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Be Real

A Guide to Authenticity
By Felix Cheong, Arif Rafhan
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Brief Description
A deadpan zombie graphic novel that rips into our age of curated authenticity. Written in poetic form by Felix Cheong and illustrated by Arif Rafhan, Be Realโ€”A Guide to Authenticity is a graphic novel satirising the hunger for authenticity in an age of curated fakeness. The... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A deadpan zombie graphic novel that rips into our age of curated authenticity.

Written in poetic form by Felix Cheong and illustrated by Arif Rafhan, Be Realโ€”A Guide to Authenticity is a graphic novel satirising the hunger for authenticity in an age of curated fakeness.

The story revolves around Q, a successful hack known for his zombie novels. His latest bestseller is met with scathing reviews from critics who accuse him of writing to formula. Fans are also growing tired of his predictable stories.

His problems are compounded when his trophy wife dies from a drug overdose. At her funeral and near the end of his rope, Q meets an old flame, a down-but-not-out writer. As they have bereavement sex, she bites him, saying, "You got to keep it real. You can't fake it till you make it. Be real."

He takes these words to heart and, like a method actor, explores what it takes to live like a zombie. He buys viscera from a butcher and eats it raw. He gets into it, and suddenly, his words flow powerfully.

This 'method writing' leads him to greater success but also a slow descent into zombiism. At fan meets, he goes around biting each of them, saying "Be real." #bereal starts trending, and before long, #bereal becomes the tagline we see at bus stops, on TV, on social media.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9789815233032

Publisher: Penguin Random House SEA

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 17 June 2025

Country: Singapore

Imprint: Penguin Random House SEA

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 11.0mm

Width: 172.0mm

Height: 255.0mm

Weight: 291g

Pages: 164

Collections

Felix Cheong, Arif Rafhan Fiction General Fiction Graphic Novels Penguin Books

About the Author

Felix Cheong is the author of twenty-five books across different genres, from poetry to short stories, from children's picture books to young adult fiction. He has also published four graphic novels, including the noir detective Sprawl series in collaboration with Arif Rafhan. Winner of the National Arts Council's Young Artist Award in 2000, Felix has been invited to writers festival all over the world, including Edinburgh, Austin, Sydney, Brisbane and Christchurch. He holds a masters in Creative Writing and is currently an adjunct lecturer with the National University of Singapore, SIM, Curtin University and Murdoch University. Arif Rafhan bin Othman is a comic artist, a mural artist, an animator, a doodler and a neighborhood art teacher in both digital and analog medium. His work has spanned from paintings, book illustrations (for MPH & Fixi), graphic novels, (MPH & Maple Comics), graphic facilitation (BNM & PruBSN), corporate comics and art installation for corporate offices. He was the Creative Director in his previous e-Learning company for eleven years before embarking into servicing the wider industry and established himself as a true artist. He obtained his Bachelor's Degree in IT (Hons) in 2000 with minor in Multimedia from PPP/UiTM, Shah Alam, Malaysia.

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