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The serpent's tooth
Bestselling author Catherine Lim spins a yarn of Asian superstition, beliefs and myths against a backdrop of callous, faceless modernity. The serpent's Tooth neatly telescopes three generations of traditional household into one dysfunctional household held together by the bondage of family ties and a history of wasted efforts and desperate self-delusion.
in this quiet tragedy of everyday man, only Angela, the daughter-in-law, the stoic Old Mother, the adopted idiot Bock and the black sheep Michael are left to preserve the substance of the family as it crumbles under the weight of materialism, spite and envy.
-source : black flap of the book
in this quiet tragedy of everyday man, only Angela, the daughter-in-law, the stoic Old Mother, the adopted idiot Bock and the black sheep Michael are left to preserve the substance of the family as it crumbles under the weight of materialism, spite and envy.
-source : black flap of the book
- GenresFiction
184 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
1 person is currently reading
44 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Lim
53 books79 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
林宝音 in Chinese
Catherine Lim Poh Imm (Chinese: 林宝音; pinyin: Lín Bǎoyīn, born 21 March 1942) is a Singaporean fiction author known for writing about Singapore society and of themes of traditional Chinese culture. Hailed as the "doyenne of Singapore writers", Lim has published nine collections of short stories, five novels, two poetry collections, and numerous political commentaries to date.
(from Wikipedia)
林宝音 in Chinese
Catherine Lim Poh Imm (Chinese: 林宝音; pinyin: Lín Bǎoyīn, born 21 March 1942) is a Singaporean fiction author known for writing about Singapore society and of themes of traditional Chinese culture. Hailed as the "doyenne of Singapore writers", Lim has published nine collections of short stories, five novels, two poetry collections, and numerous political commentaries to date.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 1, 2014
east meets west and everything in between.
I hink ones will have to know a lot about the tradition carry on in Malaysia and Singapore to fully appreciate this story.
for some, the old mother rambling about serpent is just because she is senile. But if to follow the old ways , she is talking perfect sense. Yes there is practice of giving a child to another family due to clash of birth date with the parents.
I can also understand point of view from Angela. Typical woman who value face saving very much and at the same time wants the best for her family.
the good thing about this book is that it is not a sad story
overall I liked the story but am not giving it 5 stars as reading this stars makes me feel restless and uneasy. like a spectator who is witnessing an accident but can't do anything about it.
I hink ones will have to know a lot about the tradition carry on in Malaysia and Singapore to fully appreciate this story.
for some, the old mother rambling about serpent is just because she is senile. But if to follow the old ways , she is talking perfect sense. Yes there is practice of giving a child to another family due to clash of birth date with the parents.
I can also understand point of view from Angela. Typical woman who value face saving very much and at the same time wants the best for her family.
the good thing about this book is that it is not a sad story
overall I liked the story but am not giving it 5 stars as reading this stars makes me feel restless and uneasy. like a spectator who is witnessing an accident but can't do anything about it.
September 13, 2020
Angela is a sophisticated woman married to a wealthy Singaporean businessman who is about to embark a political career. She has everything that will make other women jealous: good life, great husband, first son who is a straight As student and the daughter who is excels at sports. Her life is complete even the third son is lacking of ambition in living a life. In short, she really leads a great life until the father in law passed away.
Since the death of her father-in-law, Angela will have to deal with her mother-in-law who moves in with the family. She does not think that a mother in law can turn into a monster in law tho 😈😈👻👻🧙🏻♀️🧙🏻♀️🧛♀️🧛♀️
While the family enjoys eating beef, the Old Woman thinks that they shouldn’t eat it. When the whole family consume vitamin pills to maintain their health, the Old Woman will brews some herbs causing heavy smell in their spotless kitchen. The Old Woman also tells fairy tales and believes in superstitions. She once tells a story about the serpent and without we know, the serpent becomes more than a fairy tales but an allegory that Lim uses to portray the life of a Chinese Singaporean in her novel.
Lim’s way of telling story is complex and often witty in this novel. She presents the readers with the Chinese culture, beliefs, modern vs old generation in Singapore and the superstitions. If Angela represents the modern version of Singapore and her mother-in-law represent the old generation, Lim remains neutral in telling the story. However, I personally love the Bondmaid better than the Serpent’s Tooth. I was thrilled while I was reading the Bondmaid because the stories there were pretty captivating. The Serpent’s Tooth is the contrary. The story is somehow too plain. I feel like I am just watching a movie and I feel the tense from restraining the pent-up emotions without even able to release those tensions.
