Every October, as part of the Singapore Author's series where the National Library invites authors to speak at Book Clubs, my book club Heartland Book Club hosted author Suffian Hakim to speak about his book The Minorities.

I never like horror stories or movies. The last time I read a horror book was in secondary school. The Omen scared the hell out of me with my imagination running wild. The Minorities, with all the Asian and Western ghosts/spirits making frequent appearances in the book, failed to scare me. Perhaps with age comes wisdom and being a skeptic about the supernatural somehow makes such stories seem unbelievable.

The story starts the Malay-Chinese-Muslim-Jewish protagonist (I don't remember his name ever being mentioned) trying to get his father's ghost to haunt him together with his roommates, whom he saved while they were on the run. Cantona, a Bangladeshi construction worker, is on the run from his employer, Tights is an illegal immigrant from China, while Shanti is in hiding from an abusive husband.

Tights, who can't control his bowel, not only spoils Cantona's opportunity to become an artist by defecating in public during an art show, he also unleashes a Pontianak when he defecated at a banana tree in a community garden. Luckily the Pontianak, when she reverts to her human self, Diyanah is kind and pretty and only wants to return to her home village in Malacca and can only be taken there by the person she is haunting, which is Tights . Shanti's husband, Devas, gives them the perfect opportunity to go to Malaysia when he finds her and threatens to bring his gang over. The group of five, with the help of Diyanah using herself to cast a cloak of invisibility on the immigrants as they pass the custom immigration. However, not only are Devas and his gang after them all the way to Malaysia, the COME (Council of Metaphysical Entities) spirits are also after Diyanah.

There are many plot flaws I found incredulous. As an intelligent engineer who invented the Soft Loft, a musical machine played by brain waves, why would the protagonist believe he could summon his father's ghost to haunt him. And I also couldn't establish a good enough reason for him to do that. At the last scene where the humans battle the undeads, I found myself wondering how the undead can die a second time? Why do the monsters/spirits (there are many different types of supernaturals and they are all evil except for Diyanah) even have flesh and blood and even feel pain?

As I edit many of my peer's stories, I find myself visualising the scenes as if I am watching a movie. So when I read about the part of their night escape; Bukit Indah soon gave way to the open spaces of Horizon Hills and its country clubs. There were sprawling expanses of green but it was a bright unnatural green, suited more for the bounce and trundle of gold balls than to represent some ideal of natural beauty. I thought, can you see the green of a golf course in the darkness of the night? It would have been black if the golf course is not lit, as in this case.

I think the part I enjoy most and only Singaporeans can recognise who Oliver, the ghost is referring to when he said, 'My human has been misappropriating church funds. He's been using it to fund his wife's music career. And I don't mean music like she's a classical violinist in Italy. I mean she makes skanky-ass R&B videos. She's not even good. She doesn't have the class of Mary J. Blige, nor the artistic vision of Lady Gaga, nor the oozing sex appeal of Miley Cyrus.' I am impressed Oliver, who might have died decades ago, is keeping abreast with current pop music.

There are some parts I felt weren't necessary, as to why the President of Singapore is being haunted and eventually killed in the battle. He is described vividly like one of Singapore's ex President and is also succeeded by a female Malay President.

Because I didn't enjoy the book, I decided to skip the Book Club meeting with the author.

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