Wind and Water is the story of three generations of Chinese women, told by each in turn.
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Soo Teen tells the story of how her family moved from China to Singapore and how she is one of six daughters, in a family which traditionally values boy children as good fortune. Soo Teen describes how her mother 'bought' a son, assuming this would bring good luck. Contradictorily, the son brings more bad luck on the family, including the choices of husbands the mother makes for all her daughters. Soo Teen's marriage produces two sons and two daughters.
Peng An is Soo Teen's younger daughter who was born at the beginning of the Second World War, when Japan invaded Singpore. A sickly child who nearly died, Peng An's story describes the change in Singapore's identity, from a British colony to independence, and its resultant impact on its people. Peng An marries an Australian man, and migrates from Singapore with her husband.
Lettie, and her brother Sam, are Peng An's children, raised in North Queensland. They experience cyclones and floods, as well as the racist attitudes towards their mixed-race backgrounds, from white Australians. Lettie's gradually loses her ties with Singapore.
The review of this Book prepared by Jeanne Cross
