Maid In Singapore - Kishore Modak

Maid in Singapore, a tale based on true events, relives the bizarre and often troubling journey of a family consisting of an Indian woman and her British banker husband, forced to move to Singapore from their home in London. Their chemistry quickly turns acidic with the hiring of a maid who enters their web of carnal excesses, redefining the rest of their lives.

The blows dealt on each member are enough for any to give up, choosing actions that are shocking, as only true events can be.

Nimue Says :

Before I got this book, I read a review of the book on some blog and I was turned off a bit. If the book was really all about sex and that too a web of multiple partners sort , I certainly was apprehensive. when I started the book , the sex part came in quite early in the pages and I was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Maybe i am quite old fashioned in this regards, yet somehow I could not put the book down. The events were written so clearly and even if the language was sophisticated and simple , the flow of the book was inspiring.

The book is in three parts : Shame , acceptance , laughter. It is written in form of a journal by Rashmi starting from her move to Singapore with husband David and son Jay. It tells us of the maid Mary’s entry into her household and subsequent exit – the circumstances , the consequences and later in second part she tells about how she dealt with all this. Sometimes when we push a limit , or accept some one doing it , we forget that there is no turning back. How our actions affect the ones connected to us , we do not really comprehend. Human mind works in weird ways and often truth is far stranger than fiction. While I read this book, I felt myself connect to Rashmi at many of her thoughts and decisions.

The Last chapter is in another voice – of a lady Eve. For some reasons , that is my favorite part of the book. Where everyone sort of escapes the eyes and words of Rashmi and spoke for themselves.

I am not sure how to describe the book is mere words. This was a journey for me to understand that even in weirdest of events happening around you , all you need is to keep your head and heart clear. Communication is must in every relationship and no means is ever better than talking face to face.

I liked this strange tale.

True or not , I know such people do exist. And I feel for all of them.

Rating : 3.5/5

Yatin Says :

I really dont know from where to begin with. When I got the blurb about the book, I got a fair idea from its title that what it is going to be all about. Still, I thought, I should give it a shot. May be, the book can surprise in some way. So, I said yes to it. 

Kishore Modak, an engineer from NIT-K and MBA from IIM-A, has come up with a weird story with Maid In Singapore. Apparently, based on true events, the book is set up in Singapore, London and Philippines.

The book is divided into three parts, first two taken from the personal journal of Rashmi Kettlewood. Rashmi is an Indian, married to a britisher, David with a fourteen year old son Jay. David gets a job in Singapore and the family shifts their base from London to Singapore. They hire a house help Mary and then happens a series of indigestible events. David had this habit of making love to Rashmi in a perverse way, pointing a gun to Rashmi and making her do weird things. David's lust and desires overshot and one day Rashmi catches him making out with Mary and then unfolds a lot of weird things. Rashmi gets to know a lot of things and it opens a Pandora's box for her till the very end. 

Kishore Modak's writing has a flair, the vocabulary is good and the book just flows. But somewhere I couldn't connect with the story. It was too much to handle for me. Sex was the only thing that was driving the book is weird ways. If you will read the book, you would know. As it is said that the book is based on true events, I am just wondering how difficult would have been for the person to face such things. Just to encourage Modak's writing skills, I would say, give this book a shot. May be you find the story gripping. 

Book Source : Publisher
Publisher : Grapevine Publishers
Genre : Fiction
ISBN : 978-38-184-1235