Translated by Jeremy Tiang
Until his death in 2021, Yeng Pway Ngon was widely regarded as one of Singapore's most important Sinophone writers, having won the Singapore Literature Prize three times, among other honours. His final novel, The Colour of Twilight, was published in Chinese (《黄昏的颜色》） in 2019 and will be available to English readers in Jeremy Tiang’s translation, published by City Book Room in January 2026.
The Colour of Twilight is an elegy –– for its protagonist, an ageing widower who wonders if he has wasted his life by devoting it to literature, and also for the traditions and community that have been swept away by the relentless capitalism and modernisation of Singapore.
Review
In the crepuscular space between history and memory, an ageing Singaporean-Chinese writer reflects on his life, his creativity, and the local culture milieu. With candour and compassion, Yeng’s vignettes of the everyday build to a subtly stirring tale that lingers beyond the page. The Colour of Twilight reframes the value of an artist's life. ——Dr Chan Cheow Thia, author of Malaysian Crossings
Amid the absurdity of life, Yeng Pway Ngon finds the true meaning of existence.——Dr Liw Pei Kien, author of Modernism in Singapore Chinese Literature
About the author
YENG PWAY NGON (1947-2021) received the Cultural Medallion for Literature in 2003. He published 31 volumes of poetry, fiction, essays, plays and literary criticism in Chinese. In 2013, he taught novel and short story writing at Nanyang Technological University's Chinese Language Department, under the Chinese Writing Residency Project. In the same year, he received the S.E.A.Write Award (Southeast Asian Writers Award). Yeng received the National Book Development Council's Book Award for 1987-88 and the Singapore Literature Prize in 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016. His poetry and novels have been translated into English and Italian.
About the translator
JEREMY TIANG is a novelist, playwright and the International Booker longlisted translator of over 30 books from Chinese, including Yeng Pway Ngon's previous novels Unrest and Costume. He is a two-time winner of the Singapore Literature Prize, for his translation of Zhang Yueran's Cocoon and for his novel State of Emergency; his short story collection It Never Rains on National Day was shortlisted for the same prize. His plays include Salesman之死 (Obie Award for Outstanding New Play), The Last Days of Limehouse and A Dream of Red Pavilions.