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Notes from an Even Smaller Island
The author explores all aspects of Singaporean life, taking in the sights, dissecting the culture and illuminating each place and person with his perceptive and witty observations. From 'hard' determined aunties to the materialistic younger generation, from Singlish to kiasuism and from Singaporeans at home to Singaporean abroad, Neil Humphreys takes an in-depth, candid and often comical perceptions of the Singaporean lifestyle. A wonderfully funny and disarmingly honest portrait of Singapore and its people.
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First published November 1, 2001
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About the author
Neil Humphreys
29Ìýbooks37ÌýfollowersNeil Humphreys is a British humour columnist and author of three best-selling books about Singapore - Notes From an Even Smaller Island (2001), Scribbles from the Same Island (2003) and Final Notes from a Great Island (2006). The last of these was on Singapore's bestsellers list for several consecutive weeks, proving the popularity of his writings among Singaporeans. His latest book in this series - Return to a Sexy Island - was released in June 2012.
Brought up in Dagenham, London, England, Humphreys arrived in Singapore in 1996 and had initially planned on staying in Singapore for only 3 months. However, he instantly fell in love with the island-state and decided to settle there. Humphreys has always lived in Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats in Toa Payoh, a public housing estate in central Singapore, despite moving twice. Although he is a foreigner, he has chosen to assimilate himself into the Singapore culture through living in HDB flats, eating at local kopitiams and trying out many things that the locals do. He often pokes fun at Western expatriates working in Singapore by comparing their living habits with his own, criticising them for their aloofness from the local society and their extravagant lifestyles.
Brought up in Dagenham, London, England, Humphreys arrived in Singapore in 1996 and had initially planned on staying in Singapore for only 3 months. However, he instantly fell in love with the island-state and decided to settle there. Humphreys has always lived in Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats in Toa Payoh, a public housing estate in central Singapore, despite moving twice. Although he is a foreigner, he has chosen to assimilate himself into the Singapore culture through living in HDB flats, eating at local kopitiams and trying out many things that the locals do. He often pokes fun at Western expatriates working in Singapore by comparing their living habits with his own, criticising them for their aloofness from the local society and their extravagant lifestyles.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 22, 2010
Humphreys does a great job of comparing and contrasting between his country of birth, England, and his adopted country, Singapore. He has a great sense of humor, which is always a plus for me. He also balances between the good characteristics of Singaporeans and their way of life with some of the not quite as flattering qualities nicely.
There were a couple of minor misunderstandings in his writing that had me chuckling to myself when it came to the chapter on his group tour of the western part of the U.S. The first was when he was describing their stop in Anaheim, Los Angeles. The last time I checked, there are many Angelinos with a unique state of mind, but as far as I know the city has not seceded from California. Perhaps he thought the two cities were commonly paired together (i.e., Minneapolis-St. Paul). The other interesting slant was when he referred to the Castro District in San Francisco as the “gay village.� How quaint! I don’t want to give anyone the wrong idea about his actual feelings though. He was, in fact, appalled by his fellow travelers� “disgraceful� disgust and intolerance toward homosexuals.
Overall, this was a quick, light read. I’d recommend this book to anyone with a curiosity about or if planning a trip to Singapore.
There were a couple of minor misunderstandings in his writing that had me chuckling to myself when it came to the chapter on his group tour of the western part of the U.S. The first was when he was describing their stop in Anaheim, Los Angeles. The last time I checked, there are many Angelinos with a unique state of mind, but as far as I know the city has not seceded from California. Perhaps he thought the two cities were commonly paired together (i.e., Minneapolis-St. Paul). The other interesting slant was when he referred to the Castro District in San Francisco as the “gay village.� How quaint! I don’t want to give anyone the wrong idea about his actual feelings though. He was, in fact, appalled by his fellow travelers� “disgraceful� disgust and intolerance toward homosexuals.
Overall, this was a quick, light read. I’d recommend this book to anyone with a curiosity about or if planning a trip to Singapore.
September 27, 2017
Decided to take a trip down memory lane and reread this! I remember it being side-splittingly funny and luckily my memory isn't as bad as I feared. If you haven't heard of the book before, Notes from an Even Smaller Island is basically a collection of essays by Neil Humphrey, an ang moh who moved to Singapore from Britain.
I remember the book being funny the first time round, but I didn't remember it making such good points. The book actually tackles issues like depending on filial piety to support the elderly, education in Singapore and even the kampung spirit (of course, there are many chapters on the funny people that Neil knows so this is by no means a serious book). I found that I agreed with a lot of his points and I like that he made them with humour.
On thing that I particularly liked was when he was talking about our (and expats) tendency to congregate together. In Singapore, expats tend to have their own enclaves. Overseas, Asians tend to stick together. This isn't a bad thing, but I do agree with Neil that it's a bit of a waste if you do overseas and end up replicating the life and social circle that you had back home.
