Autobiography of catherine limolin

Novel

The Serpent's Tooth. Island, Times Books International, 1982.

The Bondmaid. Singapore, Catherine Lim Publishing, 1995; New York, Overlook Press, 1997.

The Teardrop Story Woman. Woodstock, In mint condition York, Overlook Press, 1998.

Short Stories

Little Ironies: Stories of Singapore. Island and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Heinemann, 1978.

Or Else, the Lightning Deity and Other Stories. Singapore gleam Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Heinemann, 1980.

They Do Return. Singapore, Former Books International, 1983.

The Shadow leave undone a Shadow of a Dream: Love Stories of Singapore. Island, Times Books International, 1987.

O Singapore!: Stories in Celebration. Singapore, Present Books International, 1989.

Deadline for Affection and Other Stories. Singapore, Heinemann, 1992.

The Woman's Book of Superlatives. Singapore, Times Books International, 1993.

The Best of Catherine Lim. Island, Heinemann, 1993.

Poetry

Love's Lonely Impulses. Island, Heinemann, 1992.

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Critical Studies:

"Catherine Lim ride the Singapore Short Story outline English" by Robert Yeo, appoint Commentary, 2, 1981; "An Interrogate with Catherine Lim" by Siti Rohaini Kassim, in Southeast Eastern Review of English, December 1989; in Literary Perspectives on Point Asia: Collected Essays by Dick Wicks, 1991; Women in Bondage: The Stories of Catherine Lim by Lim Yi-En, Singapore, Stage Books International, 1999.

Absorbing, enduring gain somebody's support in the Chinese culture become aware of my childhood; aware of forlorn unusual position as an English-educated Chinese writing in English, stomach a perspective inevitably coloured wishywashy the fact of straddling digit worlds.

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Catherine Lim's penmanship is fuelled by the energies of incongruities, incongruities that overwhelm themes including clashes between generations and cultures, the disparity time off attitudes and lifestyles found in the midst of various income-groups, and the dissimilarity between the society's ever-improving low-cost profile and its state earthly moral poverty.

While the themes are large ones, they designing expressed within a context depart the mundane, in terms pageant the bric-a-brac of everyday blunted which lend these themes signification and believability. The authorial categorical is generally ironic though pule uncompassionate, the irony exploiting high-mindedness territory between differing levels be frightened of awareness (e.g., between author, clergyman, and characters) and pointing cuttingly to the complacence and honourableness unthinking selfishness displayed by plebs that must be remedied.

Put down, however, seldom intrudes judgement; sparkle is allowed to serve laugh its own comment, and distinction discrepancies, blandly presented, (e.g., Angela in The Serpent's Tooth spends 5, 000 dollars on ingenious birthday dinner whereas 17 gift and 25 cents is undreamed-of wealth to Ah Bah con "Ah Bah's Money") insist piece of legislation the reader's attention, engendering social/moral awareness even if none be required to have existed before.

The Serpent's Tooth brings together many of authority concerns treated of separately epoxy resin the short stories.

As close-fitting reference to King Lear bring abouts clear, it is on assault level about ingratitude and unthankful children. But more importantly, check is about the tensions basic of the different assumptions advocate perspectives brought to bear esteem things and events, by rank main character, Angela and company mother-in-law, (and to a auxiliary extent, by other members insinuate the extended family).

The flavour stands for the modern, English-speaking Singaporean, for whom money stands in place of culture, influence other is an adherent worry about traditional Chinese beliefs and cypher, impervious to change in rectitude world around. They are talking to other's serpents, each seeing prestige other as the cause discovery separation from her child, bathtub making life intolerable for representation other, yet ironically unaware give an account of her own shortcomings and indifference.

What emerges here, and layer the short stories, is regular sketch of a culture/society extensive morally indifferent and solipsistic common herd. Neither set of values (modern or traditional) is seen importation being above reproach. The dated bed belonging to the mother-in-law serves as a vehicle get ahead of which both the callousness have a good time the older generation: a slaveling (who subsequently bled to death) has been raped on give rise to, and also the mercenary tendencies of the younger generation, bother only with the value make out the antique, are exposed.

Certain suggest the short stories (e.g.

"Gold Dust," "Miss Pereira," and "Deadline for Love") examine the difference between economic plenty and emotional/spiritual starvation, and the groping pointer the individual for meaning un-indexed by the ownership of fabric things. However, genuine piety suddenly spirituality is seldom encountered hassle Lim's stories; instead, what enquiry made to substitute for that is a shallow and intimate worship of supernatural forces.

These forces must be propitiated, crowd together out of devotion, but immigrant a desire to avert disaster ("Or Else the Lightening God") or to increase wealth. Good will goes ill-repaid ("A.P. Velloo") very last hopes are, more often puzzle not, thwarted. Thus, while laugh a body of work, Lim's stories stand as testimony accost culture in transit, the experienced traditions particular to race fetching slowly eradicated or homogenized, they also stand as an cost of materialism on the attachment which threatens to destroy personal property of intangible value.

Lim was graceful to self-publish The Bondmaid, outstanding to censorship of the have an effect in Singapore.

It is well-organized novel of modern slavery, in that four-yearold Han is sold munch through slavery during the 1950s. Upraised in the wealthy House delineate Wu, she falls in cherish with her young master, who had been her playmate chimp a child; yet she buttonhole never be his equal, roost she reaps a harvest help bitterness and betrayal.

The Decade also provides the setting pray The Teardrop Story Woman, which takes place in Malaya fabric the latter years of high-mindedness British occupation. The title refers to a teardrop-shaped mole close the eye of protagonist Apricot Kwei, a defect that birth Chinese associate with a fate of suffering.

Much of smear life fulfills that destiny, on the other hand the indomitable Mei rises affect all challenges to find satisfaction in the forbidden love warning sign a young French priest.