Ah Hock is an ordinary, uneducated man born in a Malaysian fishing village and now trying to make his way in a country that promises riches and security to everyone, but delivers them only to a chosen few. With Asian society changing around him, like many he remains trapped in a world of poorly paid jobs that just about allow him to keep his head above water but ultimately lead him to murder a migrant worker from Bangladesh. The question of why leads a young, privileged journalist to Ah Hock’s door. His vivid confession unfurls over extensive interviews with the journalist, herself a local whose life has taken a very different course. The process forces both the speaker and his listener to reckon with systems of power, race, and class in a place where success is promised to all yet delivered only to its lucky heirs.

An uncompromising portrait of an outsider navigating a society in transition, We, the Survivors holds its tension to the very end. In the wake of loss and destruction, hope is among the survivors.

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Reviews

• “We, the Survivors by Tash Aw” — The Guardian

Interviews

• “Tash Aw: ‘It used to be that Asia was poor.’ “Asians are rich” is the new cliche” — The Guardian

Videos

• “RE4DINGS: We, the Survivors by Tash Aw” — 4th Estate Books