[.ca] Teardrop Story Woman (ISBN 0752825933)

This book is so....:
This book is absolutely tedious. Some descriptions are crude and are not needed in the plot.

Sophisticatedly stupid:
Ok, first of all, this book is illogical, to be more specific, totally illogical, and historically, the worst book I've ever read. However, the beginning of the story is quite fine, but not till the middle and the end. The ending is too predictable, too uncouth and in every respect, disgusting. I hence, proclaim once again that this book, though enhanced by wondrous, beautiful prose, is flawed by the illogical, and abrupt storyline.

Depressing book; enormous empathy for women in that culture:
Well written, interesting story; I'm glad I read it. As a woman, however, I was dispirited by the cruel, dreary, unescapable life perpetrated on Asian females. Need to read something "light" after reading that one!

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

AN ARTFUL VIEW OF ANOTHER TIME IN A DISTANT PLACE:
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.