Finding Chopin

by Rachel Tey

A mother and son confront the past through fragmented memories.

Nineteen-year-old Finn Chang’s final-year project demands a photographic exploration of memory. As he pieces together fragments of his past, his mother, Emerald, becomes his guide through a labyrinth of recollections—some vivid, others elusive. Their search awakens long-buried truths, drawing them into a tangled history of loss, love and unexpected revelations. What begins as an academic exercise soon becomes a journey neither of them can control.

174 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 17, 2025

About the author

RACHEL TEY is a Singapore-based author of a novel, two children’s books and three short stories. She is a part-time university lecturer, where she teaches writing and communications-based courses. Rachel holds an MA in English (creative writing) from Nanyang Technological University, and obtained her BA in French and Sociology from the National University of Singapore. She is deeply inspired by fictions of memory, which informed her Master's research. Her latest novel, FINDING CHOPIN, was a finalist of the Epigram Books Fiction Prize 2025 and a Straits Times Weekly Bestseller (November 29, 2025).

Reviews

[Sivasothi N. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exploration of memory and relationships, set in Singapore which would help resonate with locals. There are many objects to relate toand intersections, but I missed a grand scheme of connection, which perhaps was deliberate. [Update: The author Rachel Teh believes in giving us space to figure out our own perspectives, like memory 😁]

I enjoyed the local flavour of the narrative which holds some discrete gems. There were mother-daughter elements, civil service shenanigans, a hint of the recriminations of the ”Stop At Two” policy, the reflective freedom of creative studies, communication within families or the lack of, and the hidden pain many families may harbour (so be gentle to each other).

And a mother’s role, often unacknowledged, defensively weaponised or borne stoically as another layer of life, without expectation of recognition or favour.

It builds to a summation of sorts, without an overt articulation, so it felt somewhat diffuse, with many loose ends. Maybe fodder for another book!

Perhaps a style I was not seeking in the midst of exam marking, but it did elicit many thoughts. Hope to learn more at her book club chat; she’s up next at the Singapore Literature Book Club. (Yes, I did!)

A Kindle book. Happy Mother’s Day to mums like Emerald❤️

[tc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memory is such an elusive and tender thing -

The entire book is, in and of itself, a memory that explores the very concept it embodies: recollections of past experiences stored within everyday cues, spaces, and objects. In Singapore, these memories, once rooted in physical places, find their survival in fragments: old shopping bags, a Tiffany necklace, photographs. Amidst rapid development, we make do with the little proxies we have of the past, presenting us a conundrum we all know too well - “Things never last, do they?”

A key theme of this book is grief and loss, and how each generation learns to live with it differently. Some of these coping mechanisms may feel familiar (avoidance versus confrontation, silence versus expression). Relationships here - between mother and son (Emerald and Finn), daughter and mother (Jolene and Emerald), for example - take on the silhouettes of these chosen mechanisms, and are portrayed as far from perfect, and all of whom are, quite literally and in their own ways, “in search of lost time.”

Tey also shows how each character is shaped by the time and cultural context in which they grew up. In doing so, she brings us through a nostalgic Singapore that exists partially in memory - from the grandeur of Ngee Ann City to everyday spaces like Block 177 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4.

I found the blend of references to local culture and spaces, alongside classical music, tied together so beautifully. Though heralding different sentiments, they complement each other in unexpected ways - remembering is a universal human experience.

The book’s title, Finding Chopin, reflects not only Finn’s literal search for Chopin’s grave, but also the novel’s larger preoccupation with memory itself: the desire to preserve what has already slipped away, even while knowing it cannot truly be recovered.

This was a touching read, arriving at a time when I, too, am deciding which memories to preserve and which to let go - in remembrance of a place and someone I hold dear.

Thank you Rachel for sending over a copy of this lovely book ❤️

[Apennyforjthoughts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was reduced to tears reading this.

This book centres on memories and explores how perceived memories and real-life incidents intertwine. Using Finn's FYF as a pivot, we get to know more about the Fong and Chang families, and how experiences shape memories, and in turn, how memories shape lives and characters.

Prior to starting the book, I picked out some keywords from the blurb and used them as guides to help me navigate the story. I'll try my best to do this without spoiling anything.

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻
I was curious about the title. I later realised that it wasn't just about the characters searching for and chasing memories. It was also about searching for precious relationships and the people who left deep impressions on their lives.

𝗧𝘄𝗼-𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆
Singapore's "Stop at Two" campaign encouraged families to limit themselves to two children. Reading about how this policy affected the family in the story and the emotions it brought about broke my heart.

𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀
Wounds leave lasting impacts, and sometimes it's safe to say they change the course of a person's life. Almost everyone in this story carries a wound in their heart. While it was difficult to read at times, it was also beautiful to see how Emerald and Finn connected through their pain.

To wound is to live. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

𝗚𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿
Seeing the grass cutter on the cover made me wonder what it truly meant. By the end, I couldn't help but think it was such a brilliant choice. An otherwise seemingly insignificant figure manages to weave together the themes of memories, wounds, and Finding Chopin so well.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲
Very sadly, I could relate to some of the toxic moments between Jolene and Emerald. I won't go into details, except to say that I was so triggered by Jolene that I added a tab that read "Horrible Jolene" halfway through the book.

All in all, this was a wonderful read. I admired how tightly everything was put together and how closely the story stayed connected to the idea of Finding Chopin — both metaphorically and literally.

May we all have great luck in finding our own Chopin.

[Jesslin Chandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is imaginative, thought-provoking and interesting. It's best to read it slow so you can really immerse yourself on the characters' emotion. I feel bad for Emmy on how she needs to deal with her mom, not knowing which side of her she'll get. It's like walking on eggshells everytime since she's young. I also love how the book is taking me around Singapore, so much fun to see the perspective from the past as well.

Thanks Rachel for the copy! 😊

[Swee Lian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a bit meandering in the first 2/3 of the book, and I was tempted to DNF it. The characters are not dealt with fully enough, and I find myself not caring much for any of them. I was going to rate it 3 stars, Thankfully, the ending is more satisfying and helps to push the book to a 3.25 for me.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the get-go, reading Finding Chopin was an unmistakably SingLit experience. With a unique voice, Rachel Tey captures the essence of exchanges between Singaporeans so authentically, that reading the book is like drinking a comforting cup of Teh C at one’s favourite kopitiam.

The relationships portrayed are raw and easily resonate. The difficult dance of a trying mother-daughter relationship over the decades, the all too-familiar screechiness of an over-bearing office colleague and the pain of betrayal by one’s first love - all developed and delivered well in this novel which spans across continents and time.

I deeply appreciated the refreshing inclusion of faith in this book, for once not ridiculed or portrayed as only hypocritical. I have often wished that such everyday faith which is so much a part of many Singaporeans’ lives would find its way into a SingLit book, so that people of faith, young and old, can feel seen as well.

The book’s theme of memory and loss is effectively interwoven into flashbacks as events and stories unfurl chapter by chapter. Being of the same generation as the author, I could identify with so many blasts from the past, especially the Metro jingle (I had a much beloved pink-and-white Metro Christmas bear!) and now-defunct dining institutions like Ponderosa.

Thanks @rapunzelinparis for the autographed copy of your lovely book.

[Weiqi · Rating 3 out of 5]

a little rough around the edges, but some interesting ideas in this debut. rly not a fan of the dialogue tho, sorry.

[Ning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love loveeee the relationships in this book. While the moments with Emerald’s narcissistic mom, Jolene, can be triggering, they are beautifully redeemed by the open conversations and close relationship Emmy has with her son, F.J. So many scenes resonate uncannily with my own life, from my home in Mayflower and wedding at the Marriott, to my own hazy memory of a first failed pregnancy, just like Emmy. This was a poignant exploration of how involuntary memory can be triggered by the most innocuous items.

The story directly references Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, where the narrator is transported to his childhood by a madeleine. The book noted, “It hasn’t occurred to me that each of us carries our own madeleine moments.”

Gonna take some time to think about my own madeleine moments now…

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A moving and poignant exploration of memory and its undercurrent, time. Time here is like a place with many doors, most open. Grief and love and 'what if' the leviathans that float through them. Yet for all the struggle this novel portrays in its explorations of lost time, my favorite line: "Don't forget bliss" (p.205), is surely a way forward even if it is also backward. Holding on to the good things in memory is as important as those other things memory does.

[Jolin (twentycharm) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. This debut follows a mother and her teenage son as they explore memory, loss, and relationships. In a rapidly changing Singapore it’s rare to return to a place and find it the way you left it, and with fragmented memories and a Final Year Project, the two are left piecing the past together.

Emerald and her son Finn can communicate more openly because Emerald does not harbour resentment towards him like her mother Jolene does her—for ruining her life as the third child during the Stop at Two campaign, in which the forfeited maternity leave led to Jolene ending her career prematurely and becoming a housewife.

