The great white hope
THE WORLD of the Sarong Party Girls (SPGs) has been a source of humour and ridicule for many years.
Essentially, SPGs are young Asian women who are desperate to snag an expatriate (read: Caucasian) for a husband, as in their mindset, it is the ticket to a better life and higher social standing.
In Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan’s book Sarong Party Girls, she centres the plot around Jazzy, a young woman who comes up with an ambitious plan for herself and her best friends to each snag an expat husband and have “Chanel babies”, the ultimate status symbol. While there are funny moments in the book, Tan also shows the downside to this lifestyle.
Tan is a New York-based journalist, whose previous book was A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food & Family. In a recent email interview, she candidly answered questions about Sarong Party Girls.
What made you write a book about a SPG?
“I’ve always found SPGs and the culture around SPGs completely fascinating. This little world in Singapore, to me, says something significant about the country and the sexual and racial politics of the place.
“Why is it that there exists a certain type of woman who sees status and material value in having a Caucasian husband or boyfriend?
“What are the forces of our history – colonial or otherwise – that have shaped this desire and belief in the value of Caucasian-ness?”
Jazzy has a lot of potential – something her lecherous boss, her mum, and best friend Sher see in her. Why is she determined to go the SPG route?
“Jazzy sees her world very starkly – she sees her fate if she were to marry a Singaporean man (who may have an overbearing mother, and also perhaps expect her to conform to a traditional role of a wife and mother, rather than have her own career), and she sees her fate if she were to not be married.
“She knows she doesn’t have it in her to become a lawyer or doctor, or to move to the US or England on her own – so the best way to get the life she covets is to try to marry a Caucasian man.
“This is her worldview, and it’s the worldview of many SPGs. I’ve always been fascinated by this and this novel explores that, and, perhaps, comes to a certain conclusion about it.”
Is Jazzy based on anyone in particular?
“Not at all – she’s 100% fictional. The way she speaks, her cadence, spirit and strident Singlish is in part inspired by some people I know.
“These are people I’ve known for years whom I love speaking with, because we often lapse into a coarse, colourful Singlish that I find myself missing when I’m away from Singapore.
“When I started writing SPG, Jazzy’s voice in my head came through loud and clear from the very first page. As I was writing the book, I just tried to listen to her story – and type as fast as I could!”
It took Tucker, the loud-mouthed condescending American, to finally open Jazzy’s eyes to what she has become. Why did you pick that character to do it?
“This character is the only character in the book that’s based on someone I met – he is exactly as described in the scene.
“Worse, actually, as I took out some of the things he had actually said – readers might not believe that someone so vulgar and abhorrent could actually exist!
“I was already writing SPG when I encountered this person – at a similar dinner – and after that meal, I thought, just bearing witness to this type of awfulness is what might wake you up and set you straight.”
Do you think people outside of Malaysia or Singapore will be able to understand the colloquial language in the book?
“This patois is so much a part of Jazzy’s character, as well as the rich tapestry of Singapore and its culture, and the rhythm of its everyday life.
“I really wanted to share this intimate part of Singapore that I so love. Thankfully, no one who’s read the book has had problems with it.
“My editor and team at William Morrow as well as my literary agent are not Singaporean. Most of them have not spent any time in Singapore and they understood the Singlish in the book.
“I’m hoping this introduces Singlish in all its glory to the world outside of Southeast Asia.”