Now You See Us by Balli Kaur Jaswal

Now You See Us (William Morrow) begins with a brief news item of a woman found dead in her home in Singapore. Her maid, a domestic worker from the Philippines is a person of interest and has been arrested. Author Balli Kaur Jaswal has already grabbed our attention. She has crafted a clever, slyly funny murder mystery that is also a commentary on social injustices perpetrated on the below stairs, unseen domestic workers employed by Singapore’s elite.  

The accused, Flordeliza Martinez, is a sweet, hard-working woman who sends most of her earnings home to her family. Her acquaintances rightly fear that despite an apparent lack motive or evidence, and through anticipated inadequate legal representation, she will be summarily tried, convicted and hastily executed. The crime will be solved, case closed and another success story for the island’s police force and judicial system recorded. 

Every maid in Singapore knows of multiple instances where domestic workers have been scapegoats, held to blame for the misdeeds of their employers or their family members. The author has created this fictional scenario reminiscent of an actual incident which resulted in the 1995 execution of an innocent housekeeper who was also from Manila. 

Domestic Workers With Grit and Courage

Three Filipina women domestic workers have the grit, courage and increasingly effective social media skills to independently investigate the case and take on the Singapore elite to prove Flordeliza’s innocence. One maid’s testimony can be disregarded or discredited but an informal union of domestic workers well publicized protestations must be addressed. Now You See Us is more than a title, it is a proclamation. 

The protagonists Corazon, Donita and Angel are not close friends and had scarcely known the prisoner. They are all contract employees of the Merry Maids Employment Agency.  They are outraged by a system that dehumanizes them, deprives workers of basic rights and overlooks abuses suffered at the hands of employers who treat employees as chattel. 

A government sponsored survey from 2017 estimates that abuse is so prevalent that 60% or more of domestic workers have been exploited. The maltreatment may be physical, psychological or verbal backed by threats of firing and deportation. They receive low wages with additional compensation in the form of room and board and typically work an average of 14 hour days. 

The fictional lively ringleader and instigator Donita, in particular, received meager, inadequate rations and is frequently locked in the laundry room, deprived of her cellphone, her only means of communication. Most foreign domestic workers anticipate being under surveillance through cameras and baby monitors and are fully cognizant they will be the first to be accused of breakage or theft. 

Trio of Women at the Center of the Story

Corazon is the eldest of the trio, who was back working as a maid and companion in Singapore.  Several years earlier, she had returned to the Philippines to raise her beloved, orphaned nephew Raymond, then six years old. He was her reason for living and hope for the future and her heart filled with pride when he was awarded a full college scholarship. Dreams were dashed when during his sophomore year; he became an innocent victim, misidentified and shot to death by police. The real culprits, drug runners and acquaintances from the neighborhood, became a threat to Corazon’s life. She lived in fear and felt unable to communicate the truth to her employer. 

Donita, the youngest, barely 20, and new to the island nation was exuberant, eager to explore the city and find romance. Despite her limited time off (two hours during the week and Sunday as mandated in her employment contract), she managed to find a boyfriend, a handsome Indian construction worker, and launched a social media account to allow fellow domestic workers to vent complaints and communicate freely. 

Donita is employed as a maid to the ever shrill Fann Poo Choo (Mrs. Fann) and her henpecked husband. She is subjected to a near constant stream of verbal abuse by this sanctimonious and miserly petty tyrant. Mrs. Fann has been elected president of an ultra-conservative, quasi-religious organization called SAGE which is stridently homophobic, outspoken against transgender people and extremely nationalistic. Not surprisingly, Mrs. Fann has some skeletons in her closet which she would prefer remain locked. 

Angel is a loyal caregiver to an elderly man whose son has brought in a new accredited nurse who may become her replacement. She is a closeted lesbian depressed by the sudden breakup of her relationship and who worries about being able to secure another job if her sexual orientation were revealed. 

Readers will be quickly arrested by this intriguing, highly entertaining and fast-paced murder mystery and root for these plucky heroines who become known throughout the worker community for their social media updates. The courageous sleuthing and posts by this intrepid trio of domestics inspire other workers to stand up for their rights in the quest to prove Flordeliza’s innocence.

The Nation of Singapore and Its Working Conditions

The island nation of Singapore is the richest country in Asia with the highest number of millionaires in the world. It is a well ordered tax haven for the ultra-wealthy and is consistently ranked one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. It boasts of clean streets, ultra-modern buildings, an emphasis on technological innovations, excellent schools and health care systems and a dynamic, free trade business economy replete with numerous global investors.

Approximately 80% of construction workers and more than 50% of domestic servants are foreign born from less developed, poor countries. A full 44% of the entire work force comes from outside the country. Workers from the Philippines are preferred because of their ability to speak English. They are all required to have Foreign Worker Permits with visa sponsorships for the various industries and pay a high fee to the employment agency that secures their contract. They are not at will to change jobs and there are stringent rules to follow. However, a job contract in Singapore is still preferable to work in Qatar or the UAE which are viewed to be akin to slave labor with rampant physical and human rights abuse and a higher incidence of deaths among foreign workers. 

English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil are the four official languages with English being universal. The city-state is densely populated yet the crime rate is among the lowest in the world. Capital punishment exists and is enforced as a penalty for homicide and often for drug trafficking. The laws and police enforcement are draconian, justice is swift, and woe betides the accused criminal. Cameras are in use everywhere acting as a deterrent. The city is one of the least corrupt and government is a parliamentary republic. The climate is a warm and extremely humid tropical concrete rainforest as urbanization has eliminated an estimated 95% of their native forests.

 If you are a rich resident, businessman, or moneyed tourist, it’s a great, safe place to enjoy with world-class luxury shops, entertainment, five star hotels and restaurants. It does have the highest income inequity of any developed nation but in a country that equates wealth and social rank with a person’s worth it hardly matters to the elite majority.  

A Spirited Contribution  to Singaporean Literature

Now You See Us is an ideal selection for book clubs with its balanced combination of mystery, courage, humor and heart that will stimulate spirited discussions and gain new fans for the author. Balli Kaur Jaswal has opened a window into a society and culture that is less known to American readers and encourages us not only to learn more but also to read more books by Singaporean authors. 

She knows the culture and social structure intimately as she was born in the island-nation and lived there from age 8 to 15. Her family was part of the Punjabi-Sikh diaspora following India’s independence and Partition. Balli Kaur Jaswal has also lived in Japan, Russia and the Philippines as her father’s career was with the Foreign Ministry. 

She completed her undergraduate degree in creative writing at Hollins University in rural Virginia and taught English in Australia and Turkey before completing her doctorate. This award winning author has published nonfiction and four other novels including Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows which has been purchased for movie rights. 

Now You See Us is a departure from her previous fiction that has focused on Punjabi Sikh characters and situations. She is a social activist who writes about subjects such as treatment of homosexuals and racism that challenge Singapore’s censorship. She is a fine author who deserves a larger audience. 

Other authors from this affluent nation include Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians, a publishing phenom and equally successful film,  was born into the privileged Singapore society and relocated to the Houston area with his family at age 11. Leslie Charteris, British-Chinese screenwriter, adventure novelist and creator of the hugely popular Simon Templar “The Saint” series was also born in Singapore.

Kuala Lumpur born, Shamini Flint is another notable contemporary author. She was educated at Cambridge University in London and worked in international law in Singapore before beginning her prolific writing career. This lawyer/teacher/soccer coach and environmental activist has nearly 50 children’s books to her credit and a (so far) a 7 book series featuring Inspector Singh.

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