But even though Emerald has “improved” so much from her mother, with her scathing passive aggression, she’s still not seen as approachable in her son’s eyes, as he views her as melancholic and overly self-critical. It’s still difficult for him to talk to her because she always blames herself first when things go wrong.

They grow closer when they revisit places in Emerald’s memory and hold deeper conversations for Finn’s photography project. I have found there is so much to learn from someone when we just ask.

And while Finn is disappointed he can’t capture the scenery he saw all those years ago, that things weren’t as they left it, Emerald reassuredly reminds him that memory belongs to individuals, not objects.

Maybe we need not obsess over the act of remembering, that maybe it’s okay to forget things. It’s inevitable that things look sweeter in hindsight; as Emerald says, perhaps it’s not the act of shopping with her mother that she misses, but the “bliss of a certain time”.

Emerald recalls the tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, thinking “there was no explanation for the princesses’ motives…only a fleeting, hazy quality that strung the narrative together,” and I can see how Tey drew inspiration from this in the way the story alternates between present day and flashbacks from dreaming or spacing out.

One thing I found interesting was the not-so-consistent use of Singlish and familiar abbreviations fully spelt out (like Primary School Leaving Examination?). I liked the dialogue, I just felt like it wanted to cater to a local and international audience at the same time. Then again, the characters are upper-class Singaporean Chinese (the parents met on a trip to Europe in the 90s) so the experience varies.

But, and mild spoilers, the ghosting “parallel” between Finn ghosting aka blocking his ex-girlfriend on social media, and his dead father literally visiting him as a ghost (because “now we’re both ghosts) was a bit…

Overall, this was an engaging story and I enjoyed uncovering the truths behind the relationships between each character, strained but meaningful in their own ways. Mother and son as they grieve, mother and daughter as they communicate with barbs, ex-partners as they talk through their feelings, and more.

Thank you to the author for my kind review copy. All thoughts are my own.

[ns510reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this! Rachel Tey’s Finding Chopin is a tender and contemplative examination of time, memory, motherhood, and the stories that are the stuff of us.

Told from the perspectives of widowed mother Emerald Fong and her son Finley Chang Jr, the narrative loops around their present day lives and past recollections, the two embarking on their own ‘Camino’, this non-linear journey down memory lane sparked by Finn’s final year graduation project. It’s a good time to reflect, with all the changes taking place around them; the sudden loss of a much missed husband and father, Emmy’s own prickly relationship with her ailing mother, and Finn enlisting for military service in the coming year. As memories come to the surface, the sum of a life emerges.

So much of our lives are shaped by the ones who first raised us, the worlds they move in colliding with our own, the experiences we internalise reaching far beyond to influence those of the next generations. So much is absorbed without our knowing, so much of what we carry only coming to light with the passage of time. These memories are embodied, unwittingly summoned by a touch, a taste, a scent. The sound of grass cutters, the melody of a remembered song, the feeling of being in a certain place at a certain time; these can whip us right back to a given moment, even as things change, landscapes disappear, and we have ceased to remain the same. They are held by the people who know us best, remaining alive for as long as we remember, bringing us back to who we have become.

As one year ends and another is set to begin, this was the perfect novel to see me through this period of change and reflection. Finely observed and beautifully drawn, it captures glimpses of a changing Singapore, and the fleeting lives of those moving through it. It highlights the slippery nature of time and memory and life itself, everything existing in this temporary moment, past and present and future constantly in flux, our memories and lived experiences so interwoven with the fabric of space and time that there is no separation. We see things not as they were, but as we are. And we are life, we are time, we are place, we are memory. We are the stories we tell ourselves, in the end.

Thank you so much @rapunzelinparis for sending me a copy of your beautiful book, glad and grateful for the time I spent with it! 💚

[CuriousBookReviewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Curiosity level: The magic and mess of memory; an emotional scavenger hunt

“Memory’s reconstructions were efficient, Emerald thought, watching her bathroom walls fall away and hearing a familiar waltz firing at the back of her mind.”

