
The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds
The Malayan saga
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Narrated by:
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Christine Rendel
Facing challenges in an increasingly colonial world, Chye Hoon, a rebellious young girl, must learn to embrace her mixed Malayan-Chinese identity as a Nyonya - and her destiny as a cook, rather than following her first dream of attending school like her brother.
Amidst the smells of chillies and garlic frying, Chye Hoon begins to appreciate the richness of her traditions, eventually marrying Wong Peng Choon, a Chinese man. Together, they have ten children. At last, she can pass on the stories she has heard - magical tales of men from the sea - and her warrior's courage, along with her wonderful kueh (cakes).
But the cultural shift towards the West has begun. Chye Hoon finds herself afraid of losing the heritage she so prizes as her children move more and more into the modernising Western world.
©2016 Selina Siak Chin Yoke. (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...




















I highly recommend it.
Loved It
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Absolutely beautiful story
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this story was captivating
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The only reason story is not rated 5 is because it lacks clear singular crisis. Of course this is more realistic as it covers the life of a Chinese matriarch. Wonderfully told; perfectly narrated.
Wonderfully told; perfectly narrated!
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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
Mixed bag.I really, really, really disliked Chye Hoon's oldest son. She spent so much time bailing him out of trouble, and for what? He was such an unappreciative little chit. I don't often take such a dislike to a character, but he was just awful, and a lot of the story, especially the end, revolves around this mother-son relationship. I couldn't wait to get done in order to rid myself of this ungrateful son.
If you’ve listened to books by Selina Siak Chin Yoke before, how does this one compare?
First oneWhat about Christine Rendel’s performance did you like?
She did a good job with the voices of the different characters.Did The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds inspire you to do anything?
Make sure my only son is not a complete brat! Perhaps learn more about Malaysian culture.Any additional comments?
I wanted to like this book, and I did at first, but it was slow and tedious at the end. I was glad to be done with it.Good, not great
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loved the story every word took me to a new world.
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jumps out
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thoroughly enjoyed
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The book is slow moving, repetitive and much too long for the content. The day-to-day life story telling is, at times, interesting, but not especially exciting. The book is 476 pages and would have been a much more enjoyable story had it been about 300 pages long. There are a lot of characters in this book and I found it very difficult to keep them all straight. I did enjoy learning the historical aspect of the Malayan-Chinese culture, particularly as the “white devil” takes over more and more of her country. “Her ancestors would fight for her spirit, but so too would the white devils who had come to rule. They had taken first our land and then our souls.”
The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds is apparently book 1 of a 2 book family saga.
For more of my book reviews follow me on Instagram at #emptynestreader and on Goodreads.
Malaysian woman in 1800s
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I felt like I was right there!
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