This was just fine. I didn't really get anything from this, even though the story itself was okay. It just didn't really pack a punch. It felt like the characters were kepts at an arms length and I never really grew to care for them.

I don't remember why I wanted to read this book specifically, but I think it must have had something to do with my boredom with the lack of diversity in literature (or at least a lack of diversity in which books become popular). I loved that the book was set in Malaysia, and the exploration of being gay at that time was great.

Still, the novel just wasn't very impactful and I honestly can't tell why this book specifically is said to be so good, but that's just my experience with it.