Suchen Christine Lim

Amy Lai (Hong Kong Polytechnic University); Revised By: Angelia Poon (Nayang Technological University, Singapore)

Ed. by Angelia Poon, Nayang Technological University, Singapore
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 10.4.2: Hong Kong, Singaporean, Malaysian and Myanmar Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Hannah Ho (University of Brunei Darussalam), Angelia Poon (Nayang Technological University, Singapore)

Dates

Born 1948
Activity 1968-ongoing

Places

Born in Malaysia
Active in Malaysia; Singapore; United States

Activities

Primary

Novelist
Playwright / Dramatist

Resources

Suchen Christine Lim is a major figure in Singapore’s literary scene and one of the country’s foremost novelists of historical fiction. Awarded the Cultural Medallion--Singapore’s highest cultural prize--in 2023, she has published a total of six novels, a book of short stories, a work of non-fiction, and numerous children’s books in a writing career that has lasted over four decades.

Lim was born in Ipoh, Malaysia, in 1948 and brought up in a Cantonese household where she spoke no English and where the only book available was the Chinese almanac. Her first encounter with the English language occurred when she entered a convent school in Penang at the age of six. It was, she recalls, a most disorientating experience that effectively rendered her mute as she could not initially understand or communicate with those around...

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

2149 words

Citation: Lai, Amy, Angelia Poon. "Suchen Christine Lim". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 June 2003; last revised 07 January 2026. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2735, accessed 11 February 2026.]