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The Library of Sighs
Love, the force that sustains life, holds up the pages of this book of short stories. A librarian's practical affection for her new assistant; a young woman coming to terms with her mother not loving her; two wives struggling with the memory of an unfaithful and bigamous husband; an elderly woman whose heart retains a soft spot for her park friends even as her limbs are ravaged by illness; despairing love, unrequited feelings, an illicit affair ... The love for life infuses hope, energy and joy in these stories that draw you into the heart and soul of characters that are palpably real and ethereal.
159 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 5, 2023
despite the badly fared opinions i came across on this book, i surprisingly love it. the stories are simple - some are heartwarming, some are emotional and some are serene. i especially love the last story, lucine ♥️
December 9, 2021
I was expecting to be enthralled by the stories since the titles are very inviting. The stories have promising values. I only enjoyed "At the Edge of the Dark Sea".
August 15, 2016
I bought this together with Dina Zaman's collection of short stories. I was disappointed with the latter and just by flipping through the pages of the The Library of Sighs, I thought it would be a better read.
But it wasn't.
The first story promised a lot through its eponymous title: The Library of Sighs. But the plot deviated, and went off track so that the subject of the story switched rather abruptly and annoyingly from the "huuuuuuuus" (the sighs) to how the library assistant moved in with the library manager... Felt like the author didn't know where it was heading after writing a good beginning, and decided this sudden jump would somehow make sense.
The other stories were rather boring and insipid -- the writing didn't flow, and I feel the author could have used the services of a good editor to edit those redundant parts that made the reading tedious. One example comes to mind: "she was dressed in a white dress..."
Writing wise, Wong Ming Yook's style felt more fluid than Dina Zaman's, but I must say that Dina Zaman had more folkloric stories to relate than Wong. Wong's stories, substance wise, are very ordinary, to the point that they are so common to the experiences of every person (a ghost story, a story about a cheating husband, etc) that I feel she had to put in something extra to make storytelling worthwhile - like say, add more style and technique to her writing, or tell it differently.
But it wasn't.
The first story promised a lot through its eponymous title: The Library of Sighs. But the plot deviated, and went off track so that the subject of the story switched rather abruptly and annoyingly from the "huuuuuuuus" (the sighs) to how the library assistant moved in with the library manager... Felt like the author didn't know where it was heading after writing a good beginning, and decided this sudden jump would somehow make sense.
The other stories were rather boring and insipid -- the writing didn't flow, and I feel the author could have used the services of a good editor to edit those redundant parts that made the reading tedious. One example comes to mind: "she was dressed in a white dress..."
Writing wise, Wong Ming Yook's style felt more fluid than Dina Zaman's, but I must say that Dina Zaman had more folkloric stories to relate than Wong. Wong's stories, substance wise, are very ordinary, to the point that they are so common to the experiences of every person (a ghost story, a story about a cheating husband, etc) that I feel she had to put in something extra to make storytelling worthwhile - like say, add more style and technique to her writing, or tell it differently.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews