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their diverging lives. Hock Lai becomes a white-collared worker, determined to climb the corporate ladder, while Portia intends to further his studies in the UK. Kwang Meng meets and strikes up a relationship with a local bar girl, Lucy, at
Paradise Bar. Unfortunately, owing to their very different social backgrounds, the couple break up (initiated by Lucy).
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Throughout all this, Kwang Meng comes across as a rather passive figure, preferring merely to observe and seek solace through activities like swimming in the sea, smoking and drinking in bars. At the novel's end, Kwang Meng's father suffers a stroke, which destined him to take up the burden of supporting his family.
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The book follows the life of Kwang Meng, a young 18-year-old who has just graduated from junior college. He currently works as a clerk, a job which he hates and finds monotonous. Two of his junior college friends, Hock Lai and
Nadarajah (the latter nicknamed Portia), follow different career paths in
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Hock Lai tries to matchmake Kwang Meng with one of his female acquaintances Anne. Kwang Meng meets Boon Teik and Mei-I, neighbours who are both teachers, and whom Kwang Meng finds an ideal couple. Hock Lai himself gets married with
Cecilia, whose father is one of the richest tycoons of Singapore.
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as one of 10 classic
Singapore novels. "Widely considered the first true Singaporean novel," she wrote, "it should be enjoyed for the lightness of its prose and the wit and insight of the author."
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reviewer Cheah Boon Kheng complained that "the style is loose and inelegant, the prose putrid and flat, the jokes puerile and the dialogue chitty chitty bang bang." Elsewhere
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thereafter. In time it came to be appreciated by academics and younger readers who responded enthusiastically when Goh revisited
Singapore to discuss the novel.
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encountered a lukewarm reception on its publication in 1972. In Goh's own words, "the local press was unenthusiastic and the university was not supportive".
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487:"Goh Poh Seng's novel if We Dream Too Long adapted as dinner theatre for three weekends | the Straits Times"
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176:'s Fiction Book Award in 1976. It is often hailed as the first true Singaporean novel.
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243:, was also selected as one of the "finest plays in 50 years" with productions by
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as one of the Top 10 English
Singapore books from 1965–2015, alongside titles by
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received a more cordial reception – it was translated into
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was completed in 1968 though it was first published in
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by
Singapore's Island Press, a press formed by Goh to
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174:National Book Development Council of Singapore
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156:his first novel. It was republished by
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391:Goh, Poh Seng. "Preface", p. xliv,
361:Goh, Poh Seng. "Preface", p. xliv,
331:Goh, Poh Seng. "Preface", p. xliv,
293:Goh, Poh Seng. "Preface", p. xliv,
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461:"10 Singapore stories to ponder"
407:"Tomes that show us how we live"
434:"The finest plays in 50 years"
374:Koh, Tai Ann. "Goh Poh Seng's
344:Koh, Tai Ann. "Goh Poh Seng's
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395:, NUS Press: Singapore, 2010.
382:, NUS Press: Singapore, 2010.
365:, NUS Press: Singapore, 2010.
352:, NUS Press: Singapore, 2010.
335:, NUS Press: Singapore, 2010.
297:, NUS Press: Singapore, 2010.
348:: An Appreciation", p. xii,
378:: An Appreciation", p. xx,
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467:. Singapore Press Holdings
440:. Singapore Press Holdings
413:. Singapore Press Holdings
172:imprint. The book won the
16:1972 novel by Goh Poh Seng
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517:Novels set in Singapore
262:Akshita Nanda selected
308:"If We Dream Too Long"
162:Writing in Asia Series
275:National Arts Council
20:If We Dream Too Long
393:If We Dream too Long
380:If We Dream too Long
376:If We Dream too Long
363:If We Dream too Long
350:If We Dream too Long
346:If We Dream too Long
333:If We Dream too Long
295:If We Dream too Long
264:If We Dream Too Long
255:. In the same year,
241:When Smiles Are Done
223:If We Dream Too Long
198:If We Dream Too Long
129:If We Dream Too Long
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512:Singaporean novels
438:The Business Times
411:The Business Times
228:The Business Times
168:in 2010 under the
160:in 1994 under the
465:The Straits Times
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214:in 1975 and into
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180:Plot summary
154:self-publish
142:Goh Poh Seng
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73:Island Press
38:Goh Poh Seng
507:1972 novels
249:Kuo Pao Kun
237:Daren Shiau
170:Ridge Books
146:debut novel
138:Singaporean
136:written by
62:Set in
501:Categories
471:28 January
281:References
233:Arthur Yap
444:5 January
417:5 January
312:NUS Press
221:In 2015,
193:Reception
166:NUS Press
158:Heinemann
91:Singapore
70:Publisher
65:Singapore
44:Language
216:Tagalog
212:Russian
144:. This
140:writer
56:Fiction
47:English
317:22 May
120:762332
34:Author
208:Dream
134:novel
132:is a
104:Pages
99:Print
52:Genre
473:2015
446:2015
419:2015
319:2016
251:and
235:and
164:and
150:1972
114:OCLC
83:1972
107:177
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
