Yesterday’s story

Malaysian-born Felicia Yap writes a novel worth remembering, discovers Elena Koshy

circumscribed by their inability to recall anything beyond a day. This excludes them from holding high office or demanding jobs that the Duos get to enjoy. In this stratified society, Yap introduces us to Claire and Mark, a rare mixed-class marriage of Mono and Duo.

Claire is a conscientious Mono housewife while Mark is a novelist-turned-politician Duo, whose marriage is a glowing example of a potential new vision of tolerance and equality between the two classes. At least it looks that way on the outside.

Within the four walls of their home, Claire Evans wakes up in a sobbing, hysterical state. She can’t understand why as her iDiary does not reveal anything out of the ordinary. She only understands that it was “something nightmarish” but the details of that has escaped her mind forever.

Her husband, on the other hand, is condescending and remote. He’s turned his marriage into a cause of sorts, underscoring his ongoing MP campaign. He wants to be a Duo in touch with the needs, the hopes and fears of the Mono masses of Britain. After all, he’s married to one.

Then a beautiful woman is found dead, and dumped In England’s River Cam. Secrets that are locked within the iDiaries of seemingly perfectly constructed lives start to unravel with breathtaking haste.

The dead woman is soon revealed to be Mark’s mistress and he becomes the prime suspect in her murder. Enters Hans Richardson, a tenacious police detective whose determination to solve the crime within 24 hours is due to the fact that he’s a Mono who’s masquerading as a Duo. How can a murder be solved when memories are constantly erased? How can anyone hope to learn the truth?

STORY WORTH

REMEMBERING

Murder, mystery, love, hate — contains all the components of a riveting thriller. And Yap certainly scores on all fours. However, it’s not so much a futuristic science fiction story as it is an unusual story about love and forgiveness.

“My take on love is that it could be completely instinctive. Accumulated memories,