And Softly Go the Crossings: A Collection of Short Stories

by Danielle Lim

Winner of Singapore Book Awards 2021: Book of the Year & Best Literary Work

The silent interplay between beauty and darkness, pain and healing.
In this collection of short stories, Singapore Literature Prize-winner Danielle Lim probes the unseen changes which take place in the human psyche and their impact on the textures of life. Weaving through pain and healing, beauty and darkness, these silent crossings of the human heart and mind are deep and formidable. Yet they often go unnoticed due to their quiet, subtle nature. From a man struggling to bridge the distance between him and his father as his father dies, to the changes in the human psyche when people are pit competitively against one another, these stories seek to draw out the emotional and psychological threads which form the tapestry of lived experience.
With its portraits of love and loss, loneliness and heartache, hope and healing, And Softly Go the Crossings challenges the reader to encounter human connectedness through soft, yet powerful, inner rhythms.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

232 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 2020

About the author

Danielle Lim is an award-winning author. Her short story collection, And Softly Go the Crossings, won the Book of the Year and Best Literary Work in the Singapore Book Awards 2021. Trafalgar Sunrise, a novel exploring Sars and leprosy, was shortlisted in the Singapore Book Awards 2019 (Best Literary Work). The Sound of SCH: A Mental Breakdown, a Life Journey, won the Singapore Literature Prize 2016 (non-fiction), and has been translated to Chinese and Tamil, published in Taiwan and India. Danielle is an alumna of the University of Oxford and resides in Singapore.

Reviews

[Khai Jian (KJ) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It's curious, this thing called life. We spend the first half of it learning how to build it up - job, family, friends, health, teeth - and then spend the second half of it learning how to lose what we've built up"

Thanks to Times Reads for sending a review copy of this collection of short stories to me. This is by far the most underrated book that I've read. I sincerely think that it deserves more attention than it is having right now.

And Softly Go the Crossings featured 15 short stories, all of which focussed on the themes of family, relationships, love, loss, grief, the "culture" and stressful life of Singaporeans in their own country. Via these stories, Danielle Lim highlighted a lot of issues and the state of modern Singaporeans: the lack of cultural identity/cultural conundrum of Singaporeans, the flaws of performance/merit-based assessment in the workplace, the blinded pursuit of efficiency, the competitiveness amongst the students, the "survival-of-the-fittest" culture which is deeply rooted in most Singaporeans, Singapore's "silver tsunami" (i.e. population aging issues), the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the flaws of the wage structure in Singapore and the introduction of the Workfare scheme. What amazes me is Danielle Lim's ability in crafting relationships amongst the characters in all of her short stories. Her ability to flesh out the inner struggles and mentality of modern Singaporeans with her beautiful writing is what makes her stories so emotional and moving. The use of "Singlish" in certain stories definitely adds a personal touch to this collection.

My personal favourites are Hongi (which explored a father and son relationship by making reference to the traditional Maori greeting i.e. Hongi), Chan Chong Chee's Culture Conundrum (which explored a student's discovery of Singapore's cultural identity in the midst of completing his assignment), Francisca's Flute (which explored how Francisca dealt with her brother's suicide due to academic stress), Leo's Home (which explored Singapore's aging issues from the perspective of a man who built nursing homes in Singapore but ended up staying in one of the nursing homes that he has built). All of the stories in this collection are heartwarming, personal, and truly deserves a strong 4.8/5 star rating! I highly urge everyone to pick up And Softly Go the Crossings and immerse into Danielle Lim's evocative writing!

[aqilahreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY HEART ACHES SO MUCH FOR THIS BOOK T_____T

this is my first time reading danielle lim's works and honestly already felt that this is going to be one of my fave singlit. :') this book is a collection of short stories; focusing on love and loss, beauty and darkness, loneliness and heartache, hope and healing.

reading this has been an emotional roller coaster for me as i felt super connected to most of the stories. they are indeed very heartfelt and personal which i felt that readers (esp singaporeans) would be able to relate/resonates with in certain ways. its like reading about situations that could possibly happen to yourself or loved ones too which is why it was pretty hard for me to let go of this book. really a book that i wanna bring close to my heart.

cant understand why its underrated?? its rare to find myself loving all the short stories, took down so many meaningful notes too. but if i were to pick one, it would be hongi. *_*

"you see, it is not just about a greeting, like a handshake. human life is much deeper than that".

also can i just say that i absolutely fell in love with danielle's writing?!? omg its so beautiful and i just love the way she writes. i will think about this book for a long time. and i really cant wait to read the rest of her works!!

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It's curious, this thing called life. We spend the first half of it learning how to build it up - job, family, friends, health, teeth - and then spend the second half of it learning how to lose what we've built up."

I thoroughly enjoyed "And Softly Go The Crossings" by Danielle Lim. Loved "The Sound of Sch" by her for so many reasons, and am looking forward to reading "Trafalgar Sunrise".

