HAPPENIN’ . programmes + events
We are pleased to have author Dawn Farnham discussing with us her book “The Red Thread”. The details:
Date/Time: 3.00pm, Friday 24 October 2008
Venue: The Activity Room, Bukit Batok Community Library
Author: Ms Dawn Farnham
Book: The Red Thread: a Chinese tale of love and fate in 1830s Singapore
Call No.: SING English 823 FAR
Facilitator: Ms Margaret Brinham
Please note this book discussion starts earlier than normal at 3.00pm as on this day, all National Library Board’s public libraries will close at 5.00pm for its annual D & D.
About the book:
Like Chinese silk, The Red Thread is, by turns, gentle and strong, exploring a love that breaks through the divide of race and culture, a love that is both deeply physical and a marriage of souls. Set against the backdrop of 1830s Singapore where piracy, crime, triads and tigers are commonplace, this cultural romance follows the struggle of two lovers: Zhen, once the loweliest of Chinese coolies and triad member, later chosen to marry into a Peranakan family of Baba Chinese merchants; and Charlotte, an 18-year-old Scots girl and sister of Singapore’s Head of Police. Two cultures bound together by the invisible threads of fate yet separated by cultural diversity.
By incorporating real figures from Singapore’s historical past, Dawn Farnham brings to life the heady atmosphere of Old Singapore, where exotic beliefs and customs clash and jostle in the struggle to make a life and create mutual understanding between peoples from different worlds.
(Taken from Monsoon Books, the publisher).
About the author: Dawn Farnham, 59, was born in England, grew up in Perth and has lived in China, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan with her journalist husband. They now live in Singapore. Her debut novel “The Red Thread” is set in 1830s Singapore and tells the love story of a Chinese man and a Scotswoman.
You can listen to an interview with Dawn that was conducted earlier this year.
UPDATE: The following are some photos from the session
If you are interested in participating, please email Soon Huat at Soon_Huat_KWEH@nlb.gov.sg.
Contributed by Kweh Soon Huat, Adult and Young People’s Services
Have you participated in this event?
Post your comments, or email to HBeditor@nlb.gov.sg
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5 responses so far ↓
1 Margaret // Oct 28, 2008 at 1:12 pm
We had a really enjoyable time on Friday, when Dawn Farnham came to talk about her book, The Red Thread. The discussion was lively, and Dawn’s warm and enthusiastic personality made her a popular guest.
Red Thread tells of the love story between the fictional characters of Charlotte and Zhen, interwoven quite believably with actual historical figures and events in 1830s Singapore. Dawn’s enormous amount of research gave us a very readable history book, as well as love story.
The Red Thread is Dawn’s first of four books in a planned Quartet. The second, “The Shallow Seas” is due for release in November.
Dawn discussed her writing methods with us, and spoke to us of her love of poetry, particularly the Tang Poets, which led me to look up and read some on the internet.
Thank you for a most entertaining afternoon, Dawn. Hopefully you can come back sometime, to discuss your future books.
2 soonhuat // Oct 31, 2008 at 10:40 am
The thing that struck me most when reading “The Red Thread” was the amount of research that went into writing the book. The social millieu of the book was set in the mid-19th century in Singapore.
With the conjugal interracial relationship between a local Chinese man and an English woman, the plot took a deviantionist slant. The book delves into philosophy, religion and matters of cultural challenges in the characters’ portrayal.
Dawn also shared with us the upcoming sequel to this book which follows Charlotte and Zhen’s life adventures.
3 Gloria // Oct 31, 2008 at 9:40 pm
It was my first time at the book club and I would say I enjoyed every bit of it. It is interesting to listen to authors and know how they come up with the stories and characters. Frankly, I got to learn alot from Dawn as her knowledge of poetry , religion, history and culture really got me into listening.
Her work is a nice fusion of heritage and romance that I think Singapore’s RainTree can consider producing as a movie.
4 Gloria // Oct 31, 2008 at 9:41 pm
And yes , the book club was very very enjoyable with dah nice finger food and amicable members, well-organised too. Thanks Soon Huat for introducing me such great stuff!
5 loo shien // Nov 3, 2008 at 11:28 am
It was my first time attending a book club and I was impressed by the mental stimulation it had offered.
Dawn the author and the members shared and mused on writing, history and the characters in The Red Thread.
Even without having read the story, listening to them speak about Charlotte and Zhen made it seem like those characters were so, so real. Everyone was almost able to envision the book being turned into a movie.
Dawn appeared to be a masterful storyteller in person as well, as she teased everyone by revealing snippets of her follow-up novels to this book.
Personally I experienced another facet to the power of Fiction. It bring to my mind two phrases: “Art imitates Life” & “Life imitates Art”.
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