Leap of Fate

Growing up in the 1950s in a village known as Lorong Limau, a group of young Singaporeans found themselves having to navigate livelihoods and relationships in unexpected tragicomic ways. Siblings would turn out to be lifelong enemies, money-or rather the lack of it-a crippling nightmare, love an ever posture of deception, wild gossip the coup de grâ ce. In spite of it all, the unforeseen-even death itself-would every so often become a flint for courage and redemption for some of the protagonists especially Tin, a brave teenage girl who continued to defy familial odds, and Mona, a widow-turned-prostitute who was forced to thwart her own expectations. Equal parts inspired by real-life anecdotes and borne of imagination, this story promises to lay bare the struggles and aspirations of those living in that era, a place and time unwittingly defined by societal taboos and quirky traditions long vanished from the face of contemporary Singapore. Ultimately, it's a story of what it means to be human when fate decides to take a leap.

Jansen Lim is the author of two fiction novels: The Ties That Bite and In Rio You Love a Little More. His essays and feature articles have appeared in a range of publications from travel and lifestyle magazines to The Straits Times. He has also worked as a global project manager, lecturer, and videographer, and he lives in Singapore.