A doomed inter-racial relationship, dashed hopes, betrayal, deception, manipulation, fear, hatred, obsession… or is it enduring love? First, the chupu on the cover is misleading. There aren’t any Babas or Nonyas, nor any reference to Peranakan heritage. [Also, there are no Indians or Eurasians, which was surprising, and there are two Filipinos in the latter part of the story, which was somewhat random.] The plot does have its interesting ideas and twists but An Mei and Hussein’s relationship, from which it develops, is a little weird. Now, anyone can predict that this Chinese Christian-Malay Muslim couple would face problems, and all the other important characters have misgivings about their relationship, but the two don’t, until it is too late. They are smart Oxford grads and Hussein is from a prominent, politically ambitious family so it’s unrealistic for them to be oblivious to the possibility of problems. Also, why make An Mei a Christian when this detail plays no rol