{"product_id":"kappa-quartet-10th-anni","title":"Kappa Quartet (10th Anniversary Edition) (Preorder)","description":"\u003cul class=\"tabs\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"active\"\u003eDescription\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePraise\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"tabs-content\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"active\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAll preorders for this title will be autographed and are expected to be ready to ship by the end of January 2027! If you are ordering other titles, order this preorder separately to receive the other titles first.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e—\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLonglisted for the Epigram Books Fiction Prize, \u003cem\u003eKappa Quartet\u003c\/em\u003e marks its 10th anniversary.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKevin is a young man without a soul, holidaying in Tokyo; Mr Five, the enigmatic kappa, is the man he so happens to meet. Little does Kevin know that kappas—the river demons of Japanese folklore—desire nothing more than the souls of other humans. Set between Singapore and Japan, \u003cem\u003eKappa Quartet\u003c\/em\u003e is split into eight discrete sections, tracing the rippling effects of this chance encounter across a host of other characters, connected and bound to one another in ways both strange and serendipitous. Together they ask one another: what does it mean to be in possession of something nobody has seen before?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Located somewhere between the shattered filmic worlds of David Lynch and Satoshi Kon's apocalyptic anime, Yam's narrative hypnotises us into questioning our reality in ways that are terrifying, revelatory and fundamentally profound.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/epigrambookshop.sg\/collections\/authors\/author_cyril-wong\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eCyril Wong\u003c\/a\u003e, award-winning author of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/epigrambookshop.sg\/products\/ten-things-my-father-never-taught-me\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eTen Things My Father Never Taught Me\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Irreal and intricate, Daryl Yam's riveting debut teases the perimeters of what a Singaporean novel can be.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/epigrambookshop.sg\/collections\/authors\/author_amanda-lee-koe\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAmanda Lee Koe\u003c\/a\u003e, award-winning author of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/epigrambookshop.sg\/products\/ministry-of-moral-panic\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eMinistry of Moral Panic\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“\u003cem\u003eKappa Quartet\u003c\/em\u003e builds on the promise of Daryl Yam's short stories, and confirms that he is an author to watch. And read!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—David Peace, Granta Best Young British Novelist and author of \u003cem\u003eTokyo Year Zero\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“The stories connect in an intricate web of a plot that results in an incredibly satisfying ending. From a ryokan hotel in Yamanashi to a mysterious bookstore in Nakameguro and as far away as the humid cityscape of Singapore, different jazz-loving kappa infiltrate lives for better and for worse in this selection of stories that fit together like a puzzle.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eTime Out Tokyo\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Atmospheric, surreal and masterfully told through an off-kilter cast of characters lost and lonely, this exciting new read comes from the longlist of the 2015 Epigram Books Fiction Prize.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eThe Straits Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Set in present-day Singapore and Japan, Yam’s terrific debut novel tells a strange and shivery tale of ordinary people living side by side with kappas… Yam is one to watch.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eThe Business Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Yam breaks new ground in Singaporean writing with his exploration of what it means to live in this weary world, to be human, to possess (or not possess) a soul. Weaving the stories of his characters into an intricate mosaic of love and yearning and heartache and loss and death and everything else intrinsically meaningful, \u003cem\u003eKappa Quartet\u003c\/em\u003e is a shimmering and poignant novel, an immensely sympathetic and humane exploration of our existential condition.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eQuarterly Literary Review Singapore\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDaryl Qilin Yam\u003c\/strong\u003e (b. 1991) is a writer, editor and arts organiser from Singapore. The author of the novels \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/epigrambookshop.sg\/products\/kappa-quartet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eKappa Quartet\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (2016) and \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/epigrambookshop.sg\/products\/lovelier-lonelier\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eLovelier, Lonelier\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (2021), the novella \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/epigrambookshop.sg\/products\/shantih-shantih-shantih\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eShantih Shantih Shantih\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (2021), and the bestselling short story collection \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/epigrambookshop.sg\/products\/be-your-own-bae\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eBe Your Own Bae\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (2024), his work has been nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award, and shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize and the SBPA’s Singapore Book Awards. He co-founded the literary charity Sing Lit Station, where he presently serves as the managing editor of its publishing arm AFTERIMAGE.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2025, he was bestowed the Young Artist Award, Singapore’s highest award for arts practitioners aged 35 and below. His alma mater, Nanyang Technological University, further bequeathed him with the 2024 SoH Patron of Heritage and the Arts Award and the 2025 Nanyang Outstanding Young Alumni Award for his contributions to culture. With appearances in periodicals and publications such as the \u003cem\u003eBerlin Quarterly\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eSewanee Review\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Straits Times\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Epigram Books Collection of Best New Singapore Short Stories\u003c\/em\u003e anthology series, his writing has been described as “[breaking] new ground in Singaporean writing” (QLRS) and “[marking] a seismic shift in the landscape of contemporary Singaporean literature” (\u003cem\u003eCha: An Asian Literary Journal\u003c\/em\u003e).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Epigram Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67797792882985,"sku":"9789815348453","price":22.5,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0041\/files\/KappaQuartet_CV.jpg?v=1794393550","url":"https:\/\/epigrambookshop.sg\/products\/kappa-quartet-10th-anni","provider":"Epigram","version":"1.0","type":"link"}