Peculiar Chris is the first Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 novel to deal with gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

 themes. Authored by Johann S. Lee, it was published in Singapore by Cannon International in 1992.

Lee penned the book while doing his National Service

National service

National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...

 in Singapore at the age of 19. It was published a year later. The book recounts the life and loves of Chris and his partner Samuel. It is also noteworthy for documenting how the military bureaucracy reacts when a soldier comes out in Singapore.

The book was translated into Italian in 1997, under the shortened title of 'Chris'.

Singaporean playwright Alfian Sa'at

Alfian Sa'at

Alfian bin Sa'at is a Singaporean writer, poet and playwright. He is a Muslim of Minangkabau, Javanese and Hakka descent,. He is known for his provocative works and is often referred to as his country's enfant terrible.-Early life:...

 adapted the novel into the play Happy Endings: Asian Boys Vol. 3. It was staged by W!LD RICE

W!LD RICE

W!LD RICE was founded in 2000 by Ivan Heng and is recognised as one of Singapore’s leading professional theatre companies.-Description:The company takes its inspiration from the multicultural societies that make up Singapore and modern Asia, celebrating their diverse cultures and performance...

, a Singapore theatre company, from 11 to 29 July 2007.

It was reprinted in 2008.