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White Cloud Mountain
All her life, Audrey has done what is expected of her, following her father’s footsteps into the civil service, the “iron rice bowl” of Singapore. When a chance opportunity arises to attend a writing retreat in the Wonju mountains of South Korea, she grabs it, not knowing what to expect. Unexplainable things soon start happening to her, while a long-buried memory surfaces, threatening to unravel her calm and carefully-orchestrated world.
- GenresFiction
Paperback
Published September 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 23, 2022
Plainly written and a gem. Reading “White Cloud Mountain” is a mental retreat (and a treat). I felt like Audrey in some way too, and the book became it’s own virtual Toji Cultural Centre for me, nourishment for the soul.
Stepping back, I am really enjoying Singaporean literature, especially this theme of “finding space for oneself” in a metropolitan, materialistic, culturally-rigid society (which I claim captures a lot of East Asian cultures, and perhaps also Asian American culture).
Stepping back, I am really enjoying Singaporean literature, especially this theme of “finding space for oneself” in a metropolitan, materialistic, culturally-rigid society (which I claim captures a lot of East Asian cultures, and perhaps also Asian American culture).
March 21, 2023
White Cloud Mountain is my SingLit book for this year. It follows thirty-something civil servant Audrey who nabs a place at the artistic getaway that is Toji in Wonju, South Korea. At her local writer friend Lauren's urging, Audrey goes on a thirty day getaway there where she steps out of her hectic, pencil-pushing life back home and experiences the tranquility and calmness of the Korean countryside with other Korean artists. However, Audrey isn't professionally a writer or any type of artist like the rest of Toji's occupants, and suffers from imposter syndrome and a lack of inspiration as she tries to produce any kind of work during her stay.
White Cloud Mountain is author Grace Chia's semi-fictional account of her own stay in Toji. It is essentially a travel journal of sorts about the various experiences she had and sights she saw in Wonju. That isn't necessarily bad but it's just... boring. Chia is talented at writing scenery but content wise the book is unimpressive. Nothing is particularly unique or intriguing. Audrey's inner thoughts are trite and unoriginal. There's a lot of typical talk about how her 9-to-5 civil service work is stable but boring, how she doesn't feel like she's making any kind of impact and simply survives instead of living, how life on holiday in the Korean countryside is so amazing when she has no work to do... There's nothing particularly new here. Her view of her life in Singapore is so one-sided, very much the usual complaint about the monotonous rat race culture. On the other hand, she idealises pretty much everything she sees on her trip from the countryside life to the farmers who sell their goods at the market to the various artists she mingles with. She doesn't understand the language when other writers or poets present their work, choosing to assign whatever meaning or theme she assumes they are making and then revels in said interpretation of their foreign work. For a writing retreat, there's awfully little mention of writing as well. To be fair, that's a central issue at the heart of the book where Audrey struggles to recapture the same spirit she had in writing during her school days and suffers from writer's block. However, it's only halfway through the book where Audrey suddenly remembers the point of coming to Toji and starts any attempt to create content. It's a pity that Audrey's travel entries take precedent over her own struggle to create art because that would have made for a more interesting and self-reflective read.
I would say the first two thirds of the book were boring but okay. The last third of the book really took a tumble in my opinion. Audrey's adventures become almost like a fever dream of sorts, from getting knocked out by a deer and awoken by stray dogs to falling asleep in the hollow of a tree and causing an impromptu search party for her as a result. The crazy thing is that these events somehow act as a catalyst for Audrey to suddenly remember past trauma from her youth in the form of an attempted rape by her cousin Sean. I'm so sorry if this was based on some kind of real trauma from the author's life but this incident was borderline ridiculous. Sean and Audrey had embarked on some Pulau Ubin trip on a weekday afternoon as teenagers with dreams of adventure and ended up being attacked by a wild boar. They hid in tree hollows and the wild boar eventually left them. This incident somehow inexplicably triggered Sean to attempt to rape his cousin (despite the wild boar in the vicinity) and when Audrey manages to fight him off, the aforementioned wild boar turned up again and bit Sean in the leg before goring him to death. What??? And then that's it. Sean or this entire incident is barely mentioned again. This memory is so brutal but utterly out-of-place in the entire book.
