'House Of Koi' reminds readers, sometimes, your future is waiting for you in your past

‘I grew up in bookstores with imported Western books and no local books to read. Now I am happy to see the diverse literature movement for South-East Asia picking up,’ says Li. Photo: Lilian Li

Several years ago, author Lilian Li was very homesick. She had left home in Penang to the United States, where she studied at the University of Boston.

Home was so far away, and to cope, Li started to write. Soon, she realised she had quite a story on her hands. A professor in her creative writing class even helped her to form her stories into what would become a book.