Catherine Lim is the best local writer I have ever come across and have enjoyed books written by her ever since I've read this. Most of Catherine Lim' short stories in this book emphasize the Asian superstition.It is an interesting book that does not allow you to put the book down for a minute.

Good, very meaningful and interesting. One of the best books I have read

Singapore life and lifestyles have been captured and portrayed to the full by this wonderful lady. For anyone curious on how the people of Singapore and Malaysia think and live, this book is a must! I loved it

_The Bondmaid_ is a good yarn. There's a strong story line, but it seems to rush on towards the end. The first half of the book moves on at a more leisurely pace, where we are given insights into the psyche and the behaviour of the characters, and the rivalry between characters (the bondmaids group themselves into rival factions; the rivalry between Li-Li (Wu's eventual wife) and Han (the bondmaid); and of course there is the contrast between the free people and the bondmaids). Once Han is expelled from the house of Wu, we seem to move into a series of dreams - very quickly Han discovers her pregnancy, and very quickly she is born, discovers that her son was exchanged for Li-Li's daughter, and she drowns in the pond distraught. Why the rush, I wonder. I also find the frisson between Han and young master Wu a little unconvincing. We are also given very few physical descriptions of the pair - except that Han is beautiful. I like to see the characters in my mind's eye, but Lim has decided not to help her readers along this time. I prefer her more recent book: _The Teardrop Story Woman_.

Beginning of story is well-paced, exploring the interesting characters. But some issues were not adequately addressed like how Young master Wu felt towards his wife Li-Li since young til before and after their marriage, prior to her pregnancy. And his falling in love with Han happened so quickly and mysteriously, it almost seemed like the author was trying to avoid writing too much about it. The part about the sky-god raping the goddess was totally baffling. Still, the other parts of the story were captivating enough especially towards the end when Han suffered. The surprisingly tragical ending sorta made up for the earlier confusing parts.

Recommended to those interested in the traditional chinese culture.

I've never read anything by Lim before. I thought this was a good book and it was worth the time it took to get read. I'm definately going to pick up more books by this author. Although the ending was a but abrupt, it was an engrossing tale about a situation rarely written about.

Catherine Lim's collection of short stories make an effort to communicate. It is exotic and, since written from an Asian point of view, does convey (a little) the routine emotions so close to us Singaporeans. But it does not make an effort to bridge the gap between our emotions and the psychology of the characters she wishes to convey. In that sense it is bland and boring. A book that is perhaps interesting, but only because it is different. It has almost no literary merit in terms of its psychological makeup.

I am using the The Best Of Catherin Lim as a examination text in my school. It adopts a very Singaporean setting and mindset. It evokes one's mind and makes him think about the various aspects of life. The characters in the stories are brought alive with vivid descriptions and the plot is very understandable. In all, household situations have been drawn up into short stories.

There are a total of 18 short stories compiled in this book.  All the stories are very interesting and involve a lot of innate feelings. and this book is sensitive to our emotions - sadness, madness, happiness to see one suffering. Typical esoteric Singaporean flair and fare. But some stories can be unbelievably exaggerated. Read it if you need some paranoia in your life!

Lovely short stories written by one of my favourite authors. Ms. Lim's stories takes me back to a life I left behind many yeas ago.

Considerable amount of effort put into description.....but...effort not appreciated. Too tedious to read. Simple plot, illogical handling of emotions of charaters

I give this title one star for the window into another culture, time and place that it opens and one star for the romance - sure it's all been done before but I'm a [fan]for unattainable priests falling in love with women stuck in doomed marriages!
It was a bit annoying that Mei Kwei was so perfect and precious and more beautiful than any woman who has ever roamed the earth, and that all of that is her curse. But that's the way these books work, I suppose!
It wasn't a very readable book, I found myself pushing to get it finished so that I could move on to something a bit more devourable.
Overall, not a bad read - the descriptions of the characters' surroundings and the characters' emotions are well-crafted, but apart from that, a bit of a drag.

With The Teardop Story Woman, a starkly vivid canvas of 1934 Malayan life, Catherine Lim has produced an affecting yet chilling tale. Her richly embroidered glimpses into a hitherto little known culture fascinate, that society's misogynism appalls. This unlikely mix has resulted in an absorbing, substantive novel.

While Mei Kwei, the heroine, is predictably beautiful, and Father Francois Martin, the hero, is predictably unavailable, the munificence of telling detail and artfully rendered description transcend a slender plot line.

Damned into the world from the day of her birth because of a "despised slit between the tiny, quivering legs instead of the prized curl of flesh." Mei Kwei might have been bartered for whiskey, coffee powder, and cotton cloth had it not been for the intervention of Big Older Brother who screamed his protest.

Three years her senior, he feeds her tidbits from his bowl, protects her from neighboring bullies, and later comes to her bed promising not to hurt her for he "knew the precise limits of his lust; she would still be passed on intact to her husband."

Detested by her father and ignored by her mother, Mei Kwei turns to Second Grandmother, a former concubine with tiny bound feet who wears shoes the size of a doll's. The aged woman comforts Mei Kwei with stories, transporting the child into a privileged world she can scarcely imagine - sharp contrast to their impoverished existence.

Thankfully, the young girl is almost preternaturally resilient, markedly resourceful, "Learning from an early age that females were a dependent class, living on surplus, she first grew timid, then canny...."

She also longs for an education, gazing with hungry eyes through classroom windows. Impressed by Mei Kwei's intellectual promise, Sister St. Elizabeth persuades the girl's father, Ah Oon Koh, to let the child attend school. Mei Kwei's happiness in learning is short lived as the opium addicted Ah Oon Koh's soon becomes infuriated by his daughter's exposure to a foreign culture, her growing familiarity with a repugnant tongue. After he physically takes her from St. Margaret's convent school, a disheartened Mei Kwei burns her treasured exercise books.

At her family's behest Mei Kwei agrees to see Old Yoong, one of the wealthiest men in Penang, who delights in exploring her face with his "hot dry mouth." But Mei Kwei is unable to tolerate the older man's attentions.

Eventually, she accepts the proposal of Austin Tong, a Catholic convert and wealthy restauranteur. In return for her promise of marriage Austin lavishes her family with gifts and employs the irresponsible Big Older Brother.

As Austin's wife she is able to care for her family, yet she continues to dream of the white missionary, Father Martin. She has made her bargain, but learns there is an even higher price to pay. Yet, it is a price that brings Father Martin back into her life one last time.

Vivid scenes of life in Luping, Malaya some sixty years ago, such as women shearing their hair then binding their breasts to discourage marauding Japanese soldiers, the presenting of offerings - oranges and joss-sticks - to placate the Kek Lok temple gods, aromas of herbals teas, and odors of the marketplace are all presented in such lucid detail that scenes spring to vibrant life.

Catherine Lim paints remarkable word pictures. Her portraits of the Tick Tock man, "a Chinese itinerant hawker pushing his food cart with one hand and knocking wooden clappers with the other," and Pig Auntie who raised swine yet "took great care to keep her fine eyebrows plucked into two delicate arches" are noteworthy.

Placed against the backdrop of clashing cultures and mixed blood, all of Ms. Lim's characters enhance her fastidiously etched Malayan mural. The Teardrop Story Woman offers an artful view of another time in an intriguingly distant place.