The River's Song

by Suchen Christine Lim

A beautifully written exploration of identity, love and loss, set against the social upheaval created by the rise of Singapore.

Ping, the daughter of Chinatown’s Pipa Queen, 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?

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Asia, Novels, Asian Literature, Historical, Contemporary

363 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2014

About the author

Born in Malaysia in 1948, grew up on both sides of the causeway that separates Malaysia from Singapore. Came to Singapore at age 14, studied in the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus schools, and the National University of Singapore. Taught in a junior college and worked as a curriculum specialist in the Ministry of Education. Resigned in 2003 to write full time.

Reviews

[Kim Tong Lim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is truly a fiction made in Singapore with historical background to the Singapore River, before and after the clean-up. The story, though fictional, covers the history of squatters along the river and their eviction to make way for a massive cleanup of the river (1977 – 1987).

I remember the era in the 60’s, 70’s of this waterway where tongkangs, bumboats plied the river bringing goods into Singapore warehouses. It was a different world back then, our economic lifeline.

The story of Yoke Lan, the Pipa Queen, and her illegitimate daughter Wong Ping Ping spanned more than four decades. I feel for the story because I was born in that era. If you want to know that era, this novel captures the essence of the period. It was nostalgic and brought back memories of Singapore of the past.

The pipa and dizi (bamboo flute) were the common threads that strung the characters together with emotional love stories; different type of love between mother and daughter, love story of Ping and Weng, the male character that played the dizi.

The ending was particularly impactful and clever of the author that brought all main characters together for the befitting end of a story of pains and unknowns in their lives. A great read for me as Suchen Christine Lim was able to write and transported me to that long-gone period of quirks, dialects and it was so real and authentic.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this and having visited Singapore few times I found the story very interesting. I thought the characters were so real and very warm. Some had been through awful times and Ping certainly had a rough childhood emotionally.

The cleaning up of Singapore has made a beautiful clean and pleasant city to visit but this was at the expense of the families who lived and worked on the river's edge which is something I didn't know about before but have read about since.

The fact that the two main characters got to know each other through music and music became their careers in to very different places.

It is a love story, a story of a city changing, the story of a family who knew very little about each other and especially their mother. It is also a story about survival against all odds by hook or crook and not minding who is hurt along the way.

A good story that kept me hooked to the end.

[Ming · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a truly a book about Singapore. It reflects moreso the feel and the grit of this multi-ethnic city-state.

I enjoyed this scrappy story about a young girl, her introduction to the pipa instrument and how it serves as a bond to her emotionally-unavailable mother. The section when she's in the US feels quite secondary and merely a means for her to return to S'pore. In other words, when she's in S'pore the story is the most alive, the most heartfelt and definitely the most compelling. There's no gloss or when there's a bit of gloss, it's to showcase the texture and depth of the woman's struggle to reconcile with her childhood and the mother who housed her but didn't nurture her.

How can I say this better? I bought this book and I'm glad I did. Moreover, I will read her other books.

[elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

I really enjoyed the use of (mostly accurate) Singlish and the inclusion of small details that make Singapore so unique :)
Uncomfortable themes were used in this book which made it slightly difficult to read at times, but necessary.

[faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me homesick and long for a Singapore I've never known. I need to read more of Suchen Christine Lim's books - I've read one or two, and they always pull me through this thread of a brilliantly rendered life and history intertwined. Through the main characters, Ping and Weng, I live through a changing nation.

I loved the dual imagery of the river and the pipa that weave through each other - Lim manages to capture the melody of a pipa so evocatively. She also captures the cadence of speak, of movement, of the people... I feel like I'm in this world as I watch it morph into something that I'm familiar with. It is foremost a nostalgic story... the stories of the people who are left behind in a rapidly modernizing world, the story of the humans behind the big policy changes and moves.

On a personal level, the dynamic of Ping leaving home and then coming back to Singapore after changing in America... resonated and made me scared, because I still very much feel, as Weng says, "This is my country. To leave is to admit defeat."

[Jo Reason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fictional story about real life events about the clean up of the Singapore river, the writing really draws you into the book with the descriptions of the streets and businesses around the river, you can almost see yourself walking along and smelling all the wonderful food being cooked, but you can also see the poverty that these people lived in as well as the neighbourhood feeling they had together.