Reading that line made me think of memory as a kind of teleportation portal 🌌

Sound and music have always had the ability to yank us between timelines. There’s the jarringness of the present; there’s the soft, blissful blur of a happier past. For some, memory is sharper than shadows, nipping constantly at their heels. For me, memory is a soft silhouette, very blurred at the edges, susceptible to details shifting 🌬️😶‍🌫️

In Finding Chopin, Emerald moves through a world where the past keeps bleeding into the present. She trails a familiar waltz, little memory crumbs popping up along the way and nudging her from one old place to another. The narrative isn’t just about memory; it’s about how we navigate the pieces of ourselves that resurface unexpectedly, and how we can heal/confront/poke around, softly re-shaping them. There is also a familiar whimsy here, reminiscent of the gentle, tender quality in Rachel’s Tea in Pajamas 🫖

It also made me reflect on my own relationship with memory and the triggers that unlock it: smells, sounds, sights. A blissful time in KL with my siblings; the horror of an almost-drowning, when the rush of water still “swooshes” in my mind. That sensation—the sudden “transportation”—is indeed “efficient”. I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with memory, never able to recall details with the meticulous clarity my science-and-math friends seem to possess. I dream; I merge; I mix reality with imagination 💭

“… but later on the way home, when I realise I’d remembered it wrongly, I started trusting my memory a little less.”
(I enjoyed many of her quotes)

If you enjoy stories that are dreamy, reflective, and quietly aching: books that feel like stepping into someone’s half-remembered dream… you’ll likely find this one enchanting!

[Priscilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

“𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐩𝐮𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐞. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.”⁣

In #FindingChopin, a mother-son duo revisits their pasts for a final-year project on memories. Emerald is a 45-year-old widow with a painful childhood shaped by Singapore’s two-child policy. Her son, Finn, on the cusp of graduation, is trying to come to terms with the death of his father. 🌠 We shuffle between their recollections as they untangle the past and imagine the future.⁣

Finding Chopin abandons the traditional narrative structure we’re used to. Choppy and abrupt, it took me a while to immerse myself into the novel. It’s the definition of slow burn.⁣ 🤔

As the novel progresses, it clicked. That’s memories for you, isn’t it? What we remember sometimes arrives unexpectedly. For Emerald, it’s the 80s Metro shopping bag. For Finn, it’s a lawn mower cutting grass. For me, it's the carpark outside The Rail Mall.

No matter what the trigger is, our memories come from “a deeper place of wanting to ‘right’ the present.”⁣ 🔮

The writing is mesmerizing — it sneaks up on you when you least expect it. I very much enjoyed the dreamy, meditative quality in Tey’s words. More please! 💕
⁣
Ultimately, Finding Chopin is about stepping outside the shadow of your pain. As the author states in her acknowledgements: “I found that this became, at its heart, a story about the stories we tell ourselves, in the hope of learning who we are and why we exist.” 🌌

Original review seen on @priscillaandherbooks

[Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

When in Singapore, read Singlit.

Kind of a disappointing read. This book, focusing on the topic of Memory, had the right elements/ themes of Singaporean-ness: the now-extinct shopping malls, having tea in Paragon, Christianity amongst the Chinese, polytechnics, landed houses, NS, Singlish, taking the red line between Ang Moh Kio and Orchard... emotionally abusive parents.

And that's it. No plot development, not much of character arcs, short and sweet. No emotional attachment was formed, the idea of memory and its complications was not deep enough for me. Quite forgettable at the end of the day.

[Khesia Kalistyatika · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the first pages, I was hooked by the contrast reality in Climate Change Studies scene depicted skillfully by Rachel. Then I enjoyed the story till the end for the topic is relevant to all of us (Who has never experienced deja vu?)

The book is about memorabilia’s power to bring people revisiting olden days and that journey helped people to know who they are and their family history. It is a hopeful story for I reflect from the main character that we can choose healing over the memories we had in the past. Decision is ours. Rachel is really a sharp observant.

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book so much that I slowed down - as I didn’t want to part with the characters. Each of them reminded me of people I know, which makes it all feel so relatable. It’s made me reflect on my own memories and passage through time, through its beautiful writing which presented the story and characters in such a vivid manner. I highly recommend it.

[Tan Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

A melancholic introspective reflection on the concepts of identity, familial relationships and community, with a cast of highly relatabe characters and an environment full of easter eggs that can in turn stir up the emotions in a fellow Singaporean reader, making this a heartwarming conclusion to my reading journey for this year,

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Remembering Looks Like - of the forgotten ones, the painful ones, the hazy ones, and remembering the bliss of a certain time.

“Remembering isn’t just an activity of the mind, it also comes from a deeper place of wanting to “right” the present.”

[Xxx · Rating 5 out of 5]

very well-written and meaningful book

[Timothy :D · Rating 4 out of 5]

a beautifully singaporean story about family, loss, and memories.. the writing is kinda iffy and times but its a good and comforting read but like lowk boring at some parts lol

[Matt Chew · Rating 3 out of 5]

great exploration of memories, yet the ending underwhelming