The book and Audrey's stay at Toji ends in a somewhat cringe manner. The final community sharing which Audrey kept worrying about throughout the book takes place and Audrey delivers a speech about how she's a civil servant who feels like life isn't fair because she was taught that rules mattered in the system but there's corruption, cheating and whatnot taking place. Her hard work isn't rewarded but those who play the political game and pursue their selfish agendas are. Again, it's very trite material but it is met with great applause from the Toji community. Audrey then returns to Singapore and starts rejecting the civil service lifestyle by wearing singlets and sleeping during meetings. It's supposed to be inspiring or daring but it just feels kind of cringeworthy when a one month vacation has supposedly changed your life view so much. She eventually quits her job and starts taking care of herself mentally, which is commendable. She then joins a writing club and with the help of her local celebrity writer friend Lauren starts writing a story which she calls White Cloud Mountain.
White Cloud Mountain was underwhelming at times and kind of uninspiring, with bewildering moments here and there. I just wish there were more original, well-rounded takes and more self-reflection compared to the usual material that we are so used to seeing. 2/5
White Cloud Mountain is author Grace Chia's semi-fictional account of her own stay in Toji. It is essentially a travel journal of sorts about the various experiences she had and sights she saw in Wonju. That isn't necessarily bad but it's just... boring. Chia is talented at writing scenery but content wise the book is unimpressive. Nothing is particularly unique or intriguing. Audrey's inner thoughts are trite and unoriginal. There's a lot of typical talk about how her 9-to-5 civil service work is stable but boring, how she doesn't feel like she's making any kind of impact and simply survives instead of living, how life on holiday in the Korean countryside is so amazing when she has no work to do... There's nothing particularly new here. Her view of her life in Singapore is so one-sided, very much the usual complaint about the monotonous rat race culture. On the other hand, she idealises pretty much everything she sees on her trip from the countryside life to the farmers who sell their goods at the market to the various artists she mingles with. She doesn't understand the language when other writers or poets present their work, choosing to assign whatever meaning or theme she assumes they are making and then revels in said interpretation of their foreign work. For a writing retreat, there's awfully little mention of writing as well. To be fair, that's a central issue at the heart of the book where Audrey struggles to recapture the same spirit she had in writing during her school days and suffers from writer's block. However, it's only halfway through the book where Audrey suddenly remembers the point of coming to Toji and starts any attempt to create content. It's a pity that Audrey's travel entries take precedent over her own struggle to create art because that would have made for a more interesting and self-reflective read.
I would say the first two thirds of the book were boring but okay. The last third of the book really took a tumble in my opinion. Audrey's adventures become almost like a fever dream of sorts, from getting knocked out by a deer and awoken by stray dogs to falling asleep in the hollow of a tree and causing an impromptu search party for her as a result. The crazy thing is that these events somehow act as a catalyst for Audrey to suddenly remember past trauma from her youth in the form of an attempted rape by her cousin Sean. I'm so sorry if this was based on some kind of real trauma from the author's life but this incident was borderline ridiculous. Sean and Audrey had embarked on some Pulau Ubin trip on a weekday afternoon as teenagers with dreams of adventure and ended up being attacked by a wild boar. They hid in tree hollows and the wild boar eventually left them. This incident somehow inexplicably triggered Sean to attempt to rape his cousin (despite the wild boar in the vicinity) and when Audrey manages to fight him off, the aforementioned wild boar turned up again and bit Sean in the leg before goring him to death. What??? And then that's it. Sean or this entire incident is barely mentioned again. This memory is so brutal but utterly out-of-place in the entire book.
The book and Audrey's stay at Toji ends in a somewhat cringe manner. The final community sharing which Audrey kept worrying about throughout the book takes place and Audrey delivers a speech about how she's a civil servant who feels like life isn't fair because she was taught that rules mattered in the system but there's corruption, cheating and whatnot taking place. Her hard work isn't rewarded but those who play the political game and pursue their selfish agendas are. Again, it's very trite material but it is met with great applause from the Toji community. Audrey then returns to Singapore and starts rejecting the civil service lifestyle by wearing singlets and sleeping during meetings. It's supposed to be inspiring or daring but it just feels kind of cringeworthy when a one month vacation has supposedly changed your life view so much. She eventually quits her job and starts taking care of herself mentally, which is commendable. She then joins a writing club and with the help of her local celebrity writer friend Lauren starts writing a story which she calls White Cloud Mountain.