There is a sense of sadness about this, but also hope as they move into the future and hopefully improve the area for all.

I read this book slowly, savouring every description, detail, smell and musical note, While I was reading the book I had no idea of how it was going to end. The book is very emotional, especially towards the end, with the reunion of all the people from years ago.

Music is a large part of this book, there are some great details and descriptions of the pipa, an chinese traditional guitar and the flute or the dizi.

The relationship between Ping and her mother Ah-ku was always a difficult one, I found it hard that Ping never really was able to forgive her mother for all the hardships. I enjoyed Ping’s character as a child, but not so much as an adult.

I give this book 4 stars, the next country in read the world is Palestine, with the book Mornings in Jenin
Video review in Spanish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjVbY...

[Anne Fenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very interesting novel based on Singapore, 1960s to present day. Emphasises changes to the lives of people living around the Singapore river before and after it was cleaned up in a big campaign by Lee Kuan Yew. Ethnic music plays a new part in it. A lot of focus is on women and girls, their opportunities and restrictions. Some very poetic writing brings the environment to life.

[Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

My experience reading novels by southeast Asian writers over the years has not been generally positive, but Suchen Christine Lim's "The River's Song" proved to be a wonderful exception. Her writing flows like the river in the title, and she manages to skillfully intertwine English, Singlish and Chinese dialect effortlessly, something that very often feels awkward or falls flat on its face when attempted by other writers from the region.

Her story cleverly captures the cultures and habits of east and west, the ambience of both old and new Singapore, the political and the social environments, and both southeast Asian tradition and moral modernity, without wallowing in any of it. And, throughout, she weaves a wonderful tale of rejection, separation, love, and uncertainty that will feel familiar in many ways to readers from this part of the world and yet quite penetrable to readers who have never set foot outside their western home countries.

I adored the book, got totally immersed in it, and didn't want it to end...and I have already ordered two other books from her backlist. Highly recommended.

[Loong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished reading this book in a week. The River's Song is an easy read, absolute charm, poignant and very likely to stay on my favourite books' list. The plot is easy to follow and author Suchen Christine Lim weaves her story in an effortless spin. Language-wise, it lacks the flowery sentences that Asian author tends to favour - which, I think, is fine. A page-turner, this book is very hard to put down. Even if you do, you will find yourself picking at the pages again at no time. Also, the book is peppered with political satires that can be both hilarious and thought-provoking. One of my favourite quotes is this: "...this is my country. To leave is to admit defeat"

[pjospoul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

The core of the narrative was something worth exploring, and the sentiment behind this novel's creation is an admirable one (though one that I find slightly old hat at this point: people can't keep up, are left behind, the gahmen is mean, and so on...) In addition, the prose in some parts reads terribly, and the exposition and dialogue could use a lot more work. I expected better from someone as distinguished as Lim.

Not bad, overall, but not good either. Not something I would seriously consider rereading, and that caps it at 3 stars.

Edit 20/11/22:
My feelings wrt the story have taken a turn for the worse and I have decided to lower the rating to 2 stars.

[Calzean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has its moments.
An insight into the life of the poorer Singaporeans who were forcibly moved from their traditional lifestyles into modern apartments.
A smattering of Chinese culture, beliefs and class issues.
Covers Chinese music and musical instruments.
And a recognition that families have their secrets, people make mistakes and it does not seem to matter what colour, creed or class you are.

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A masterful piece of storytelling by Suchen Christine Lim. With her tour de force style of prose, she seems to effortlessly delve into delightful meditations on music, race, and class that are subtle yet weighted. Fantastic fiction that makes her far more than how she is advertised as a writer of Singaporean fiction.

[Shirley Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A journey down Singapore's past weaved within a love story. Beautiful, melodious but yet strangely familiar.

