American-born, but Singapore-based, author Alison Jean Lester
has just published Lillian on Life, a wonderful novel, one that I urge you to read. It is a funny, wise, honest, and
moving exploration of one woman’s life, her loves and losses, and her thoughts on
everything from sex, to English as a foreign language – indeed, the whole novel
is constructed out of short reflections, On
Getting To Sex, On English As A Foreign
Language, etc.
Alison Jean Lester came
to Singapore from Tokyo in 1999 as a trailing spouse, with two little children
in tow. When she and her husband separated two years later, and then divorced, neither
of them wanted to leave.
Alison says: “Singapore proved to be a very good place for us. We could
pursue our working goals and raise our children in a supportive environment
without many of the stresses we would have experienced in other major cities.
There were certainly times when I would have liked to leave, but it made the best
sense to stay, and I was rewarded by meeting my second husband here.”
So: questions and answers with Alison Jean Lester
