Description
Book SynopsisThe River's Song is a moving, lyrical novel which deftly weaves together the themes of love, South-East Asian music and culture, and the social and political consequences of urban modernisation. Ping, the daughter of a renowned folk musician in Singapore's Chinatown's, loves Weng, the voice of the people, but family circumstances drive them apart. While Ping goes to university in America, Weng is sent to prison for his part in local protests. 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 thirty years?
Trade Review"...Unashamedly details Singapore's past and present in gripping stories... Lim draws characters effortlessly and draws readers to them." The Sunday Times; “Lim’s affecting, lushly textured historical novel… A fine, deeply felt saga of lives caught up in progress that’s as heartbreaking as it is hopeful.” - Kirkus, 5 * Blue Star Review; “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, British 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; “Powerful, deep and moving – draws you in and pulls you along irresistibly. Its heartfelt swell will carry you away to a place of passion and resonant conviction.” - Kevin MacNeil, Scottish author of the best-selling The Stornoway Way; “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.
