THIS PLACE CALLED ABSENCE.

Kwa, Lydia.

ISBN 10: 0758201478 / ISBN 13: 9780758201478

Published by Kensington, 2002

About this Item

First US printing. The first novel by this Singapore born, Canadian writer - in it, four narrators tell two stories, one that of a contemporary Chinese-Canadian psychologist mourning the death of her father, another of two Chinese prostitutes in early 20th-century Singapore. The novel opens just after Wu Lan's father has committed suicide at his home in Singapore, and Wu Lan has had a breakdown after returning from the funeral. To distract herself, she begins researching the sex trade in Singapore. Three other women are given voices in this novel: Lee Ah Choi, sold into prostitution by her parents for three sacks of rice; Chow Chat Mui, who fled her father's sexual abuse only to find herself tricked into prostitution; and finally Mahmee, Wu Lan's mother, who is grieving over her husband's death and her separation from her daughter. SIGNED on the title page. 218 pp. Fine in fine dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 82222

Bibliographic Details

Title: THIS PLACE CALLED ABSENCE.

Publisher: Kensington

Publication Date: 2002

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: FINE

Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

Successful psychologist Wu Lan begins reading old journals to find the reasons behind her father's suicide, and discovers the story of young Lee Ah Choi, sold into prostitution, and her affair with runaway Chow Chat Mui, while her mother Mahmee comes to terms with the death of her husband and the loss of her daughter to a different culture, in a novel that interconnects the past and present lives of four extraordinary women. 25,000 first printing.

About the Author:

Lydia Kwa was born in Singapore and came to Canada in 1980. She has a BSc in psychology from the University of Toronto and a MA and PhD in clinical psychology from Queen's University. She has written a book of poetry, The Colours of Heroines. Her poetry appears in the anthology Swallowing Clouds, and her fiction in the anthology Hot and Bothered.