Shirley Geok-lin Lim

Shirley Geok-lin Lim has written a novel set in multi-ethnic Malaysia where a woman moves to self-reliance and reconciliation with her past.

After gaining its independence in the 1960s, Malaysia experienced conflicts among its various ethnic groups. Li An, Lim’s major character, enjoyed friends who were Chinese, Malay, and Islamic, until violence brought tragedy. Looking for safety she had drifted into a marriage with another Chinese, but she was also attracted to an American Peace Corps volunteer, who appears as the “colonizer.” His return to his own country occupies second section of the novel, which I found a diversion from the main story. The last section focuses again on Li An and the successful life she and three other women create in Singapore—a life threatened by her own past.

Lim’s novel is engaging and a revelation to a reader like myself who knew nothing of Malaya history. Lim portrays the violent ethnic divisions from the inside is one of the strengths of the book. Sympathy for the different conflicting groups creates a special tension. Lim herself grew up in Malayasia and maintains close ties there while teaching at the University of California—Santa Barbara. Her own experience in Women’s Studies adds insight in her depiction of Li An and the problems she faces. This is a good, but not a great book.

A recommend read, especially for those wanting to understand more about the global range of women’s experiences.… (mehr)

I heard of Shirley Lim's Princess Shawl, a children's book set in Singapore and historical Malaysia, from Nurul Huda's article, "The Heroic Journey in Shirley Lim’s Princess Shawl" published recently in Cabinet des Fees, and soon afterwards I visited Malaysia so looked out for it in KL's bookstores.

It's hard for me to review this because I don't typically read books aimed at such young children. The plot moved quickly, without the kind of depth and consideration I prefer, but that's intentional. I had a lot of fun reading it, though. Mei Li is a brave, determined heroine - while adult gifts and lessons are essential to her success, her own achievements are equally essential and impressive. The historical periods she passes through are not especially fleshed out, but the focus is more on Mei Li's interactions with her ancestors. These are quite interesting. Nenek talks to her about the arts of Nyonya (Straits-born Chinese) women. The Buddhist abbess Poh Li has turned her temple into a hospital and treats Malay, Chinese, Arab, Dutch and Portuguese battle-injured indiscriminately, and requires Mei Li to help. My major disappointment was the encounter with the bomoh, which lacked the degree of confrontation I'd have liked. I also found the depiction of true love quite silly.

I suspect I'd have really enjoyed this book as a girl, back when my age was also a single number, and definitely recommend it for anyone with kids at that kind of age (or those who, unlike me, don't mostly stick to adult-targeted lit). It's got adventure, time travel to interesting places, and a brave girl-heroine. Annoyingly, I think it's going to be hard to acquire outside Malaysia and Singapore (or SE Asian countries with a Kinokuniya). It's published by Maya Press, ISBN 978-983-2737-43-8.… (mehr)

You can determine the content of the book from its title, so the real question becomes, are the selections worthwhile? To say it simply, yes. The short stories, excerpts, poems, and plays are generally of very high caliber from solid writers. There were occasional choices I didn't like as much, which I expect from any anthology, really, but I enjoyed the vast majority. High profile authors, such as Maxine Hong-Kingston, Amy Tan, Bharati Mukherjee, and Carlos Bulosan, are accompanied by authors that I had never heard of, but plan to pursue now that I've had a taste of their style.

The selections are arranged according to theme, rather than region, but each chapter has a wide selection of writers from different areas of Asia, as well as variety in immigrant versus American born writers, men and women, and different perspectives on the same issues. My only quibble with the book is that there are a lot of excerpts from novels. This is a personal issue, really, since I like to read the whole book, not just pieces, and would have preferred more short stories here instead. On the whole, though, this is an excellent collection of work, and I am glad that I finally got back to this unfinished college read.… (mehr)