River's Song

The River's Song is a moving, lyrical novel which deftly weaves together the themes of love, South-East Asian music and culture, and the social and political consequences of urban modernisation. Ping, the daughter of a renowned folk musician in Singapore's Chinatown's, loves Weng, the voice of the people, but family circumstances drive them apart. While Ping goes to university in America, Weng is sent to prison for his part in local protests. Many years later, Ping returns to a country transformed by prosperity. Gone are the boatmen and hawkers who once lived along the river. In their place rise luminous glass and steel towers proclaiming the power of the city state. Can Ping face her former lover and reveal the secret that has separated them for over thirty years?