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The Author on Her Work
Until I began research for Breaking the Tongue, my sense of the fall of Singapore and World War II
was far different from what really happened. In history class the details we were given were sketchy,
and some of the basic "facts" were totally inaccurate. It was the Japanese who bombed the Causeway in
1945, we were told, to cut off the water supply from Malaysia. In reality, the British ordered the
bombing to prevent the Japanese from marching across the Causeway and taking Singapore. During my
schooling, I was shamefully ignorant of this, as are many Singaporean students today.
In the novel I wanted to explore how history is made up of many narratives, and how one version comes to
be selected over all others as the "official" record. That's why I chose to use Claude Lim's
interrogation by the Japanese as a frame for the story. Claude offers up many versions of different
events (many of which he could not have known about)—and of course he is under torture. So I am
encouraging the reader, like the interrogators, to try to sift out the "truth" in Claude's
various accounts.
People have asked me why I decided not to translate the Chinese at the end of the book. That's the
point when the book literally becomes impermeable to the English reader, and that experience of being
unable to cross a linguistic barrier was one I wanted my reader to wrestle with. While this is a
terrifying scene, it's also redemptive for Claude as he finally claims his own heritage, history, and
language.
Discussion
Questions
1. Humphrey Lim never wavers in his belief that behaving "British" is the best way for himself and his
family to lead a truly civilized life. Has Humphrey turned his back on his culture, or has he simply
embraced a new one? Did he have reason to believe that the British would "save them" when the Japanese
invaded? Can you think of other groups that have sustained this misguided belief?
2. Does Claude disdain the "locals" because of what Humphrey taught him, or does his attitude come from
somewhere else? By rejecting Chinese culture, is Claude correct in labeling himself not Chinese? How
does he struggle with his identity, even before he meets Ling-Li?
3. Claude and Ling-Li are an unlikely pair, different in temperament, outlook, and background. Had they
met under different circumstances, could their relationship have developed into romance?
4. What part does Cynthia play in Claude's life? Is she a good or a bad mother? What decisions has she
made about living her life? Why does she make them?
5. Jack Winchester is much taken with Malaysia, and with the "local flavour" Claude shows him. What
fascinates him so, and how does his experience in Singapore compare with his previous life in England?
What are Jack’s true feelings about Cynthia?
6. Despite the clear disparity in the way whites and "coloureds" are treated Jack seems bewildered that
Claude feels a difference between himself and Jack. Does Jack’s casual dismissal of the treatment
endured by Claude—at the theater, in the restaurant—mean that Jack is naïve, arrogant or
simply cheerfully cavalier about class distinctions?
7. What if anything does Jack learn from Claude? Has Jack changed by the end of the novel?
8. Grandma Siok is fond of quoting from Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Does she live by the principles
laid out by Sun Tzu? What is she trying to impart to young Claude, and is she successful?
9. How would you interpret Claude's dream about Ling-li and the crocodile? What responsibility did
Claude have toward Ling-li? Did he fulfill it?
10. At one point, Claude thinks of Japanese people as "short and yellow, slit-eyed, unintelligible."
Given the antagonism between cultures and the historical time frame, is Claude racist? Can you think of
parallels to other times, or to our own?
11. Both Ling-li and Patrick Heenan are espionage agents. How do they differ, not just in their methods
but also in their motivations? What makes one character admirable and the other despicable? As spies,
do they deserve the eventual treatment they receive?
12. Jack resists going back to England, even though he has the means to do so. Others do return to
England, while the servants Amah and Phatcharat return to families in China and Indonesia. What
ultimately defines the concept of "home"?
13. What is it about the personalities and backgrounds that causes such disparate views about
Singapore's situation under foreign occupation? When the Japanese invade, one occupying government is
supplanted by another. Why is one government considered hostile, the other benevolent? Is colonialism
an enterprise doomed to fail, or are there circumstances under which it can thrive?
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