Neo Kim Seng grew up on a road called Neo Pee Teck Lane (along Pasir Panjang Road), named after his paternal grandfather, until he moved out in 1973. My Grandfather’s Road is the writer’s recollections and fragemented growing up stories as he is unable to remember them clearly. It is written from the voice of a 10 year old and reflecting on the stories 40 years later.
From piecing together his grandfather’s past to idyllic carefree childhood days to innocent observations of mortality, from Pasir Panjang to Changi, from family holidays to Penang to snippets of the history and policies of the changing times, the stories look back at the past to reconnect with the present and vice versa.
The book is autobiographical but do not dwell in nostalgia. Rather it looks at how the writer’s attempts to reconnect with his family.
Very often, we do not realise that our personal stories all contribute to create the social fabric we live in and make us who we are as a people because they ultimately form the story of our homeland.
The book was printed by Risograph printing and owing to the printing process, no two copies are the same.
About the writer
Neo Kim Seng was born in Singapore in 1964. He is a cross-disciplinary practitioner and has been involved in independent and large scale projects in Singapore and overseas. My Grandfather’s Road is his first book.