Since the death of her father-in-law, Angela will have to deal with her mother-in-law who moves in with the family. She does not think that a mother in law can turn into a monster in law tho 😈😈👻👻🧙🏻♀️🧙🏻♀️🧛♀️🧛♀️
While the family enjoys eating beef, the Old Woman thinks that they shouldn’t eat it. When the whole family consume vitamin pills to maintain their health, the Old Woman will brews some herbs causing heavy smell in their spotless kitchen. The Old Woman also tells fairy tales and believes in superstitions. She once tells a story about the serpent and without we know, the serpent becomes more than a fairy tales but an allegory that Lim uses to portray the life of a Chinese Singaporean in her novel.
Lim’s way of telling story is complex and often witty in this novel. She presents the readers with the Chinese culture, beliefs, modern vs old generation in Singapore and the superstitions. If Angela represents the modern version of Singapore and her mother-in-law represent the old generation, Lim remains neutral in telling the story. However, I personally love the Bondmaid better than the Serpent’s Tooth. I was thrilled while I was reading the Bondmaid because the stories there were pretty captivating. The Serpent’s Tooth is the contrary. The story is somehow too plain. I feel like I am just watching a movie and I feel the tense from restraining the pent-up emotions without even able to release those tensions.
August 17, 2013
Đã từ lâu em theo tôn chỉ đời quá ngắn cho sách dở nên sau nhiều chục trang mà không thấy hào quang thì em thẳng cánh cò bay. Cuốn Răng rắn này, tiểu thuyết đầu tay của chị Catherine Lim mà theo wiki là "doyenne of Singapore writers" em chọn ngẫu nhiên từ giá sách thư viện và thực tình muốn ỏm tỏi lên theo kiểu gom đũa cả nắm, hừ, Sing lit chỉ có thế thôi đó. Nhưng mới rồi lại đọc được các bạn LA Review of Books có quy tắc là hem uýnh cuốn đầu tay của nhà văn,với một lời giải thích rất nhân văn "That most authors’ careers fade away on their own, and that it’s easy and not that interesting to eviscerate first-timers" mà em thì rất là vọng ngoại vọng bạch nên em cũng thẳng cánh cò bay vụ rì viu. Nghĩ lại thì chị Lim này sự nghiệp rực rỡ số zách chớ có bong bóng xà phòng đâu.
Nội dung cuốn này thì đại khái một cô con dâu tên là Angela ngồi than van về gia đình chồng hệt các mẹ trên webtretho. Nói như vậy là đủ hiểu :) Nghe bảo chị Lim nay phân khúc thị trường chuyên viết về khía cạnh đời sống của các bạn Tàu ở Sing. Có thể Tây chúng nó thích, chứ gì đời em toàn chuyện gia đình chồng vợ oán thán lẫn nhau và các thể loại mê tín dị đoan rồi, em không cần đọc sách để sống lại chuyện người ta ghét nhau thêm lần nữa.
Em lại nghe bảo truyện ngắn của chị Lim được đưa vào chương trình sách giáo khoa hay thi cử gì đó, vậy là quá gớm, có kém Nam Cao các kiểu gì đâu. Và nghe bảo tiếp là tập truyện ngắn đầu tiên của chị, Little Ironies: Stories of Singapore, được của nó. Tương lai xa em sẽ mượn cuốn này về đọc cho biết.
Em viết dài và em mệt quá.
Nội dung cuốn này thì đại khái một cô con dâu tên là Angela ngồi than van về gia đình chồng hệt các mẹ trên webtretho. Nói như vậy là đủ hiểu :) Nghe bảo chị Lim nay phân khúc thị trường chuyên viết về khía cạnh đời sống của các bạn Tàu ở Sing. Có thể Tây chúng nó thích, chứ gì đời em toàn chuyện gia đình chồng vợ oán thán lẫn nhau và các thể loại mê tín dị đoan rồi, em không cần đọc sách để sống lại chuyện người ta ghét nhau thêm lần nữa.
Em lại nghe bảo truyện ngắn của chị Lim được đưa vào chương trình sách giáo khoa hay thi cử gì đó, vậy là quá gớm, có kém Nam Cao các kiểu gì đâu. Và nghe bảo tiếp là tập truyện ngắn đầu tiên của chị, Little Ironies: Stories of Singapore, được của nó. Tương lai xa em sẽ mượn cuốn này về đọc cho biết.
Em viết dài và em mệt quá.
December 30, 2023
Skilful characterisation of a mother-in-law / daughter-in-law dynamic that feels believable rather than a stereotype, despite having all the stereotypical features. Also, a bold move to tell most of the story from the perspective of the character with the least self-awareness.
April 5, 2023
I really enjoy Catherine's writing but this one is a No for me...
April 12, 2016
Had looked forward to reading this for a very long time (after enjoying 'The Bondmaid) but was sadly disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews