Shirley Lim: 6 books

The short stories of Shirley Geok-lin Lim—born in Malacca, Malaysia and now Professor of English and Women’s Studies at the University of California—reflect the complex mosaic of her world. From the rich Peranakan tradition of her childhood to the harsh perplexity of American life in adulthood,...

The novel is set in 1969 Kuala Lumpur, against a backdrop of political turmoil and social changes. Married to wealthy, conservative Henry, English literature graduate Li An is torn between the comforting lull of a secure world and the seductive erotism of the unknown, foreign spaces. When tragedy strikes...

Sister Swing chronicles the growing up years of three sisters. It follows their transplant from a relatively sheltered life in Malaysia to the raw realities of the United States. It illuminates the complex relationships between the sisters, and gently but firmly explores the morals, values and mindsets of growing up Asian in a Western world.

This “fascinating autobiography” from an award-winning Asian-American female author “reads like a novel” (The Washington Post Book World). With insight, candor, and grace, Shirley Geok-lin Lim recalls her path from her poverty-stricken childhood in war-torn Malaysia to her new and exciting...

When we imagine the activities of Asian American women in the mid-twentieth century, our first thoughts are not of skiing, beauty pageants, magazine reading, and sororities. Yet, Shirley Jennifer Lim argues, these are precisely the sorts of leisure practices many second generation Chinese, Filipina,...

Two Dreams draws together the best of Shirley Geok-lin Lim’s short fiction from nearly three decades, most of it never before available in the United States, and includes important new work. The setting of these sometimes wryly funny, sometimes heartbreaking stories shifts from the war-torn, tradition-bound...