White Cloud Mountain was underwhelming at times and kind of uninspiring, with bewildering moments here and there. I just wish there were more original, well-rounded takes and more self-reflection compared to the usual material that we are so used to seeing. 2/5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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February 8, 2023finally managed to power through this.
verdict: bad. perhaps even terrible. i did not like the book's relentless romanticisation of the rustic vis-a-vis the pointlessness of being a professional pencil-pusher performing perfunctory paperwork. nor did i like the repetition of 'rat race bad,' 'life in singapore has no meaning,' 'i have lived, but i haven't yet LIVED' ad nauseum. i would prefer a book that goes beyond the usual repertoire of this tedious routine, or perhaps something that doesn't attempt to deal with it at all.
ps. i think my brain shut off about halfway through. a bit like a tympanic reflex. if there was quality in the second half, i'm afraid i didn't pick up on it.
verdict: bad. perhaps even terrible. i did not like the book's relentless romanticisation of the rustic vis-a-vis the pointlessness of being a professional pencil-pusher performing perfunctory paperwork. nor did i like the repetition of 'rat race bad,' 'life in singapore has no meaning,' 'i have lived, but i haven't yet LIVED' ad nauseum. i would prefer a book that goes beyond the usual repertoire of this tedious routine, or perhaps something that doesn't attempt to deal with it at all.
ps. i think my brain shut off about halfway through. a bit like a tympanic reflex. if there was quality in the second half, i'm afraid i didn't pick up on it.
November 16, 2024
i would give this a 3.5 if i could be more specific, not really a 4 yet deserving of more than a 3. this book was honestly an inspiring one for aspiring writers who just need that extra push to write that chapter and finish that book. however, there were many loose ends and unnecessary symbolism being brought up in the book, just when i thought the book would take a darker turn it swerved right back. for example the thumping sounds in the lodging, the parallelism between the boar that attacked the narrator and the vampire deer she met in the forest and sean. why were all these mentioned? it didn’t add to the story in any way nor did it serve to develop the characters i feel.
i cannot deny that grace chia is excellent at describing her setting and does visual imagery very well—her writing is detailed and paints a clear image of toji and the narrators new surroundings. i absolutely loved her prose as well and her writing style but there was something lacking, something that could have tied the whole story much better and tighter. overall, it was a book that did inspire me to continue with my writing and gave me that push i needed to pursue writing seriously. the main character is an archetype relatable to most singaporean writers; we’re always too afraid to break free from what our parents and society expects of us and its almost impossible to sustain ourselves solely from writing.
i cannot deny that grace chia is excellent at describing her setting and does visual imagery very well—her writing is detailed and paints a clear image of toji and the narrators new surroundings. i absolutely loved her prose as well and her writing style but there was something lacking, something that could have tied the whole story much better and tighter. overall, it was a book that did inspire me to continue with my writing and gave me that push i needed to pursue writing seriously. the main character is an archetype relatable to most singaporean writers; we’re always too afraid to break free from what our parents and society expects of us and its almost impossible to sustain ourselves solely from writing.
October 18, 2024
Really sad to say this (because I loved the premise of the book), but this is pretty bad. The 35-year old protagonist spends the first half of the book blundering like a toddler through the Korean countryside, oohing and turning up her nose at (otherwise very well known) Korean delicacies.
For example, her Korean batchmate talks about needing to eat silkworms because he grew up poor, and the first thing she’s thinking about is whether eating silk worms “makes your poo silky.” She’s 35.
She’s had an upper middle class upbringing, and the author reminds us again and again ‘just how much disposable income she has’, and yet acts like she’s bewildered by something as simple as live octopus sashimi. Most Singaporeans would have frequented enough of Korea to have heard of this dish.
Or at the very least, this continuous act of bewilderment gets very exhausting and cartoonish after a while.
Also - I’m halfway through and she has not yet began writing at this writing retreat. I tried to give this more than a fair shot but will not be reading further.
For example, her Korean batchmate talks about needing to eat silkworms because he grew up poor, and the first thing she’s thinking about is whether eating silk worms “makes your poo silky.” She’s 35.
She’s had an upper middle class upbringing, and the author reminds us again and again ‘just how much disposable income she has’, and yet acts like she’s bewildered by something as simple as live octopus sashimi. Most Singaporeans would have frequented enough of Korea to have heard of this dish.
Or at the very least, this continuous act of bewilderment gets very exhausting and cartoonish after a while.
Also - I’m halfway through and she has not yet began writing at this writing retreat. I tried to give this more than a fair shot but will not be reading further.
October 11, 2022
2.5 stars barely passable.
it was... nice???? but did not have a very tight structure.
