How We Disappeared
How We Disappeared is a 2019 historical fiction novel by Singaporean author Jing-Jing Lee, written in English. The story moves between Singapore in 1942, during the Japanese occupation, and the year 2000. It focuses on the women who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels, known as comfort women, and aims to shed light on their experiences.
The plot follows a twelve-year-old boy in 2000 who hears his grandmother’s muffled confession about her past, revealing her history as a sexual slave during the war. The main character, Chiow Tee, is named after Lee’s mother; the name means “care for a brother” in Chinese (zhàodì).
Lee developed the novel from a short story, “Cardboard Lady,” that appeared in her 2013 collection If I Could Tell You. The book was published by Oneworld Publications and runs 352 pages.
Reception was strong: the Financial Times praised its structure and emotional impact, calling it a deeply affecting work. It was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize and longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the HWA Debut Crown. In 2022, it was included in the Big Jubilee Read, a list of 70 Commonwealth books chosen to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 10:26 (CET).