The yellow umbrella and moon on the cover are a nod to the short story which gives the collection its title; both are crucial symbols and plot devices for the protagonist’s expression of her selfhood and trauma.
These Foolish Things is an anthology of short stories by local author Yeo Wei Wei, whose work might best be described as economically careful with its words, yet emotionally poignant. The yellow umbrella and moon on the cover are a nod to the short story which gives the collection its title; both are crucial symbols and plot devices for the protagonist’s expression of her selfhood and trauma. These images are, in turn, set against the silhouette of an urban skyline, transforming any semblance of the mundane into a sombre, almost haunting phenomenon. The cover thus foreshadows the stories’ thematic preoccupations with secrecy and loss, while the simple but effective typography allows the piercing clarity of Yeo’s prose to possess the reader.