- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Pte Ltd (30 Mar 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 9814276847
- ISBN-13: 978-9814276849
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,352,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Frog Under A Coconut Shell means in Malay, Katuk Bawah Tempurong , an idiom which likens someone to a frog that lives under a coconut shell, who believes the shell to be its entire world. It is a reference to the author s own mother, who although herself uneducated and living in a parochial existence in a small kampong (attap village), believed in and struggled for a greater vision the right to educate her daughter. The author beautifully evokes the experience of living with her family in rural Potong Pasir of the 1950s and 60s, and paints in heartwarming detail, her mother s life journey from the bloom of her youth to her present affliction with Alzheimer s disease. In part a nostalgic memoir of Old Singapore, Frog Under A Coconut Shell, is also, most wholeheartedly, a testament to the love and courage of a mother that changed the life of her daughter forever.
About the Author
Josephine Chia is a Peranakan who is proud of her heritage. Born and raised in Kampong Potong Pasir, Singapore, she was an Assistant Nurse (Dental) before graduating with a BA (Hons) from the National University of Singapore. Since migrating to England in 1985 and reading for a Masters in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, Josephine has won several prizes for her short stories in the UK, including the prestigious Ian St James Award. Her stories have been published in two UK anthologies; and her novel and short stories were published extensively in Singapore. Josephine also teachers yoga and has written a book on yoga and health.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The moving story of a little woman, helpless to gain much for herself but with the leap of vision to know, that she must fight for her daughter to receive the education which she knew was the only way she could protect her child from inheriting the same hardships that she herself endured.
'A Frog Under a Coconut Shell' takes its readers into a rarely observed kampong of Singapore. We can share the way of life there: the food and the hunger; the poverty accepted, but also the means by which this little frog made enough to pay for her daughter's education in spite of opposition from her husband. Then the persistence she showed to the schools to obtain a place for her child, the author of her mother's life.
This is a remarable Cinderella story of two generations of women, the old who helped the young until the young was able to do the same service for the mother. Mak's story is of the East, of Singapore, Josephine's Chia's story is of the East meeting, and conquering the West. Remarkably, Josephine has achieved writing talent that makes her able to tell these two stories with an immediacy that makes then both come alive on the page.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a story about a mother's love for her daughter and a daughter's love for her mother, beautifully written that captures the imagination and inspires the reader to realise that no matter the environment and circumstances of birth, it is love that provides the inner strength to overcome difficulties and rise above tradition and cultural differences to create a different reality.
Format:Paperback
I've just read this remarkable book, not only did it evoke memories, but the clear descriptions, the language, and the wonderful presentation, made it come alive.
It was well written, with the use of unusual comparisons.
The author told her story without bias.Her creative efforts have obviously made her the success she is today.
Her vibrant writing style is depicted in this tale of a mothers love and how it surmounts most problems.
From humble beginnings, a wordsmith has emerged.
It was well written, with the use of unusual comparisons.
The author told her story without bias.Her creative efforts have obviously made her the success she is today.
Her vibrant writing style is depicted in this tale of a mothers love and how it surmounts most problems.
From humble beginnings, a wordsmith has emerged.
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