[Damien Travel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Singapore enjoys a reputation for excellence and efficiency. On my recent trip, this was confirmed as soon as I arrived at the airport. Nowhere else had I experienced such fast and pleasant immigration control, all electronic. On the way to the hotel, everything was still perfect, right down to the screens instructing the taximan to drive with caution.
Arriving in the evening, I went for a stroll along the banks of the Singapore River, a short walk from my hotel. A light breeze made the muggy heat more bearable. After sitting down to some satay skewers and a cold beer, I strolled over to the Fullerton Hotel. Once under the bridge, the three pillars of the Marina Bay Sands come into view, surmounted by the elegant horizontal arrow that caps them and makes this brilliant feat of modern architecture, inaugurated in 2011, one of the new symbols of this city-state, which in just a few decades has risen to the top of the rankings of the world's richest and most developed countries. The following evening, I passed Marina Bay to discover with my brother the electric and musical enchantment of the giant artificial trees (“supertrees”) that are the major attractions of the “Gardens by the Bay” nature park.
Singapore is a dazzling success story of modernity. In just over two centuries, the former British naval warehouse has developed into a city of excellence, where the cultural melting pot of Chinese, Indian and Malaysian populations seems to have blended harmoniously. The city's superb museums, the Asian Civilisations Museum and the National Gallery Singapore, offer a glimpse into the city's rich past at the crossroads of civilizations and religions.
But it was by delving into Suchen Christine Lim's novel “The River's Song” that I learned even more about the history of the city and, in particular, the districts along the Singapore River. In the 60s and 70s, Ping is the natural daughter of Yoke Lan, a pipa player - a Chinese plucked string instrument similar to the lute - who performs in Chinatown cabarets and nightclubs. Weng, who plays the flute, is the son of a coolie who unloads the boats that dock on the river. Ping attends the pipa classes that Weng's father gives in the evenings. Ping and Weng live in the poverty of the insalubrious, illegal housing that accumulates on the banks of the river. Leaving childhood behind, they discover their love. When Yoke Lan marries a wealthy Chinese merchant, she takes her daughter to a beautiful villa, but the mother, concerned about appearances in her new environment, introduces Ping as a distant niece and forbids her to return to find Weng at the water's edge.
The government launches a policy of “cleaning up” the riverbanks. Land values rise and the company of Yoke Lan's new husband evicts Weng's family from the illegal dwellings in which they had been living. They are promised apartments in the high-rise public housing projects being built by the city, but the squatters don't want these modern cages and protest. Weng, who has learned to write, records their grievances, and is arrested by the police as one of the leaders of the movement.
While he spends a few months in prison, Ping is sent to study in a college in the United States, where she continues to learn pipa and then becomes a professor in the musicology department at Berkeley. Decades later, she returns to Singapore when her mother dies. The city, and her family, have changed, but she is reunited with Weng when her pipa and his flute resonate together at Yoke Lan's funeral ceremony.
I spent my last afternoon in Singapore wandering around Chinatown. The area has been transformed and has become a tourist attraction, but probably less so than the nearby riverside. I enjoyed trying to find traces of the period when Ping and Weng used to get together to try and earn a few cents by selling the vegetables that fell from the crates brought to the market. As the frescoes painted on the walls of the Thian Hock Keng Taoist temple remind us, behind its cutting-edge modern facade, Singapore remains a melting pot where the hopes and dreams of numerous immigrants from all over Asia collide and melt into the mold of this city-state that aims to be so perfect.
https://www.travelreadings.org/2024/0...

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

#ReadAroundTheWorld. #Singapore

“To hate is to let the enemy win from within. Freedom is in us, and inside the music. Find it.”

The River’s Sing is a beautifully written historical fiction set along the banks of the Singapore River from the 1950s to 1980s. The author was born in Malaysia and grew up in both Malaysia and Singapore. The story focuses on the government clean up of the Singapore River between 1977 and 1987. To do this they evicted and relocated about 4,000 squatters who had lived by the river’s edge for generations, their way of life tuned to its rhythms. They also moved 5,000 hawkers and their families from their riverside stalls to city areas, and dismantled and moved traditional boat building businesses, boatmen farmers, vegetable gardeners and their families. The protesting voices went unheard and a traditional way of life was destroyed.

The story focuses on Ping, daughter of a pipa player, and her friend Weng who plays the gopipa dizi (bamboo flute). The music is central to the story and the pipa’s music is described thus: “With a flick of his fingers, a thousand arrows whizzed across the night sky. Stars fell at the emperor’s anguished cry. The enemy’s armies pounded across the plains as his father’s fingers drummed on the pipa’s soundboard, and horses’ feet, anxious drumbeats, and the soldiers’ battle cries filled the room. The coolies crowded up the stairs, leaning against the banisters in rapt attention. Then just as suddenly as it had begun, the pipa fell silent.”

