Catherine Lim

Infobox Writer
name = Catherine Lim (林宝音)


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birthdate = 1942
birthplace = Kulim,Malaysia
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citizenship = Singaporean
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website = http://catherinelim.sg
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Catherine Lim (zh-sp|s=林宝音|p=Lín Bǎoyīn) 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 more than 10 collections of short stories, five novels, two poetry collections and numerous political commentaries to date.cite news|last=Yap|first=Stephanie|title=Daily despair|location=Singapore|publisher=Straits Times Life|page=23|date=2008-08-03] Her social commentary in 1994, titled "The PAP and the people - A Great Affective Divide" and published in "The Straits Times" criticised the ruling political party's agendas.

Career

She was born in the town of Kulim in Malaysia, and studied in the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Malaya in 1963. She immigrated to Singapore in 1967 at the age of 26, where she continued to work and furthered her post-graduate education in University of Singapore. In 1988, she received her PhD in Applied Linguistics from the National University of Singapore, and attended Columbia University and the University of California, Berkeley, in 1990 as a Fulbright Scholar. She had also worked as a teacher, and later, as project director with the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore and a specialist lecturer with the Regional Language Centre, teaching Socio-Linguistics and Literature. In 1992, she left her professional career to become a full-time writer. Since then, Lim was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government in 2003 and as an ambassador of the Hans Christian Andersen Foundation in Copenhagen in 2005. She was also honored with an Honorary Doctorate in Literature from Murdoch University and Southeast Asia Write Award.

Lim published her first short story collection called ', which showed the wit with which Lim is able to portray Singaporean society. Another story collection that followed in this tradition was ' from 1988. Her first novel was published in 1982 and it was entitled "The Serpent's Tooth". Other popular books that have been published since then were "The Bondmaid" (1995) and "Following the Wrong God Home". Her major theme in her stories is the role of women in traditional Chinese society and culture. In 1998 Lim was awarded the Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award and in 1999 she received the S.E.A. Write Award.

In 2000, she worked with the now-defunct web portal Lycos Asia to pen an e-novella. The effort was called "Leap of Love" and was sold online (at 19 cents a chapter) before it was published by Horizon Books in 2003. It was released as the film "The Leap Years" by Singapore's Raintree Pictures. It is directed by Jean Yeo and stars Wong Li-Lin and Ananda Everingham.

Her best-selling novel, "The Bondmaid" (which sold 75,000 copies) was initially said to be produced as a film by Hong Kong director, Stanley Kwan, of 'Lan Yu' fame, starring Fann Wong. Confirmation of the production eventually waned off.

However, her novella Leap Of Love was eventually adapted and made into a film The Leap Years in 2008.

"The Great Affective Divide"

In 1994, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong publicly castigated her for writing an article, "The PAP and the people - A Great Affective Divide", published in The Straits Times. The Prime Minister argued that if she wanted to voice her opinion on politics, she should join a political party and her comments, thus, received a so-called "out-of-bounds marker."

References

Works

Novels:
* "The Serpent's Tooth", Times Books International, Singapore, 1982
* "The Bondmaid", self-published, 1995 (Orion 1997; foreign edns 1997, 1998)
* "The Teardrop Story Woman", Orion, London, 1998
* "Deadline for Love and Other Stories", 2001
* "Following the Wrong God Home", Allen & Unwin, London, 2001
* "Leap of Love", Horizon Books, Singapore, 2003 (a novella)
* "The Song of Silver Frond", Orion, London, 2003
* "Unhurried Thoughts At My Funeral", Horizon Books, Singapore, 2005

Short Story Collections:
* "Little Ironies: Stories of Singapore", Heinemann Asia, Singapore, 1978
* "Or Else, the Lightning God and Other Stories", Heinemann Asia, Singapore, 1980
* "The Shadow of a Shadow of a Dream: Love Stories of Singapore", Times Books International, Singapore, 1987
* "O Singapore! Stories in Celebration", Times Books International, Singapore, 1988
* "They Do Return...But Gently Lead Them Back", Times Books International, Singapore, 1989
* "Deadline for Love and Other Stories", Heinemann Asia, 1992
* "Love's Lonely Impulses", Heinemann Asia, Singapore, 1992
* "Meet Me on the Queen Elizabeth", Heinemann Asia, Singapore, 1993
* "The Best of Catherine Lim", Heinemann Asia, Singapore, 1993
* "The Woman's Book of Superlatives", Times Books International, 1993
* "The Howling Silence: tales of the dead and their return", Horizon Books, Singapore 1999

External links

* [http://www.postcolonialweb.org/singapore/literature/c.lim/c.limov.html Catherine Lim on Postcolonialweb.org]
* [http://www.eclectica.org/v5n4/skea_lim.html Review of "Following the Wrong God Home" in Electica Magazine]
* [http://www.mediacorpraintree.com/js/fs.asp?ref=/leapoflove.htm MediaCorp Raintree Picture's press release on Leap of Love]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470420/ Leap of Love on IMDB]
* [http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-525941.html?legacy=zdnn "Catherine Lim opens e-book chapter" - ZDNet Asia. 29 November, 2000]
* [http://www.todayonline.com/pdf_main.asp?pubdate=20060215 Catherine Lim interview in the Plus section of TODAY. 15 February, 2006]