Also, I did not realise that as recently as 2001 (ok that isn't so recent) there were Singaporeans who would go on tour to America and have Chinese food for almost every meal! That is seriously inconceivable to me (and I think many people now) and I'm glad that we've outgrown that (I hope).
The book does feel a little dated because he's describing a snapshot of Singapore, but there is so much warmth and humour here that I found myself enjoying this reread as much as I did the first time. In fact, I may have enjoyed it more this time round.
This review was first posted at
I remember the book being funny the first time round, but I didn't remember it making such good points. The book actually tackles issues like depending on filial piety to support the elderly, education in Singapore and even the kampung spirit (of course, there are many chapters on the funny people that Neil knows so this is by no means a serious book). I found that I agreed with a lot of his points and I like that he made them with humour.
On thing that I particularly liked was when he was talking about our (and expats) tendency to congregate together. In Singapore, expats tend to have their own enclaves. Overseas, Asians tend to stick together. This isn't a bad thing, but I do agree with Neil that it's a bit of a waste if you do overseas and end up replicating the life and social circle that you had back home.
Also, I did not realise that as recently as 2001 (ok that isn't so recent) there were Singaporeans who would go on tour to America and have Chinese food for almost every meal! That is seriously inconceivable to me (and I think many people now) and I'm glad that we've outgrown that (I hope).
The book does feel a little dated because he's describing a snapshot of Singapore, but there is so much warmth and humour here that I found myself enjoying this reread as much as I did the first time. In fact, I may have enjoyed it more this time round.
This review was first posted at
April 24, 2021
The beginning I didn’t enjoy as I felt it was sub-standard humour for teenagers then I got passed it.
It was okay and interesting, comical insight and view of a person moving to live abroad.
Aside from a couple of Singaporean people I know and are very nice people this book made it clear to me that the author didn’t like Singapore (although conflicted his view many times and lived there for a while) and also described Singaporean people he met in a way that made me not want to meet Singaporean people or the country.
I also saw one cover that said ‘Best selling book in Singapore� and �10,000 copies sold�. This may be following the authors humour but it makes me sad for Singapore thinking not many people write or read in Singapore.
In general though a mid-level humorous book on living in another country.
It was okay and interesting, comical insight and view of a person moving to live abroad.
Aside from a couple of Singaporean people I know and are very nice people this book made it clear to me that the author didn’t like Singapore (although conflicted his view many times and lived there for a while) and also described Singaporean people he met in a way that made me not want to meet Singaporean people or the country.
I also saw one cover that said ‘Best selling book in Singapore� and �10,000 copies sold�. This may be following the authors humour but it makes me sad for Singapore thinking not many people write or read in Singapore.
In general though a mid-level humorous book on living in another country.
September 4, 2019
I bought this from a chock full secondhand bookshop in Singapore, hoping for some insights. I started reading on the plane on the way home and whizzed through the first half. It was amusing, self-deprecating and genuinely interesting. But about halfway through, I started to become irritated at the author’s “I’m just a common Dagenham boy� act and some of his studentlike antics, plus he started repeating himself and trying to get all political.
“Take a walk down Orchard Road on any given day and look out for the English Premier jerseys. They are everywhere, both on people’s backs and in shop windows. Many shops even stock West Ham United shirts, which amazes me, although I have noticed that they are usually quite dusty and covered in mothballs.� (p.178)
“Take a walk down Orchard Road on any given day and look out for the English Premier jerseys. They are everywhere, both on people’s backs and in shop windows. Many shops even stock West Ham United shirts, which amazes me, although I have noticed that they are usually quite dusty and covered in mothballs.� (p.178)
February 19, 2015
I think this book is meant to offer a Bill Bryson-esque take on the nation of Singapore, commenting on it through humorous stories and anecdotes. The problem is that most of the book is just not very funny; the stories are often juvenile, overly simplistic and drawn out. The best parts are when the author drops the comedy act and writes honestly about the good and bad, as he sees it, of Singaporean culture.
September 14, 2015
A must read for anyone living in Singapore. Kiasu explains so much!
September 6, 2018
I am just curious to find out Mr. Humphreys' thoughts on India xD
July 16, 2024
This was okay, quite an easy read about the author’s perspectives growing up in a working class neighbourhood in England vs his experiences living in Singapore.
No society is perfect, you get to pick your own poison. That said, for the average person, Singapore’s downsides pale in comparison to more pressing bread-and-butter and societal issues elsewhere, and is another reminder for Singaporeans to count their blessings.
The author has a very distinct tone and writing style that comes across as an English lad’s banter. It can be biting, sharp, sarcastic at times and heavily context-reliant so you’ve got to be in the know to get the joke. As this is not quite my cup of tea, so I didn’t roll around with laughter and tears in my eyes like some others might have.
I did feel like the points covered are rather on an observational, surface level and that the material was not looked into too deeply. Then again, as this is intended to be more of a personal take from a foreigner’s point of view, I suppose that would defeat the purpose of the book.