"And Softly Go The Crossings" is SingLit at its best. Evocative, personal and wholly unpretentious.

It depicts scenes that are so close to heart and home, a subtle yet non-didactic portrayal of our obsession with grades and ranking, the relentless pursuit of efficiency and economic performance, the misunderstood world of 'scholars' in the civil service.

Stereotype and reality. Broad brushstrokes against more nuanced tones. Stories of loss, laced with gentle beats of hope.

Everyone should read this book.

10/10 ⭐️

[Tan Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apart from skillfully weaving issues and topics of familiarity to every Singapore, what distinguishes this anthology such that it snags the "Best Literary Work" in this year's Singapore Book Awards, is its concise yet sincere prose in depicting our raw vulnerabilities, at times with dashes of dark humour, more often times with nuanced melancholy, but no matter what hopeful, which we need now more than ever.

[Ax3 1016 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The way this book was written is so beautiful yet remained to be an easy read. It is a great book to learn how Singaporeans live in an ordinary day while resonating with your personal experiences and learning the ropes of your own emotions. An adult reader would appreciate this better than younger ones.

I have no more words for this book except it is extraordinarily ordinary. ✨

I found this book in their National Library and bought my own copy when I got home. No regrets. I will treasure this book forever.

[Samuel Luther · Rating 5 out of 5]

an absolutely charming collection of short stories. read this in one sitting on a plane ride. captures mundane moments and “half-way” feelings so well. very gentle writing, and beautiful description of multiple personas throughout the stories.

[jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It's curious, this thing called life. We spend the first half of it learning how to build it up - job, family, friends, health, teeth - and then spend the second half of it learning how to lose what we've built up."

And Softly Go the Crossings is a short story collection that observe the mundane lives and competitive nature in Singapore : the emphasis of grades, the relentless pursuit of economic performance, the desire for status and the heavy responsibilities of working parents.

Evocative and personal, this book will tugs at your heartstrings and reevaluate the priorities in life, especially for working adults during this pandemic. It reminds us about the essence in life: love, contentment, family and closed ones.

With simple writing, the author is able to invoke deep emotions and imagery. The characters are well-drawn with only a 10-20 pages narrative. I'm sure the 15 short stories in the book will resonate with many readers besides Singaporeans.

Rating: 4.5 stars

[Lorraine Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

sorry but singlit is not for me 💔

the short story “hongi” is my favourite though, so thought-provoking and heartfelt

[Elizabeth Chua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each short story deals with an issue/ topic close to the hearts of Singaporeans. I found myself laughing out loud at some of the stories, and at times, my heart aches with the familiarity of the experiences the character is going through.
Danielle writes with great sensitivity and I appreciate a sprinkling of wry humour to lift the otherwise dark issues explored. Lots of vivid imageries and lived emotions, and great observations of the lived daily, mundane monotony.

[Zefanya ₊˚♪࿐₊⊹ · Rating 5 out of 5]

each short story was crafted with intimate language and has its own essence to it — simultaneously , themes of loss, love and the human psyche are intertwined across stories. the last one, “Heart Valves”, was my favourite and it was the perfect way to end off. however, this was not the best book to escape into as I always find my way back home (bc it takes place in Singapore lol) also this was my first time reading an adult Sing-lit :D

[Vicky Chong · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, I didn't like the first few stories. Although I love the title of the book, which was the title of the first story, for the sentimental aura it brought to the collection, the first few stories lack the punch to motivate me to continue with the next few. But as I persevered, for there must be something I missed. I found myself gradually being immersed in the lives of the other protagonists in the later stories. They were a sympathetic lot, and the author deserves credit for bringing their stories alive for what we often take for granted. She has a gift of subtlety which might easily be missed for the lack of plot. After a while, I found myself dwelling into their lives.

[Judd Siow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heart-touching collection of uniquely Singaporean stories, ranging from the effects of our meritocratic society to the fragile relationships that one could have with their family members in our increasingly fast-paced and digitalised world. The second piece, Hongi, particularly tugged at my heartstrings. A worthy read for any Gen Z Singaporean ambling through the trials and tribulations of young adulthood.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the book which is a collection of short stories and each one about challenges faces in life and all could be true.

Many of the stories are morose and at times morbid.

This book did help me understand and practice gratitude and puts things in perspective that many times people have things hidden under the surface, like an iceberg, that the outside world knows nothing about and to treat others with compassion because of this.

I can recommend this book for these reasons.

[Isabella Abigail Ow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like reading books by Singaporean writers. When the characters are Singaporean characters, they really resonate. There was even a story about a school teacher and the way she works, what she deals with and how she prepares for her lessons, were spot on. I don't think it's easy for there to come up with so many ideas for the characters and stories. A nice, neat collection. 🙂

[theresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

capitalism sucks but i wish it was more in depth :( even for short stories many of them fell flat for me