The Sum of Our Follies is a novel set in Lubok Sayong, an imaginary Malaysian town. Two narrators describe Lubok Sayong and its community of quirky inhabitants. The first is Auyong, a retiree from the city who operates a lychee factory in Lubok Sayong. The other is eleven-year-old Mary Anne, an orphan who is taken in by an irascible woman in charge of the Big House. Through anecdotes and gentle humour, the two narrators observe the events that change the town and their lives as modernity sets in and Mary Anne grows up.