Catherine Lim Books

Catherine Lim's collection features a series of witty essays that explore the quirks and mysteries inherent in the English language. Through her humorous and insightful observations, she delves into the nuances of language, highlighting its peculiarities and idiosyncrasies. The essays serve as both a celebration and critique, inviting readers to appreciate the richness of English while reflecting on its complexities.

Catherine Lim at her best, celebrating and skewering what makes us Singaporean

From prolific writer and political commentator Catherine Lim comes this story of fate and love that will leave you breathless with the sheer suspense and memorable twists and turns in the intertwined lives of two star-crossed lovers.

The Bondmaid tells the moving story of Han, sold, aged 4 as a bondmaid into the house of Wu, where she forms a close bond with the young heir as she struggles against the forces of trdition and tyranny using the transforming power of love, resulting in a terrifying climax.

Story is set to the backdrop of 1950's Malaya, at the height of communist guerilla activity. A married chinese women, Mei Kwei falls in love with a priest who saves the wowen caught with Mei's husband from public embarressment.

Original new stories from a well-established and internationally recognised Asian writer- A collection of eighteen easy-to-read and captivating stories- Tales of the supernatural that will fascinate and enthral readers

An evergreen of Singapore literature! A literary exploration of one of Singapore's favourite genres: the supernatural

'It was a special protection from the gods that Silver Frond's beauty manifested itself only after the barbarians had left...A beautiful child-woman, in that intriguing in-between stage when people could not tell where innocence ended and seductiveness began, and were charmed by both.' One morning in Singapore more than fifty years ago, a wealthy, respected, handsome Chinese patriarch, head of a large household of three wives and many children and grandchildren, takes a walk by a cemetery. There, a young village egg-seller, Silver Frond, is amusing herself with a comic song-and-dance act based on popular gossip - about him. The meeting instantly changes their lives. With characteristic verve and wit, Catherine Lim traces the struggles of an unusual couple through the jungle of human quandaries and predicaments created by the force of tradition, and celebrates the ultimate triumph of an even more extraordinary force - love.

"I have noticed, increasingly, that people after the age of 65 or thereabouts begin to experience the fear of death in a very palpable way. While in their childhood and youth they had viewed death as happening only to grandparents, while in middle age they could still afford to relegate death to remote corners of their consciousness where it could not intrude upon the pleasures of living, the advent of old age after 65 brings to them a deeply disturbing sense of mortality." So begins An Equal Joy, a collection of essays in which award-winning author Catherine Lim undertakes a bold and intense exploration into the fear of death, the nature of religion and the question of who we are. Drawing on her own experiences and myraid influences--from the Taoist "Sky God" of her childhood and the Christian God Jesus of her adulthood to scientist Pascal and philosopher Socrates; from intimate conversations with close friends to the imagined world of fictional characters--Lim reflects on the beauty of both the natural world and the world of faith. As Lim writes, "Truth, Goodness and Beauty. For me, they form the goals of a perfect life." In sharing her insights, Lim not only provokes us to reflect on the meaning of life but also encourages us to live as meaningful a life as possible.