No society is perfect, you get to pick your own poison. That said, for the average person, Singapore’s downsides pale in comparison to more pressing bread-and-butter and societal issues elsewhere, and is another reminder for Singaporeans to count their blessings.
The author has a very distinct tone and writing style that comes across as an English lad’s banter. It can be biting, sharp, sarcastic at times and heavily context-reliant so you’ve got to be in the know to get the joke. As this is not quite my cup of tea, so I didn’t roll around with laughter and tears in my eyes like some others might have.
I did feel like the points covered are rather on an observational, surface level and that the material was not looked into too deeply. Then again, as this is intended to be more of a personal take from a foreigner’s point of view, I suppose that would defeat the purpose of the book.
October 22, 2023
I had this book for years and finally read it. There were good parts and not so good parts but mainly there was his strong opinion throughout.
He tells a story of learning enough of the Malay language to be able to speak with his Indian landlord, why didn’t he learn Tamil or any other Indian language? Malay is spoken by the Malaysians and Indonesians so that didn’t make sense.
He tells a story of learning enough of the Malay language to be able to speak with his Indian landlord, why didn’t he learn Tamil or any other Indian language? Malay is spoken by the Malaysians and Indonesians so that didn’t make sense.
August 18, 2018
Still humorous and relevant after all these years. The incisive commentary into Singaporeans' cultural quirks was especially enjoyable!
November 21, 2019
Witty. Thoroughly enjoyable.
July 13, 2024
I would highly recommend anyone who has lived in Singapore and out of to read this. It highlights everything I both love and am annoyed with with this country.
September 21, 2010
I can remember exactly where and when I read this book. I was sitting in a lovely mediterranean-style tiled pool in 2001 in a deserted resort in North East Bali, post-bombing, having just came back from a wreck dive of a WW2 warship. I was in absolutely no danger of losing my life in the rusty barnacled wreck down in the watery depths but this book made me laugh so hard I almost drowned in waist-high water. But it would have been a pretty good way to go. I believe the best way to find out more about our fellow countrymen is through the eyes of an expat. I still gurgle every time I think of strawberry woman and the crazy landlady.
November 26, 2010
Like Humphreys, I'm an expat living in an HDB flat in the heartlands of Singapore, so it's true that I might be a little biased in my positive rating of the book. But there's no denying that he's hilarious, and his observations on life in Singapore are often spot-on. He manages to criticize some aspects of Singapore without getting too condescending, although he is sometimes guilty of making sweeping generalizations. A must-read if you're a Westerner living in Singapore, and a funny account of life abroad for anyone else interested in travel.
More thoughts on the book here:
More thoughts on the book here:
March 13, 2011
Neil Humphreys' book is a humourous take on life as in Singapore as seen from the eyes of a Brit living in HDB flats and encountering Singaporeans everyday teaching and living with them. Though written almost a decade ago, it's still applicable to today and definitely gets points for looking at both the good and bad of Singaporean society. He had me laughing out loud at points and nodding in agreement. Probably should be a must-read for anyone getting their feet wet in Singaporean life.
Signed by the author at { prologue } bookstore in Singapore on March 12, 2011
Signed by the author at { prologue } bookstore in Singapore on March 12, 2011
December 12, 2010
The book was relatively funny and interesting. However, I found it annoying that the author thrashed other expats in Singapore for not living in HDB's, spending time with other expats, and for not chosing to eat at hawker centers all the time. Sounds like jealousy to me....
August 5, 2016
Every individual is entitled to his or her own opinions but not to the exclusion of everybody else's.
Funny, light reading. The parts about kiasu-ism, dogma, loosening up, and the meaning of life were things that struck me particularly.
Funny, light reading. The parts about kiasu-ism, dogma, loosening up, and the meaning of life were things that struck me particularly.
February 15, 2014
Maybe I've been in Singapore too long to really enjoy this book. Yes, there are some funny passages, but overall it's just not my kind of humour. I can certainly relate to some of the situations. I don't feel an urge to read the sequels.
November 20, 2009
i love this book!
May 24, 2011
okaylah....
Read
May 24, 2011Let friends, with this KMI pengalamn divide us, that we learn from each other for good.
April 2, 2013
This book certainly have more charms than the final notes which I read earlier.
Yes his description of what he encounter in Singapore and his homeland was rather funny.
Yes his description of what he encounter in Singapore and his homeland was rather funny.
November 23, 2013
Hilarious essential guide to Singapore culture
March 3, 2014
Funny, but cheesy.
Insightful, but not really.
Looking for a better read on my newly adopted home....
Insightful, but not really.
Looking for a better read on my newly adopted home....
November 21, 2016
Reading this made me realize how much Singapore has changed in just 16 years.Also, props to Neil for pointing out the horrible driving of bus drivers over here. Some things never change...
December 17, 2021
Hysterically funny!
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