- i can see why the "incident" is significant to the narrator but the way it was brought up was way too abrupt
- WHAT IS THE KNOCKING SOUND AND HOW IS IT SIGNIFICANT i had such high hopes for this part like maybe it was symbolism?? but it was NEVER TOUCHED ON AGAIN.
- most of the book reads like a vehemently anti rat race kinda thing which imo is a very one-sided argument and lacks depth
- i hate the ending it seems too flat and stereotypical
writing is plain and simple but reads like a travel guide to korea at times which is not a vibe for me + narrator's lengthy reflections sound very preachy, making some parts just sound like the author was writing a diary. however, i DO have a favourite quote: "What will I do today, knowing I will die tomorrow?" which i took to mean live your life with purpose; read better books. (ok that was a bit mean but the first bit still stands)
it was... nice???? but did not have a very tight structure.
- i can see why the "incident" is significant to the narrator but the way it was brought up was way too abrupt
- WHAT IS THE KNOCKING SOUND AND HOW IS IT SIGNIFICANT i had such high hopes for this part like maybe it was symbolism?? but it was NEVER TOUCHED ON AGAIN.
- most of the book reads like a vehemently anti rat race kinda thing which imo is a very one-sided argument and lacks depth
- i hate the ending it seems too flat and stereotypical
writing is plain and simple but reads like a travel guide to korea at times which is not a vibe for me + narrator's lengthy reflections sound very preachy, making some parts just sound like the author was writing a diary. however, i DO have a favourite quote: "What will I do today, knowing I will die tomorrow?" which i took to mean live your life with purpose; read better books. (ok that was a bit mean but the first bit still stands)
February 19, 2022
The book's really easy on my brain and even more easy on my heart - it's so relatable, and set in Korean in a mountainous and calm rural part - I'm so in love with the friendships that developed, at times I did feel a bit embarrassed on behalf of Audrey, but all the more her honest and earnest encounters made me so appreciative of the people she met. It's subtle, refreshing, and also very sensitive. It brought back fond memories of travel, and also makes me want to live life differently. It's convincing enough to do that <3
Would recommend, I picked it up by chance in my fav bookstore in Singapore, and it was compelling enough for me to finish it (I am quite a bad reader and have very short attention span :P).
Would recommend, I picked it up by chance in my fav bookstore in Singapore, and it was compelling enough for me to finish it (I am quite a bad reader and have very short attention span :P).
April 25, 2022
My first ever review on books. I relate strongly to the character, Audrey, dependent and strong belief in the “Iron Rice Bowl”, which most traditional Singaporeans follow from the previous generation.
After going on the trip, Audrey expanded her thoughts and looked broader in the other side of life rather than just working till retirement. I rated this book 3.5 as I felt that the another could have character build up Audrey, more in-depth on her history that made her this way.
After reading the book, it made me realise that I should venture out into the world rather than being stuck in this tiny little red dot. I highly recommend this book for starters who are looking into travel biography.
After going on the trip, Audrey expanded her thoughts and looked broader in the other side of life rather than just working till retirement. I rated this book 3.5 as I felt that the another could have character build up Audrey, more in-depth on her history that made her this way.
After reading the book, it made me realise that I should venture out into the world rather than being stuck in this tiny little red dot. I highly recommend this book for starters who are looking into travel biography.
January 14, 2024
An uptight Singaporean office worker goes on a writing retreat in South Korea, which turns out to be a life-changing experience. I found the POV -- a Singaporean in South Korea -- refreshing, and I enjoyed the author's descriptions of food and nature in Korea. It made me want to both go to Korea and go on a writing retreat.
October 16, 2025
3/5 irgendwie sehr langweilig und in Monot im Satzbau geschrieben. Auch der Inhalt eine Frau, die von der Arbeitskultur in Singapur eine Pause in einem Retreat in Korea nimmt. Ist jetzt nicht sonderlich einfallsreich hat mich nicht überzeugt und alles wirkte voll artifiziell und hat mir nicht gefallen.
September 22, 2024
Enjoyed reading abt the Korean countryside & its eats!
November 1, 2025
3.5 stars
November 17, 2022
A truly enjoyable read about a budding author’s writing residency experience in Gangwon province. I guess we can all relate to being stuck at our desks leading a typical 9-5 and always dreaming but never really daring to leave our comfort zones so this book is quite a breath of fresh air for me. It made me nostalgic for the kind of serenity I have always longed for. The prose is crisp and witty, and the characters are all too endearing. I loved it :)
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