Set in a newly post-colonial Singapore, The Great Reclamation blends genres (historical fiction, fantastical elements) to tell the story of a country through the choices of one man - Ah Boon. Beginning with his life growing up in a fishing village, blessed with the gift (or curse) of finding islands rich with fish that aren't on the map, and eventually going into his desire to find order and progress, this is a hard novel to summarise. We speak with its author Rachel Heng, discussing the research and themes of the novel, before reviewing it in Footnotes.