{"product_id":"dearest-intimate","title":"Dearest Intimate","description":"\u003cul class=\"tabs\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"active\"\u003eDescription\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cul class=\"tabs-content\"\u003e\n\u003cli class=\"active\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe famous cross-dressing Cantonese opera singer, Chan Kam Foong, passes away, leaving her secret journal to her granddaughter, Xiu Yin, an archival officer at the Singapore National Archives. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eXiu Yin reads through the journal that chronicles her grandmother’s relationship with Dearest Intimate in their village in China to their respective escapes to the Nanyang before WWII and her desperate search for Dearest Intimate in Singapore. Her grandmother’s reflections and letters to Dearest Intimate forces Xiu Yin to examine her marriage to an abusive husband and she plucks up the courage to leave him. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA surprise encounter with her first love, a rising Cantonese opera singer, brings a period of calm and joy. But when Meng proposes marriage, Xiu Yin backs off and he leaves for Hong Kong. It takes three years of loneliness and letter writing before they reunite again. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSuchen Christine Lim\u003c\/strong\u003e was born in the Malaysian state of Perak and came to Singapore at the age of 14. After graduation, she taught in a junior college and worked as a curriculum specialist in the Ministry of Education. In 2003, she resigned to write full time. \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e Suchen was awarded the inaugural Singapore Literature Prize for \u003cem\u003eFistful of Colours\u003c\/em\u003e in 1992. Among other acclaimed works are her debut novel \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/epigrambookshop.xyz\/products\/rice-bowl-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eRice Bowl\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/epigrambookshop.xyz\/products\/a-bit-of-earth-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Bit of Earth\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe River’s Song\u003c\/em\u003e. In 2012, she was awarded the Southeast Asia Write Award for her body of work.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e Awarded a Fullbright grant, Suchen was a Fellow in the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program and later became its Writer in Residence. She was also a Fellow in Creative Writing at the Nanyang Technological University.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Pansing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40035933094001,"sku":"9789815044348","price":28.0,"currency_code":"SGD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/0041\/products\/dearestintimate.jpg?v=1666316297","url":"https:\/\/epigrambookshop.xyz\/products\/dearest-intimate","provider":"Epigram","version":"1.0","type":"link"}