Finding this book at a favourite bookshop of mine in New Bahru was a coincidence. We were browsing at the bookshop after a lunch one weekend afternoon. My husband was the one who pointed this book out to me. He was already familiar with Humphreys’ witty columns in the local papers and suggested I’d enjoy his sense of humour as well. So I thought I’ll give it a try.
This very thick blue volume brings together all three of his works: Notes From An Even Smaller Island (2001), Scribbles From The Same Island (2003) and Final Notes From A Great Island: A Farewell Tour Of Singapore (2007). Released as a trilogy in celebration of SG60 – marking roughly thirty years since Neil first arrived in Singapore – it also features a new introduction and epilogue. It is truly amazing how somebody who had just arrived in Singapore could write so much and share such rich, detailed insights about my country in such a short span of time. Even having lived here my whole life, I don’t think I could squeeze out that many things to write about Singapore!
My absolute favorite of the three in the trilogy has to be the last book, Final Notes From A Great Island, which details his grand farewell tour around Singapore before moving to Australia in 2006. He really went all out—exploring the borders and venturing way beyond usual footpaths and public transport routes. He actually beat me to a few spots I’ve always wanted to visit. Neil hits the nail on the head: when people complain that there’s “nowhere to go” in Singapore, they’re completely wrong. For outdoor lovers especially, there are plenty of places right here to explore; it’s really just a matter of whether we want to get up and get going. If you are still clueless about where to go, then maybe this book can be useful as your starter kit.
Reading about his experiences brought back a wave of nostalgic memories. Having grown up as a teenager in the 1990s—a time of rapid change, especially with technology—reading about where he went to and what he experienced felt almost like reading a diary of my own youth. It kind of also felt like reading another version of The Teenage Textbook (1988) written by Adrian Tan but without all the slushy romance and all. It made me reflect on how much things have changed; for instance, where do you even see kids kicking a football around at the void deck nowadays? Where can we even find big void decks nowadays, I wonder? It also whisked me back to the days when I’d join a friend of mine at the stadiums, caught up in the wild football fever while screaming and supporting Tiong Bahru United (later renamed Tanjong Pagar United). It was such a wonderful trip down memory lane – that’s what reading his book does for a person who grew up as a Millennial.
Similar to Humphreys, I’ve always loved exploring Singapore whenever I have the time. Back during my university semester breaks and in the pockets of time between graduation and starting work, I used to walk from one end of Singapore to the other, exploring different places and taking photos of scenery all day long. I vaguely recall that I have also visited the Geyland Serai Malay Village and an even older gallery space that was located at Riverside Point featuring the usual local narrative about life in the past (there were also some kind of cheap boat rides offered to visitors inside the gallery?) many eons ago. Seeing a foreigner do this exact same thing, and going the extra mile to also document the history, developments, and details of each place so thoroughly—it’s amazing. Like, who else does that? And Humphreys could write well, and his sense of humour is lifting. It wasn’t a boring history book; it was filled with interesting narrations, events, characters and his personal thoughts about why he liked or didn’t like something. It provided a very personable take on Singapore so you can read it like a storybook and not like a deadpan boring non-fiction book.
For anyone set to step foot in Singapore, I genuinely believe this is the definitive book to read to truly understand who we are as Singaporeans and what makes us tick. It offers far more heart, humor, and insight than any standard travel guide for Singapore that’s available on the market. It does stray slightly too frequently into mature adult content which made me wonder if it was really necessary. No wonder Humphreys warned my boy off this book when they met each other at his school talk, nudging him towards his children’s series instead (lol). But well, that’s his signature writing style and to each his own, I guess. And I got his autograph (thanks to Tayt), plus a gentle reminder to tune in to Money FM89.3 every weekday morning (which I did and absolutely love). That’s a total win for me.