It is not often that a book by a Singaporean author gets a review in international news weekly The Economist.

Kudos to Sonny Liew, whose graphic novel, “The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye”, received a one-page feature in the latest copy of The Economist.

The novel first made the news last year when the National Arts Council (NAC) announced that it will revoke a $8,000 grant. Its book publisher, Epigram Books, had to return the $6,400 disbursed and cover NAC's logo on the books.

But this has not stopped Singaporeans from snapping up the novel.

The Straits Times reported last year that Epigram Books had sold 2,500 copies.

In its review, The Economist wrote ("Lion City March", Mar 12):

"Sonny Liew’s brilliantly inventive “The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye” weighs those costs and benefits (restrictions of civil liberties for the former, remarkable material progress for the latter). Graphic novelists have made a mark in politics: Marjane Satrapi with Iran and Joe Sacco with Palestine are two of the most admired. The latest experiment in political storytelling through graphic art explores Singapore’s history through the career of Charlie, a fictional cartoonist, which begins in the mid-1950s when Singapore was still a British colony".

And what stood out are these compliments from The Economist (not exactly BFF with the late Lee Kuan Yew) on a post-LKY Singapore:

"But Singapore did not stop publication. One wonders if Lee Kuan Yew would have been so lenient. But the Singapore of 2016 is not the Singapore of 1983 or the 1950s. It is a more mature, confident country."

Guess a picture speak a thousand words.