“A Single Tear” by Dr K K Seet

Event: “A Single Tear” Book Launch
Venue: TheatreWorks @ 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road
Date: 11th Dec 2010

Dr K K Seet – theatre doyen, NUS senior lecturer and often dubbed as “Singapore’s most glamorous academic”, and who is also a dear friend of mine, has recently published a book entitled “A Single Tear”.

Of all the 13 or so books that Dr Seet has written in his lifetime, you could say that this is the most personal of all his works, as it is a form a tribute to his late mother whom will always retain a very special place in his heart.

Described as “a fairy tale for all ages”, “A Single Tear” is an exceedingly moving love story that has been adapted from one of the many Chinese myths which Dr Seet’s mother had told him as a child.

It is written in the style of a fable, and chronicles the tragic love story of a pair of lovers over a few lifetimes and reincarnations.

The poignant underlying theme of the story is that of unappreciated love and subsequent missed opportunities at being able to repay one’s debt of being unappreciative, which explains Dr Seet’s tagline at the end of the story: “Have you told anyone today that you love them?”

It’s a story which, after reading, makes you want to immediately go up to your loved one and give them a warm hug and say “I love you”.

The book is also filled with lovely hand-painted accompanying illustrations and swatches (such as can be seen on the cover above), on every single page of the book, which were all lovingly and painstakingly painted under the deft hand of artist Susanna Goho-Quek.

One wonders how many man-hours had gone into the creation of all the lovely visuals for the entire book.

The book launch was held at the TheatreWorks premises at 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road, and was hosted by Loretta Chen, and also featured a beautiful reading performed by Nora Samosir, Serene Chen, and Beatrice Chia-Richmond, which was directed by director Chong Tze Chien.

There was also a presentation of an original song by Timothy Wan, written specially for the launch of this book.

Priced at $20 before GST, this represents a steal in my honest opinion, as it is a gorgeous hardcase book filled with colourful hand-painted illustrations and with a touching and well-written story at the very heart of it.

In fact, I had commented to Dr Seet that $20 seemed rather low for a hardcase book of such a nature, but he decided to price it as such anyway.

Makes a great gift for someone you love this Christmas.

“A Single Tear” (S$21.40) can be purchased at Page One bookshop and the Earshot Cafe (Arts House).

A book signing session for “A Single Tear” will be held at the Earshot Cafe this coming Thursday 16th Dec ’10 from 5pm to 8pm.