An Interview with Catherine Lim

In an effort to have a more wholesome understanding of 'The Taximan's Story', we emailed Catherine Lim to request for an interview, which she graciously granted. The interview is reproduced in full below.

1. What was the inspiration of Taximan, and how much of Taximan was inspired by your own experiences? Little Ironies: Stories of Singapore seem to suggest that it may be drawn from personal stories.

It wasn't a single, specific incident that had inspired my story. Rather, the taximan in the story was a composite of the many interesting taximen I had met, who made each trip very pleasant by their readiness to chat, gossip, exchange views. I suppose that's the way taxi drivers relieve the tedium of their many hours on the road! They would tell me about difficult passengers, kindly passengers, their personal, family problems, their members of parliament who were very/not at all helpful, etc.

2. What is the significance of the lexical choices that you have made with regards to Singlish and its various nuances?

I don't think I made any conscious, deliberate lexical choices. All I was aware of was that, for the taximan's story about his errant daughter to come across most authentically, I simply had to make it a first-person narrative, using exactly the kind of Singlish that most of them spoke. Indeed, it seemed to me that as I was writing the story, the taximan's actual words, tone, inflections were ringing in my ears, and all I had to do was to transcribe them!

3. Do you think the themes and observations touched on in Taximan (tradition v modernity, morality, etc) are still relevant in Singapore today?
 

Yes, the theme of tradition vs modernity pervades my short stories in 'Little Ironies'. Although the book was first published nearly 30 years ago, the theme is still relevant in modern day Singapore, although, of course, the way it is manifested has changed. For instance, parents today probably do not have the kind of control that the taximan had, since their offspring are far more educated, sophisticated and articulate, but the generational gap, since it is rooted deep in psychology and biology, will always be around. The various ways by which it can be bridged are far more complex than the simplistic device of imposing a curfew on the errant child. Indeed, I've had taximen today telling me that their teenaged sons and daughters often out-talk and out-argue them! It almost pains me to see the elderly resignedly, sighingly deferring to the young, as I believe that while traditional forms of behaviour (such as the parental cane) should be a thing of the past, traditional values such as respect for the elderly, family unity, self-discipline, hard work, etc. should be a permanent part of our lives.

4. It has been a while since Taximan has been written and published. With the luxury of retrospect, would you have changed any part of the story, or written it differently?
 

No, I wouldn't have changed any part of the story - or any story in 'Little Ironies' - simply because it was forged, warts and all, from a single stream of creative energy, so that to change a part would affect the whole, and cause the story to lose its cohesiveness.

5. What is your opinion on the state of the Singaporean literature scene (poems, plays, etc) right now, and how has your personal experience with it been? How is it different from the past 20 years or so?

I have to admit that I've not been following the development of Singapore literature over the years, as I seem to be too busy catching up with other things (including a self-study program of those sciences and humanities which I had completely missed out on, in my school and university years). But I must say that I'm very glad that there are now many more novelists, short story writers, poets and playwrights than there ever were in my time. The literary scene in Singapore is definitely alive and well!

6. What is the most important thing you would want someone to take away from your story, and what was the greatest takeaway you had while writing this story?

The most important thing for a reader to take away from 'The Taximan's Story' , or any other short story, is enjoyment. Regardless of whatever else the reader may have gleaned, such as a new insight into human nature or some moral theme, I would like him/her to say 'Hey, I enjoyed that story!' or even better, 'I couldn't stop till I came to the end.'

Catherine Lim's responses have been invaluable in understanding the context and background of the story. One surprising nugget of knowledge from the interview that us students did not expect was that Catherine Lim made a conscious choice to embody themes of tradition and modernity throughout her book, "Little Ironies", and not just this one story. And beyond the thematic and moral takeaways, she simply wants her story to bring enjoyment to the reader. For us personally, reading 'The Taximan's Story' was interesting and enjoyable, and we hope that others who read it will enjoy or have enjoyed it as much as we did!