I loved the lyrical descriptions of music and place. The relationship between Ping and her mother was complex and sad. This was an evocative, moving story and I’d love to read another of this author’s works.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book set in Singapore from the time the government began its cleanup of the river. Modern Singapore, since it rejected Malaysia and decided to go it alone, is an intriguing story. Come what may, it has succeeded in becoming a modern, cosmopolitan, clean and thriving place. But it has lost so much of its heart....

The author's beautiful descriptions of the river and the thousands of squatter families and boating families who lost their homes and livelihoods can almost be heard and felt.

The main characters are complicated and interesting, so many types of relationships and so many people just seeking acceptance and belonging.

If there were half stars, I would have given this four and a half!

[Jan Sandford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure about this book in the beginning. I didn't like the changes in language from traditional to modern. Sometimes the colloquial speech didn't fit the atmosphere of the story. The tempo was racy so I found myself reading the book quickly. About a quarter of the way through the book I started to enjoy the story more and found myself liking some of the characters. I particularly liked Weng. The childhood love story of him and Ping is written in a gentle, descriptive way. As for Ping, I understood the way she dealt with trauma but I didn't really take to her character. I am glad I persevered with the text. I thought the descriptions of the river and how Singapore used to be were vivid and worth reading.

[Carole Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, which was voted the best indie book by Kirkus Review, although I have to admit to getting confused with the Chinese names. Ping and her friend Weng grew up by the Singapore river before it was cleaned up, when bumboats and hawkers plied their trades, and before the banks were paved over, the shanties removed and the modern Singapore took over. Then something happened and Ping was sent to America and forges a career in music. However, on her return she wonders if she can continue her relationship with Weng and whether she has a future with him. A very good read!

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve always liked hearing the stories lost amidst progress and evolution, the perspectives of the ones ignored and left behind by time. Especially in sg, where the structural development of our country is constantly evolving - to the point where history tends to get lost between the cracks.

I only wish the story had delved deeper into the direct effects of cleaning the river on the people who lived there, would like to find out more from Weng’s perspective. And also, the switches in povs was a little hard to follow along at first.

[Geon Gonzaga · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the effortless weaving of the past and the present, one would find oneself running the streets of historic Chinatown and basking in the sun of contemporary Clark Quay. And I may have become overly engrossed at the characters’ painful upbringings, the history of the river, the anguish of the riverfolk and the release of childhood pain years later that I just finished reading this book in just 3 days.

You were right Mdm Lim, I sure love your book. Thank you for introducing me to Asian Literature. ☺️ Hope to meet you again.

[Prerna Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading this book! Most of the books I’ve read in my life have come from the west - American or English literature. So reading stories set in other parts of the world, written by non-English or American writers has been a revelation. I love how the storyline is non-linear which kept me at the edge of my chair and how much of the local culture the writer has imbued the story with.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Global Read 190- Singapore

The story was interesting, but the way the book was structured was too confusing. It jumped around in time without warning, and jumped from first person to third person as well. Conversations were portrayed in a variety of different structures. It really interrupted the flow.

[levenza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Singapore river used to be famously crowded, dirty with black flowing river water. The story tells the immigrant life, still connected to the traditional chinese mentality as they settling down the new world.

[Giana · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully woven tale of Singapore’s past and present; there were so many little details of Ping’s past that I loved reading about, of a Singapore I’ve only heard about and imagined, but have never actually seen. Stories like this are truly a treasure.

[Lauren Basson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew very little about Singapore and even less about pipa music, but this novel has made me feel quite intimate with the intricacies of both. Thank you Suchen Christine Lim for this heartbreaking tribute to the river, to music and to love.

[jm · Rating 1 out of 5]

The setting sounded interesting, but unfortunately gets only a cursory treatment - instead it appears to be an (equally superficial) childhood romance delivered in language on a middle school level. Couldn't finish it

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a straightforward story. It's good because it reveals a culture in Singapore for me. I liked learning about pipa music too.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

***1/2

[Sreader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story about 2 people who play old Chinese instruments and their lives beside the great Singaporean river.

[alessia · Rating 3 out of 5]

somewhat reminds me of the golden cangue because of qi qiao and yoke lan's crazy chinese mother behaviour but the river's song is so much more wholesome thank god