A Malay-Chinese and an Anglo-Australian family become one when the grieving and financially struggling Mrs M invites two Chinese boarders from Ipoh, Malaysia, into her home—Fay and Ping Chao. In so doing, Mrs M irrevocably changes the lives of her daughter and two grandsons, Cas, James and Nick, forever. Over the next seven years, the cultural boundaries that initially separated the two families gradually dissolve, replaced by a mutual love and respect for one another and their respective cultures.
Flowers of Malaya recounts how together these families experienced the intimate and mundane together, and of how they comforted each other through the heavy loss of Mrs M and the tragically short life and loss of Ping.
“I also took a little while to open up to Mrs M because I was hesitant to share problems of mine for fear of violating the Chinese motto of keeping any disgrace or troubles from outsiders. But her intuitiveness and respect created this safe environment for a young Chinese girl to slowly cultivate in time her own decision-making process, to formulate views without fear of judgement and to ultimately have a right of speech that mattered.”
Fay Lin Chao, Flowers of Malaya.
A compelling true story exploring love, grief and culture, Flowers of Malaya is a testament to the strength of the many binds that can bring families together.
This heart-warming, three-part memoir can also serve as a guide for future foreign students wishing to enter Australia.
Available in two covers.
CAS MCFARLANE was educated at the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Arts and Education. A teacher of English, German, Scripture, History and Latin in Melbourne Ballarat, she worked as a feature writer for The Age and the Melbourne Weekly. Her short stories have won several awards in New Zealand and Australia, appearing in the Quadrant, Australian Short Stories and Antipodes. In her spare time, Cas leads a quiet life on her small farm in rural Bellarine.
Fay Lin Chao and Ping Chao were raised in a traditional, third generation Chinese family in Malaysia. As young adults, Fay Lin and Ping left Malaysia to study in Australia. Fay Lin graduated from Monash University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Medicine and of Surgery, specialising in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, as did her husband, Weng.
In loving tribute to the late Ping Chao, who passed away in 2022.
RRP $16.95
235mm x 153mm
Paperback, 48pp. Illustrated in full colour.
ISBN: 9781875684342