Sick Note

Winner of the 2024 Singapore Literature Prize

Grandmother. Mothers. Daughters. Aunts. Girlfriends. Beloved. Estranged. Becoming.

Prasanthi Ram’s award-winning debut is a multigenerational portrait of nine women within and beyond one Tamil Brahmin family, the Srinivasans.

Nine Yard Sarees takes us from 1950s India to contemporary Singapore, Australia and the US through eleven interconnected stories. Following these women across decades as they navigate oppressive structures such as patriarchy, casteism and homophobia, this story cycle is a resonant portrayal of the evolving diasporic experience – full of humour, grief, heart and unforgettable characters.

‘An uncommonly rich and precise debut, closely observed, magically empathetic and formally ambitious. If you love the stories of Jhumpa Lahiri, you will love this.’ Jee Leong Koh

‘With visceral writing and razor-sharp characterisation, Ram masterfully traverses the grey areas that surround our family lives.’ VOGUE Singapore

‘Sings and swells in all its polyphonic glory.’ The Straits Times

‘A thoroughly enjoyable and meaningful work of fiction about family, community and the reverberations of migration and displacement.’ Balli Kaur Jaswal

‘A gripping, masterfully crafted work that is both haunting and comforting. I read it in one night.’ Akshita Nanda

‘A unique perspective on the immigrant experience. Nine Yard Sarees expresses the power of family, the fortitude of women, and the resilience of the human spirit.’ Latha

‘Populated by a rich cast of characters you immediately fall in love with, these linked stories are bursting at the seams with tenderness and heart.’ Cheryl Julia Lee

Olivia De Zilva is the author of Plastic Budgie and Eggshell. Her work has been published in The Guardian, Westerly, Liminal, SBS, Cordite Poetry Review, Mascara Literary Review and Australian Poetry Journal, among others. Olivia graduated with a Master of Philosophy from the University of Queensland; her thesis explored the representation of Asian-diasporic identity in contemporary Australian publishing. She is based on Kaurna Yerta/Adelaide, Australia.

If you enjoyed Sick Note, we suggest:

• Immersing yourself in of-the-moment poetry collections like The Rot by Evelyn Araluen and Juvenilia by Hera Lindsay Bird

• Embracing the unbridled joys of working culture in Stinkbug by Sinead Stubbins, The Office as a Boat by Moya Costello and Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber

• Looking to the stars with Famesick by Lena Dunham, Dua Lipa’s book club recommendations and, of course, Plastic Budgie by Olivia De Zilva

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