Be Real: A Guide to Authenticity

A zombie apocalypse in Singapore. A gentle poke at the shenanigans writers get up to. And a satire about our hunger for the real thing. Meet Zachary Kwan, a middling novelist trapped in a bout of writer’s block. His marriage to a celebrity model is on the rocks, his latest book is met with scathing reviews, and he’s about to be cancelled. Things really couldn’t get any worse. Spoiler they do. A zombie epidemic takes over the world. And Zachary Kwan, writer of best-selling self-help book under a pseudonym, is infected. Written in poetic form by Felix Cheong and illustrated by Arif Rafhan, Be Real puts a finger on the zeitgeist of our times. In an age defined by curation, how do we know what is real? Will we even recognize ourselves when we reveal our ‘true’ selves? ‘A Singapore zombie apocalypse story by Felix Cheong you can sink your teeth into, with stunning artwork by Arif Rafhan. A thoroughly enjoyable read.’ —Max Le Blond, Cultural Medallion, Drama, 1987 ‘Felix Cheong tells a story that at once reminds one of Godard’s Le Mepris, Percival Everett’s Erasure—and nothing you’ve ever read or seen before. The storytelling is deft, the art is meticulous, and the result is a multilayered narrative that pushes back against conventions of genre and form. Besides and beyond all of that, it is an engaging and thrilling read—for real!’ —Angelo R. Lacuesta, novelist and short story writer.