For this episode I spoke to Charmaine Leung author of 17A Keong Saik Road: A Personal Story.
Her memoir recalls a childhood in 1970s Chinatown when it was a prominent red light district in Singapore, and takes its name from the address of the brothel that her mother used to run.
The book starts with Charmaine’s mother coming to Singapore as a young child after being sold by her birth parents, and weaves together an intimate family portrait with the broader history of Keong Saik’s transformation from the 1930s up to the present day.
I learnt about a lesser-known part of Singapore’s history, traditional customs and even some of the requirements of running a brothel successfully. But what shines through most of all is the resilience of the women whose lives are chronicled, as they persevered through immense challenges towards a better future.
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Show notes
- Introduction to Chinatown’s history (01:45)
- Awareness of Chinatown’s status as a red light district growing up (05:40)
- Adults’ shame about living in Chinatown (07:49)
- Interaction with working women as a child (10:01)
- Using makeup as a form of armour (12:38)
- Uncovering her mother’s life story (14:06)
- Taking inspiration from her mother (15:49)
- Moving out of the red light district (17:40)
- Charmaine’s writing process (19:14)
- Trigger for starting work on the memoir (20:46)
- The hardest part of writing 17A Keong Saik Road (23:16)
- Mother’s reaction to the book (25:57)
- Charmaine’s feelings when she goes back to Keong Saik today (31:51)
- Literary inspiration for the writing (33:35)
- Advice Charmaine would you give to her younger self (35:17)
- Writing projects in the pipeline (37:15)
- Quick fire questions on Singapore (39:35)
- Which creative person or group would you like to shine a spotlight on? (43:30)
- Who would you like to say thank you to and why? (44:40)
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Unless otherwise stated, I do not receive any payment or gifts in kind for endorsement. I also promise never to try and sell you Fit Tea.
Henry Yorke 