My friend Alice Teh (http://www.aliceteh.com) presented me with a superb book - Days Gone By: Growing Up in Penang by Christine Wu Ramsay as a belated birthday present. Both of us saw this book in Popular Bookstore in Komtar and agreed that it is not a book which should be left unread.
Pages within this hard-covered treasure trove is filled with memorable photographs from older days, truly reminiscence of years before my time when accompanied by enchanting stories of the author’s childhood.
Christine Wu Ramsay grew up in the British Straits Settlement of Penang, part of present-day Malaysia. Her account begins with the arrival of her great-grandfather, Leong Fee – a poor Hakka migrant from China who rose to become the owner of the famous ‘Tambun Mines’ in Perak and a Vice-Consul of China in Penang. Brought up by her grandparents and cared for by black-and-white amahs, Christine enjoyed an idyllic childhood – affected but not marred by the Japanese Occupation and declining family fortunes – up till her departure for Australia in 1957.
Using over a hundred photographs from her family album, she portrays a way of life and philosophy where the practice of polygamy and the ownership of bondmaids were accepted facets of life.
Truly a page-turner! It has unknowingly sent me back to the time when my own grandparents first set foot in Malaya, and reconnected me to a part of my roots as a straits-born baby.
Enjoyed from cover to cover, undoubtedly a cherished journey back to the past.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Days Gone By: Growing Up in Penang
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2 comments:
That's a great post, Ty! It was fun flipping through the book with you at Popular.
The photos in the book are wonderful and they reminded me so much of my grandmother and mother's. My grandmother (from Hong Kong) met my grandfather (from China) in Penang and my mom was born in the beautiful island.
I'm so glad you liked the book!
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