On Tuesday, Feb. 18, many students braved the single-digit temperature and made the trek to the Ronk Lecture Hall on the AU campus to hear author, Thea Lim, share some wise words.
Lim was born in Toronto, Canada but spent most of her early life in Singapore. She also earned an MFA in creative writing from the University of Houston.
Her debut novel, “An Ocean of Minutes,” was a finalist for multiple national and international prizes, and translated into three different languages. Lim’s novel was also optioned for television.
The book reading was hosted by The English and Foreign Languages Department at AU and began at 7 p.m. with an introduction by one of its members, Josh Carpenter.
“Her writing captivates the audience and holds onto you until the very end,” said Carpenter.
“For class, we were given the first chapter of ‘An Ocean of Minutes,’ and from the first page I was hooked, and I look forward to finishing the piece.”
The story begins in 1981, in the United States when a viral flu outbreak sweeps the country.
Lim’s novel was released in 2018, just two years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“’An Ocean of Minutes’ is much more interesting in the slow-moving territories such as the passing of time itself, and what it means to be mortal,” said Lim, while reading the first chapter aloud.
Throughout the night, Lim often referred to her work as “boring.”
“The word boring is a slippery term, what I might find boring may be thrilling to you,” explained Lim.
She continued, “I’m trying to refer to an objective class of boringness, the repeating details of everyday life that are too drab to include in plot-based stories, like paperwork, paperclips, policy, bureaucracy.”
“I would argue that when you include these strappy pieces of existence that are so often excised drama, paradoxically they actually raise the stakes.”
After reading several excerpts from her novel, Lim answered many questions from students who were curious about her writing tactics.
The night closed with an opportunity to purchase a copy of the book, as well as a chance to get an author-signed copy.
