In A Bit of Earth, Suchen Christine Lim deftly weaves historical fact and a fiery imagination in a visually powerful multicultural story that spans three generations and four decades—proving once again that she is one of Asia’s leading fiction writers.

Malaya. A land of unparalleled richness. For centuries, the peninsula has attracted fortune hunters, money-grabbing pirates and migrants seeking a better life. Among those whose lives are rooted in the Malayan soil are three families: the Wongs, sons of the Chinese earth; the Wees, subjects of the English gods; and the Mahmuds, scions of the Malayan soil; each with different dreams for the bit of earth they live on. Their destinies meet and this clash of hopes inevitably leads to tragedy.

“A Bit of Earth chronicles the visceral and cultural struggle of a young Chinese immigrant to survive in an equally struggling Malayan nation… The immigrant earns his bit of earth only by continuously re-inventing himself and by negotiation with the forces of history.” — Lily Rose Tope, Professor, Department of English & Comparative Literature, University of the Philippines 

Suchen Christine Lim is an award-winning author of novels, short stories, children’s stories and a non-fiction book.

In 2012 she was awarded the Southeast Asia Write Award for her body of work. Fistful of Colours (1992), winner of the inaugural Singapore Literature Prize, is cited as a classic Singapore novel. Among other acclaimed works are A Bit of Earth (2001) and The River’s Song (2014). Her latest work of fiction Dearest Intimate was published in Oct 2022.

Awarded a Fullbright grant, Suchen was a Fellow in the University of Iowa’s International Writing Program and later its Writer in Residence. She was also a Fellow in Creative Writing at the Nanyang Technological University, and has held writing residences in the US, UK, Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar.

Malaya. A land of unparalleled richness. For centuries, the peninsula has attracted fortune hunters, money-grabbing pirates and migrants seeking a better life. Among those whose lives are rooted in the Malayan soil are three families: the Wongs, sons of the Chinese earth; the Wees, subjects of the English gods; and the Mahmuds, scions of the Malayan soil; each with different dreams for the bit of earth they live on. Their destinies meet and this clash of hopes inevitably leads to tragedy.