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The Orchid Folios

The Orchid Folios - Thryft
The Orchid Folios - Thryft

Orchids as living history, challenging colonial narratives.

The Orchid Folios is a thought-provoking hybrid book that blends poetry, documentary, and fiction to explore the orchid as a symbol of Singapore's post-colonial hybridity. It unearths the history of the orchid and questions the narratives that have shaped Singapore's national consciousness. With snippets of verse, essay questions on colonialism, and advertisements for orchid-inspired products, this book challenges readers to imagine a decolonized Singapore and rethink the way history is written. It's a must-read for anyone interested in Singapore's history, identity, and culture.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

The Orchid Folios

ISBN: 9789811442940

Description

“When you take an orchid out of its pot, you must first loosen the roots’ hold on the soil. Late last evening as I unravelled the braids of the shattered phalaenopsis, I saw how the ends were white and shrivelled from neglect. You have to do it gently—it’s like combing hair. I remember Mum’s fingers running through mine, and mine through hers, until the final months when all of it started to fall.”
A pot shatters. An arrangement falls apart. A florist finds herself amidst the scattered leaves of history. This book is a hybrid—part-poetry collection, part-documentary novella—and is narrated in part by a fictional florist mourning her late mother, who taught her everything she knew about orchids. The Orchid Folios reimagines the orchid as a living, breathing document of history: a history that enmeshes the personal, colonial, linguistic and biotechnological with the Vanda Miss Joaquim, the symbol of Singapore’s postcolonial hybridity. While the orchid has shaped the fantastical narratives that govern our multi-racial "city in a garden", it continues to shape-shift and bloom on its own terms, challenging us to imagine a decolonised Singapore. This is the organism at the heart of The Orchid Folios—by turns stark and unruly, documenting and challenging the narratives that are the roots of our national consciousness. Interwoven with the narrative are snippets of verse, essay questions on colonialism and even advertisements for orchid-inspired products, all of which question the ways in which Singapore’s national narrative was trimmed and arranged into what it is today.


Author: Mok Zining
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 144
Publisher: Ethos Books
Publication Date: 2020
Condition guide

Book Condition Guide

Books in Like New Condition

This book may contain very minor cosmetic defects, but it is in pristine condition. There should be no yellowing, no foxing, no water damage, and no annotations of any kind on the cover and the pages. For paperbacks, there should not be any crease marks on the spine. This book is good as new — lucky you!

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Very Good Condition

This book has been used, but it is still in a clean condition. There should be no foxing or annotations of any kind on the inner pages, but a sparse amount may be present on the cover, title pages, or outside edges of the book. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be light crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Good Condition

We do our best to ensure the quality of our books, but there is no escaping the wear and tear that comes with time. Slight foxing and some annotations may be present on the pages and the cover. There should be no water damage of any kind. For paperbacks, there may be several crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

Books in Well Read Condition

This is a well-read book, which means that the previous owner probably really enjoyed it! The cover and pages may include moderate foxing and annotations, but the text is not obscured and still readable. Moderate cosmetic defects and minor water damage may be present on the edges of the book. For paperbacks, there may be multiple crease marks on the spine.

*Books may be missing bundle media (e.g. CD, e-book code), if included.

 

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The Orchid Folios - Thryft
The Orchid Folios
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Orchids as living history, challenging colonial narratives.

The Orchid Folios is a thought-provoking hybrid book that blends poetry, documentary, and fiction to explore the orchid as a symbol of Singapore's post-colonial hybridity. It unearths the history of the orchid and questions the narratives that have shaped Singapore's national consciousness. With snippets of verse, essay questions on colonialism, and advertisements for orchid-inspired products, this book challenges readers to imagine a decolonized Singapore and rethink the way history is written. It's a must-read for anyone interested in Singapore's history, identity, and culture.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.