• Fromlamentsonurbanchangeandruminationsaboutthegardentoreflectionsonwritingandmeditationsongrief,DarylLi’sdebutcollectionofliterarynonfictionchartsapaththroughtopicsasdiverseasecology,war,mourning,andurbantransformation.
• Looselydubbed“essays”,thepiecesblenddisparategenressuchaspersonalessay,culturalcriticism,shortfiction,andphotography,exploringtheformalpossibilitiesoftheessayisticapproach.
• Theplayfulapproachtostructureandformisemblematisedby“GhostStories”,anunusualpieceinwhichashortstoryunfoldsalongsideinterjections—recollections,notes,andmarginalia—toproduceaself-reflexivestudyofcreativework.
• Theseessaysengagewiththemesoftrauma,memory,andidentity,describinghowourexperiencesarefilteredthrougharchetypes,stereotypes,andmyth—andhowmemoryandidentityareconstructedinouractsofstorytellingandfictionalisation.
• Lyrical,introspective,andexperimental,TheInventorsisauniqueworkofcreativenonfictioninSingapore’sliteraryscene.
Ahistoryofembarrassmentsinthegardenbeginsameditationonthenatureofmemory.Unfoldingalongsidenotesandmarginalia,aghoststorybecomesareflectionongrief,remembrance,andidentity.Failedwritingprojectscoalesceintoacontemplationonthelimitsofournarratives.ThehauntingessaysinTheInventorsexplorethestoriesthatwetellourselves—andthewaysinwhichweconstantlyinventandreinventour/selves.
