Rice Bowl

by Suchen Christine Lim

Young, passionate and idealistic, Sister Marie rejects the conformity of her first love, Paul Tan, the police inspector. She embraces the liberalism of her second love, Hans Kuhn, the American missionary, and leads a group of students to question the values of a nation gripped by fear of the government and loss of their rice bowl. They organise a protest march against the Vietnam War, which leads to a riot, detention and deportation of the workers she tries to help. Ser Mei, her student and the daughter of a prostitute, meets a tragic death

Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Born in Malaysia in 1948, grew up on both sides of the causeway that separates Malaysia from Singapore. Came to Singapore at age 14, studied in the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus schools, and the National University of Singapore. Taught in a junior college and worked as a curriculum specialist in the Ministry of Education. Resigned in 2003 to write full time.

Reviews

[Ying Wong · Rating 2 out of 5]

I badly wanted to like this book, as it tells a story that, though not rare, is rarely told— one of rebels in early post-independence Singapore (and the futility of that rebellion). It would no doubt have been groundbreaking in its day, and I think Lim is incredibly brave to have written it. While there are many astute little pearls of observation about Singaporean society and hypocrisy, unfortunately I couldn’t get past what I felt was clunky and unsatisfyingly un-subtle writing.

[A.K. Kulshreshth · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I finished Rachel Heng’s classic The Great Reclamation a few months ago, I reminded myself to read other books that dealt with the birth years of Singapore. This was one of them. Rice Bowl asks important questions about the direction that Singapore took under the People’s Action Party, which has governed it without interruption. The rice bowl of the title symbolises survival, which was by no means guaranteed for the fledgling country.

During the formative years of modern Singapore, the characters of this book struggle to make themselves heard. An opinionated young woman, Marie, enters a convent, but does not withdraw into the order. She has the ability to inspire a band of boys and girls who were her students at one time. Together with an American missionary and another accomplice, an interesting character, she works for the cause of democracy and the right to protest at time when the government is led by an iron-willed leadership that is in a hurry to get everyone a rice bowl, modernise, and stamp out disorder.

This is a courageous book undone by heavy-handed telling, but still worth reading for anyone interested in Singapore.

The edition I read is a special twenty-fifth anniversary edition. Sadly, it is an outrageous example of how not to produce a book. Among the spoilers in the blurbs, we have the following:
1. Marie is deported from Singapore after a demonstration goes wrong.
2. A student, the daughter of a prostitute, meets a tragic death.
3. A suspected Communist agent provocateur goes crazy.
4. A protest march leads to a riot, detention and deportation of workers the protest was intended to help.
.

None of this is necessary on the cover. The best advice I can give you, if you do pick up this slim book, is to not even read the back cover and just go straight into Chapter One.

Rice Bowl deserved better. All we needed to know about it was about the questions it raises, the time it is set in, and inner conflicts of its characters. Those questions remain relevant. One might argue – and to be clear, this is my opinion – that the politicians of the 1960s Singapore who stayed around for a while, and who stamped out dissent, gave people safety and an uneven prosperity way beyond what other leaders did. Whichever way you look at the politics of it, this is a book that matters for the questions it raises. The answers, which we only know in hindsight, will depend on your persuasion; that is beside the point. The character of Sister Marie, I thought, is made more interesting by her flaws.

Suchen Christine Lim has won the Singapore Literature Prize and the South East Asia Write Award. This was her debut novel and would have benefitted from more than the light editing that she did, as she says in her note. I agree with her own assessment: “It is still a powerful story of Singapore’s youth who dared to question the values of a nation governed by fear…”

[Nrlhakimin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rereading a book written by my favourite author once more. I have tried reading it once years ago and gave up on it because I found it so hard to understand. Alhamdulillah I am able to finish it this time.

Rice bowl is a symbolism for the idea that Marie’s trying to preach to the world. It symbolizes the source of income, food and comfort that people need regardless the injustice lingering in the society.

Marie wanted to preach to the world but her ideology was fleeting and had no solid foundation. She challenged her group to stop obliging the rules, fight the norms and live life freely. However, she didn’t have alternatives or constructive ideas to offer in order to fix the problems.

As for me, I see Marie as narcissistic person who craved for power and she fed on people idolizing her. I couldn’t fathom the grand ideas she wanted to instil in the people. Yet, she was living a double life, still lost in a soul searching journey and wanted everybody to do according to her plan. She affected so many people badly and till the very end, she remained unaware of the suffering she had caused others.

The best part of the book is that, the author asked too many questions! Provocative questions that lead your mind wondering into the whole idea of idealism & pragmatism.

The world is neither black nor white. It’s always grey where the collision of both will create balance in the world.

[Baljit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certainly a Singaporean book with a difference. There’s none of the waxing lyrical over oriental charm and effusing over tropical sunsets. This is about a young Singapore and it’s vision to charge into economic development and create a successful people...., but in the story is a young lady who challenges her students to stop and think about the definition of success and at what price. Are they creating great wealth through blind obedience and selling their souls.
Some parts made seem contrived, but the message is that of challenging those in power who are making decisions for the masses. The outcome is not as expected, there are doubts, the are factions within the group and different motives..., but it seems all the more realistic and probably q reflective of the questions this city state faces today.

[Juliana Poh · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book at all. After 7 chapters, I was still wondering what she was trying to express and understood why I couldn’t finish one of her previous books (A Bit of Earth). There were several important issues but none explored in depth. The descriptions were superficial and the story superfluous. The (pitifully) romantic bits were distracting, if only to get the reader to think about white supremacy. If one wants to read about industrialisation in Singapore and the inequality it brings, or conformist mindsets (rice bowl) vs dare to change, there are better options. The 60s/70s setting of this story may have been appealing back in 1984 but is now painfully outdated and irrelevant.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about this. I can understand where some of the characters are coming from, but the tiresomely large and philosophical words used was well... tiresome. But those words and phrasing were quite necessary to reflect the going-ons of that time period, and the stark differences between the English educated and Chinese educated, as well as the blue collars and white collars.

[WF · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why it's taken me so long to get round to reading this book.

[Priya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Annoying book. Had to give up half way. Returning it back to the library.

[Dharra · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved the different perspectives on everything

[Vidya Natasya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first reason I was eager to read this book is because of its patriotism background. It does tells about the struggle and the heroism sense led by a young woman called Sister Marie along with several students. However, I only feel the sense of heroism in the few first pages, especially after the death of Ser Mei, most of the story is all related to the drama and the relations between Sister Marie and Hans Kuhn. The ending is the one you can predict when you already read the half of this book. Well, if you look for any story with a little bit history as background, this one could be an option.

[Yu Shan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Apt description of the ideologies separating the country at that time - capitalism and communism. The way which the author used the protagonist, Marie, to show different groups of people vying for her affection and attention helps to bring out this conflict from several points of view - her students, Hans, her ex-boyfriend Paul, Mak (the communist), the nuns and her parents. Other interesting sub-plots as well, including the death of Ser Mei and Yuen's family conflict.