Annabelle Thong

By: Imran Hashim

Narrated by: Elizabeth Morse

Devout Catholic school teacher Annabelle Thong never thought her chastity was a liability – until she runs away to Paris to find Prince Charming. Enrolling herself at the Sorbonne, she meets the suave Patrick Dudoigt, but he's the one temptation she MUST resist. Annabelle's belief system is challenged on all fronts, and her naïveté is seen as gauche in the City of Love. Guilt and confusion make for dangerous bedfellows, and when her fellow university students enthusiastically combine reading and rioting, Annabelle can't help but wonder if everyone's gone mad – or is it just her? Annabelle Thong takes a hilarious look at the sparks that fly when East meets West, and the passions these ignite. © 2016 by Imran Hashim. Published in paper format in Singapore by Epigram Books, recorded by Storyside 2019.©2019 Storyside (P)2019 Storyside

Empty calories

It was like an Asian Bridget Jones in France, except longer, duller, and shallower. Annabelle goes on and on about French bureaucracy, fashion, and mindless university gossip. She was self absorbed and entitled, like when she goes into a high end shoe store, tries on a pair and wants them to go in the back room and get her the same shoes, only a pair that her toes have never touched. It was very much about princess problems.

More often than not, the comedy landed wrong, like when she drafted a letter explaining why she wasn’t a lesbian and was grinding on another girl for non-sex reasons. Or, when she’s offended because people judge Singapore while she judges the French.

There was zero romantic chemistry and not one character that I liked or will remember a week from now.