An American Mom in Asia

I know I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I loved the cover of Written in Black by K.H. Lim. A river of black ink, a coffin and a boy paddling is way through. Unfortunately, I’m not sure which I liked more…the cover or the book itself.

I was interested in this story right off the bat. I’ve actually been to Brunei. It was a whirlwind layover, but I have very vivid memories of touring the capital city, Bandar Sari Begawan. In my memories and photos, Brunei was a wealthy Muslim city, with gold domed mosque roofs and golden shopping carts. But this book was nothing like the Brunei I visited.

Jonathan, the 10 year old protagonist, couldn’t be more miserable. His mom has left town. His oldest brother ran away. And now his grandfather has died and Jonathan has to join his extended family for all the funeral rituals. Jonathan’s family is Chinese-Bruneian, which is a minority people group in this tiny country on the island of Borneo. Tradition and ritual dictate every action of this funeral. Jonathan is beside himself with grief and loss, and makes a bold decision to escape…in a coffin.

Jonathan’s misadventures in his cross-city quest are interesting enough. And I felt quite invested in his family’s struggles. But I wasn’t rushing to finish this story. I didn’t keep returning back to this book with anticipation. It was an average story for me.

The most interesting aspects was how it challenged my presumptions of Brunei culture and people. I found their Chinese rituals really interesting. As an American living in Indonesia, not all that far from Brunei, I love seeing cultural traditions expressed around me.

⭐️ My rating: 3 stars of 5