A Mother's Tears

by Soo Cham

Sui Yin and her brothers were born and brought up in a Malay village. Their close interaction with the Malay community leads to their embracing Islam and the brothers taking Malay brides. But their mother cannot accept their change. "why do Chinese people want to be Malays?" she questions again and again. Is faith the issue here? Why does Sui Yin's mother cry every Lunar New Year? A mother's Tears is the tale of a mother who wonders if she has lost the love of her children.

220 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Nur Safura binti Abdullah, or Soo Cham, was born in Kampung Tanjung Gadung, Negeri Sembilan, on 15th December, 1953. She was educated at Pei Tek Chinese Primary School in Kota, Astana Raja Lower Secondary School in Rembau and Tampin Secondary School in Negeri Sembilan. She attended the 2002 and 2005 Kepezi Short Story Introductory Workshop, the 2003 Kepezi Short Intensive Workshop, the 2004 Kepezi Short Story/Novel Intensive Workshop, the 2005 Novel Workshop, the 2008 Novel Manuscript Workshop, and Short Story Writing Workshop for Young Writers.

Source: A Mother's Tears, ITNM (2009)

Reviews

[Aina Hilmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hidupnya penuh dengan kesedihan.. Malang sekali anak-anak yang memeluk Islam itu tidak menunjukkan keindahan Islam yang sebenar. Sama ada tidak memahami secara keseluruhan atau.. entahlah. Si ibu berendam air mata pada sebahagian besar hidupnya menangisi anak-anak yang dianggap tidak menyayanginya.

[normah mispar · Rating 2 out of 5]

a very heart moving book i've ever read.... the malay version is "Air Mata Ibu" diterbitkan oleh DBP 2007

[Sakinah Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

One way to describe this book is that it is a diary with no chronological order from one chapter to another. It’s as if the main character, Sui Yin, had written this book by writing down her memories about her surroundings, her family, the people she met and the things she heard and learned.

Instead of telling the story beginning from her childhood all the way to adulthood, the story parts were compartmentalized according to themes such as in regards to her brother, “Ah Chin” or about how “Anger” had led to the unfortunate moments of hurting loved ones.

It lacks structure but in a meaningful way. For instance, some situations were mentioned repeatedly throughout the chapters. It felt like she was trying to reflect on her past by describing moments in her life that made a mark or her being as a person.

I absolutely adore how Malaysians and Malaysia was portrayed in the book. Every person mentioned in the book was real to me eventhough they were only briefly mentioned such as Pak Ngah Borhan in “Ah Chin’s Ilness”.

Most importantly, there was no antagonist in the story. They are just simply characters with flaws and made bad decisions. Some are also victims of the circumstances.

In the last chapter, I did not expect the book to end where it ended. Perhaps because we were told of the end in the early chapters. However, I understood the narration with no doubt or questions in my mind.

Overall the book discussed themes that remain relevant in Malaysia to this day, such as:

- The criticism towards sending parents to retirement homes
- Government facilities (healthcare)
- Mental illness
- Traditional medicine
- The conversion to Islam
- Parent-child relationship
- Gambling
- Unity in spite of race

Any Malaysian would be able to relate to Sui Yin’s narrative and I would consider a must-read but with prejudice being put aside. No sides were slandered in this book but one must be open to hear her experiences and to not take them personally.

[ishahbandar 🍉🇵🇸 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, it was written like a diary and for some reason I thought this book was an autobiography. Anyway this book was good, I enjoyed the story and I love the way the characters were written.

[Nasimin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on a true-life experience...know the characters personally...yes...personally...

[Menyelamatkanmu · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book to remind me how much a mother capable enduring her emotions to everything her kids did to her. Even she was not being treated nicely and properly, her loves for her children never dry.