Finalist for the 2025 Epigram Books Fiction Prize

A mother and son confront the past through fragmented memories.

Nineteen-year-old Finn Chang’s final-year project demands a photographic exploration of memory. As he pieces together fragments of his past, his mother, Emerald, becomes his guide through a labyrinth of recollections—some vivid, others elusive. Their search awakens long-buried truths, drawing them into a tangled history of loss, love and unexpected revelations. What begins as an academic exercise soon becomes a journey neither of them can control.

About the Author

Rachel Tey is the academic director of an editorial consultancy and a part-time lecturer at Nanyang Technological University, where she teaches academic writing. She also conducts creative writing workshops for schools and contributes op-eds to The Straits Times, Channel NewsAsia and TODAY. She is the author of the middle grade series Tea in Pajamas. Finding Chopin is her first full-length work of fiction.