whenever I write anything, I have conversations with the characters in my head. That’s how I get to know them. I’ve said goodbye to Lucky already. Pearl and I never had that many conversations to begin with.
“Coconut and I, though, we still have conversations, even though the book is done. I don’t think she’s done with me yet!”
Get your copy of ‘Deplorable Conversations With Cats and Other Distractions’ from local bookstores including Lit Books.