Synopses & Reviews
Ping, the daughter of Chinatown's Pipa Queen, loves Weng, the voice of the people, but family circumstances drive them apart. Ping is forced to leave suddenly for the USA, where she creates a different life for herself. Many years later, Ping returns to a country transformed by prosperity. Gone are the boatmen and hawkers who once lived along the river. In their place, rise luminous glass and steel towers proclaiming the power of the city state. Can Ping face her former lover and reveal the secret that has separated them for over 30 years? A beautifully written exploration of identity, love and loss, set against the dramatic upheaval unleashed by the rise of Singapore.
Suchen Christine Lim is one of Singapore's most distinguished writers. In 1992, her third novel, A Fistful of Colours, was awarded the Inaugural Singapore Literature Prize. A Bit Of Earth (2000), her fourth novel, and a short-story collection, The Lies That Build A Marriage (2007) were subsequently shortlisted for the same prize. Awarded a Fulbright grant in 1997, she is a Fellow of the International Writers' Program, University of Iowa, and the first Singapore writer honoured as the university's International Writer-in-Residence in 2000. Since then, she has also held writing residencies in Myanmar, the Philippines, South Korea and at the University of Western Australia in Perth. In 2011, she was the Visiting Fellow in Creative Writing at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. In 2012, she won the South East Asia Write Award. In the UK, she has regularly been writer in residence at the Arvon Foundation.
SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE MONTH 'A touching story that retrieves Singapore's fast disappearing past and gives its famous river the depth and colour of a people's history, and a wonderful rendition of the pipa, on the page, as mother and daughter play their songs from the heart...' ----Romesh Gunasekera, author of Reef, shortlisted for the Booker Prize
'
just as the best novels should be but so rarely are: like immersion in a vivid dream. I couldn't decide whether to read it slowly in order to savour every word, or to race along, mesmerised by Lim's dazzling story-telling.' ----Jill Dawson, author of The Great Lover, (Richard and Judy's Bookclub)
'...a winning coming of age novel that bridges the years and countries. Here is the buoyancy of sentences and a testimony of resilience...' --Krys Lee, award-winning Korean author of The Drifting House
Synopsis
A novel about betrayal and enduring love from one of Singapore's most highly-regarded authors.
Synopsis
Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2015
Ping, the daughter of Chinatown's Pipa Queen, loves Weng, the voice of the people, but family circumstances drive them apart. Ping is forced to leave suddenly for the USA, where she creates a different life for herself. Many years later, Ping returns to a country transformed by prosperity. Gone are the boatmen and hawkers who once lived along the river. In their place, rise luminous glass and steel towers proclaiming the power of the city state. Can Ping face her former lover and reveal the secret that has separated them for over 30 years? A beautifully written exploration of identity, love and loss, set against the dramatic upheaval unleashed by the rise of Singapore.
Suchen Christine Lim is one of Singapore's most distinguished writers. In 1992, her third novel, A Fistful of Colours, was awarded the Inaugural Singapore Literature Prize. A Bit Of Earth (2000), her fourth novel, and a short-story collection, The Lies That Build A Marriage (2007) were subsequently shortlisted for the same prize. Awarded a Fulbright grant in 1997, she is a Fellow of the International Writers' Program, University of Iowa, and the first Singapore writer honoured as the university's International Writer-in-Residence in 2000. Since then, she has also held writing residencies in Myanmar, the Philippines, South Korea and at the University of Western Australia in Perth. In 2011, she was the Visiting Fellow in Creative Writing at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. In 2012, she won the South East Asia Write Award. In the UK, she has regularly been writer in residence at the Arvon Foundation.
SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE MONTH 'A touching story that retrieves Singapore's fast disappearing past and gives its famous river the depth and colour of a people's history, and a wonderful rendition of the pipa, on the page, as mother and daughter play their songs from the heart...' ----Romesh Gunasekera, author of Reef, shortlisted for the Booker Prize
'... just as the best novels should be but so rarely are: like immersion in a vivid dream. I couldn't decide whether to read it slowly in order to savour every word, or to race along, mesmerised by Lim's dazzling story-telling.' ----Jill Dawson, author of The Great Lover, (Richard and Judy's Bookclub)
'...a winning coming of age novel that bridges the years and countries. Here is the buoyancy of sentences and a testimony of resilience...' --Krys Lee, award-winning Korean author of The Drifting House
Synopsis
Living in the USA for many years, Ping has become a stranger to her own country, Singapore. She must go back for the first time in many years and as she reflects on her life on the plane journey back, the past and present collide.
What would have happened if she'd stayed in Singapore? Followed her heart rather than her ambition?
In this beautifully told story of a life changed forever by circumstances, we learn of Ping's childhood growing up in Chinatown, her first love and its complications, the challenges of family relationships set against the backdrop of a nation state changing irrevocably from an island backwater to a powerful financial hub.
Synopsis
Set in 1970s Singapore, when the island was ruled with an iron fist and public protest could result in imprisonment, River's Song reveals the untold story of the squatters, boatmen and hawkers who resisted eviction from the Singapore River during a massive clean-up operation that threatened to wash away the vibrancy of traditional culture and many livelihoods along the river.
About the Author
Recipient of the South East Asia S.E.A.Write Award 2012,
Suchen Christine Lim is one of Singapore's most talented and distinguished writers. Born in Malaysia, she grew up in Singapore. In 1992, her third novel,
Fistful of Colours, was awarded the Inaugural Singapore Literature Prize.
A Bit Of Earth (2000), her fourth novel, and a short--story collection,
The Lies That Build A Marriage (2007) were subsequently shortlisted for the same prize. A short story,
The Morning After, was made into a film for national television in 2008. In 2010, she co-scripted and was featured in
Writing The City, a popular series of short films commissioned by the British Council, Singapore. A play,
The Amah: A Portrait in Black and White, and a childrens book have won merit prizes, and the Ministry of Education have adopted several of her childrens picture books for kindergartens and primary schools.
Awarded a Fulbright grant in 1997, she is a Fellow of the International Writers Program, University of Iowa, and the first Singapore writer honored as the universitys International Writer--in--Residence in 2000. Since then, she has also held writing residencies in Myanmar, the Philippines, South Korea and at the University of Western Australia in Perth. In 2011, she was the Visiting Fellow in Creative Writing at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. In the UK she has been writer in residence at Arvon Foundation several times. She returned to Moniak Mhor in Scotland in the Summer of 2013 to hold another workshop for writers.