Escape from Paradise: From Third World To First

by John Harding, May Chu Harding

Escape from Paradise is a contemporary and true woman's story set in Singapore, Brunei, Australia, England, and the United States. It involves Singapore's famous Tiger Balm family, and a wealthy and mysterious family from Brunei and the link between them, a young Singaporean woman, May Chu Lee. This story of May Chu's escape from her arranged marriage in Singapore to the United States, involves an American, the current British Lord Chancellor, and an ex-CIA agent with Republican Party ties to George Bush, Sr., and now a prominent Washington lobbyist for Burma. For divorce in Singapore, May Chu needed more than a lawyer; she was forced to wage guerilla warfare against a powerful family with business interests in the United States, including an IPO of X-10 Wireless, then under registration with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. From its first paragraph, Escape from Paradise draws the reader into the ambiance of a cosmopolitan Asia never touched upon by any other book.

476 pages, Paperback

Published June 26, 2002

About the author

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Reviews

[Kathy Chung · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit lost in the beginning as too many names gets thrown in.

It would b helpful if there is a family chart

[Scarlet Risque · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read this book, I am left wondering what is fiction and what is real. It uses the style of a biography that leaves you wondering the truths behind this. Which, indeed I think are true. Escape from Paradise is a landmark book that should go down in Singapore as an accurate representation of the society, women, divorce and all the lies beneath the surface. It's a tragic family tale of how they lost their fortune due to greed and lust. I would very much like to meet the author one day to have a good discussion about these issues, I am left thinking more deeply about the state of the island and the region after completing this book.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a memoir, this book read like a thriller.