Dial A for Aunties

When Meddy thinks she has killed Ah Guan, fearing police reprisal, she brings the body home. The moment that truly sets the events of the book in motion, however, is when the family decides to hide the body. The family’s decision represents their willingness in general to try to bury and dispose of important feelings rather than have difficult conversations with one another. The novel explores the consequences of such obfuscations and lies and the benefits of honesty.

Throughout the book, rather than cope with the difficult emotional tasks of setting boundaries with her Ma and aunts and introducing Nathan to her family, Meddy lies. She lies by omission to her family, subsequently getting pulled into the family business. She lies to Nathan, keeping her family from him and feigning indifference as she breaks up with him. Her continued assumption that all her lying is for the best, as demanding any measure of independence would be to “abandon her family” (2), is also a lie that she tells herself.

The necessity of lying becomes a vicious cycle throughout the book, and Meddy suffers continuously as a result. Due to the corpse, which symbolizes the secrets that Meddy is keeping, Meddy’s efforts to regain her footing are constantly thwarted. Meddy cannot come clean to Nathan about their breakup and her lingering feelings for him, especially once he spots Ah Guan’s feet and assumes the corpse is Meddy’s current boyfriend or one-night-stand. Meddy cannot organize her aunts, as showing any leadership might give away her desire for more independence. It is only once Meddy starts being honest that she can exercise some autonomy and start gaining control of the chaotic situation.

Maureen and Jacqueline face similar consequences for their lies. They both secretly pined for each other for years, but neither admitted their feelings, suffering in silence instead. In addition to this big emotional lie, Maureen starts lying even more in her effort to stop the wedding, teaming up with Ah Guan to steal the tea ceremony gifts—if only temporarily, in her mind. Maureen doubles down by deciding to frame Meddy as the thief, a particularly selfish lie. The cost of that lie is especially profound, as Maureen seems to lose Jacqueline’s friendship as a result. It is only when Meddy tricks Maureen into (unintentionally) revealing her feelings to Jacqueline that the two women find good fortune together, going from friends to spouses.

In contrast, unrepentant liars continue to be punished. Ah Guan, who manipulated Ma in setting Meddy up with him, died for his actions. Although his death was accidental, as more of his crimes come to light—including his intentions not to return the stolen gifts—his dishonesty, as well as his karmic punishment, become more emphasized. Tom Cruise Sutopo is first depicted as an eligible bachelor because of his looks, his family, and his connections; however, “he really is a shit” (280). His persona is a lie. He doesn’t care about Jacqueline, and he values unearned power over his soon-to-be wife’s feelings. Most tellingly, he refuses to admit that the groomsmen are hired actors because he has no friends. As these truths come to light, Tom Cruise Sutopo loses not only face, but also his bride—ironically to Maureen, the woman he tried to punish.

The theme of familial duty versus independence is often intertwined with the theme of loyalty versus fear and selfishness. Sutanto explores loyalty as a concept throughout the novel. The characters demonstrate how true loyalty is selfless and how selfishness, especially when rooted in a fear of hurting or losing those we love, can therefore undermine our best efforts to be loyal.

Meddy is extremely loyal to her family. As much as they frustrate and exasperate her, she would never betray them. At the start of the novel, she perceives her decision to join the family business rather than pursue a future with Nathan as a display of her loyalty. However, the flashbacks and events of the novel reveal that this choice was really more of a way for Meddy to avoid confrontation. It was, in fact, a selfish decision rooted in fear. Throughout the family’s corpse disposal antics, as Meddy wrestles with her own “corpse” (that is, her secret past relationship with Nathan and desire for independence), she comes to realize that true loyalty to her family requires her to set aside her fears and be honest with them.

Meddy’s character arc takes a similar journey in her relationship with Nathan. In college, Meddy broke up with Nathan so that he could chase his dream career in New York City, pretending that the breakup was not a big deal to her. At the time, she perceives this action as an act of loyalty rooted in love. Again, though, Meddy was acting out of fear, selfishly seeking to avoid taking an emotional risk. Only once Meddy comes to understand that loyalty involves selflessness and emotional courage is she able to take a risk on Nathan’s behalf, that is, pretending to be his attorney to free him from unjust arrest by the sheriff.

The Chans are also fiercely loyal to Meddy and to each other. Despite the danger, her family is willing to help Meddy dispose of Ah Guan’s corpse. However, the family members often allow their sibling rivalries and chaotic natures to impede their progress. It is in the moments when Meddy’s mother and aunts set aside their egos that they are able to support Meddy best. Nathan similarly demonstrates a shift from his focus on his own hurt feelings over their breakup to being willing to help Meddy whatever it takes. When he figures out Meddy’s corpse disposal problem, he keeps quiet about it until the altar disaster. He is even willing, and arguably determined, to take the fall for her even if doing so costs him his career—the very thing Meddy had hoped her absence would cause him to prioritize.

Maureen also struggles with her loyalty to Jacqueline. Much like Meddy, she has long swallowed her romantic feelings for Jacqueline not out of loyalty, but out of fear. Even when she recognizes that Tom is bad for Jacqueline, rather than find the courage to confess, Maureen steals the wedding gifts in an attempt to stop the wedding, albeit intending to return them afterward. When her friendship with Jacqueline collapses too, getting that friendship back becomes Maureen’s motivation for every drastic action she takes, including holding the Chans at gunpoint. It is only once Maureen voices her true motivation out loud that Jacqueline forgives her and expresses her mutual feelings.