Scorpion Orchid

Scorpion Orchid is a novel by Malaysian author Lloyd Fernando, first published by Heinemann Educational Books (Asia) in 1976. The novel is set in Singapore in the 1950s.^[1]

Plot summary

The plot entwines four young men of differing ethnic make-up: Santinathan is a Tamil, Guan Kheng a Chinese, Sabran a Malay and Peter D'Almeida a Eurasian. The four of them were former schoolmates and now attends the Singapore university, all in their third year. The story follows them as they become embroiled with the racial riots in Singapore during the 1950s. A distinctive feature of Scorpion Orchid lies in fourteen italicized passages of varying length, drawn from traditional Malayan texts and interwoven into the narrative.

References

1. Chiu, M. Y. "Imagining a Nation: Lloyd Fernando's Scorpion Orchid and National Identity" in New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 5, 2 (December, 2003): p. 48