{
  "id": 66058,
  "title": "Peranakan family fights to survive the Japanese Occupation",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/03/peranakan-family-fights-to-survive-the-japanese-occupation",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-03T01:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2026/08/03/peranakan-family-fights-to-survive-the-japanese-occupation"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Kuala Lumpur author Lee Su Kim reflects on a family story that inspired her debut novel, \"Run, My Daughters, Run\". During the Japanese Occupation, her grandmother gave birth to a baby girl who fell gravely ill. In desperation, the family sought help from a medium, who instructed them to give away the infant. Lee recalls this haunting memory, wondering what she would have done in her grandmother's place. When writing the novel, Lee aimed to bring local perspectives to the Japanese Occupation narrative, as academic works often lack personal stories. With extensive research, including interviews with octogenarians and nonagenarians and her third aunt, now 99, Lee crafted a gripping tale of a Peranakan family facing hunger, war, and terror in Kuala Lumpur. The novel follows 17-year-old Pei Lin, whose dreams of attending university are shattered as she battles war, hunger, and a devastating secret. Lee's novel balances the harsh realities of the period with moments of humour and humanity, avoiding one-dimensional character portrayals. The author hopes readers will appreciate the resilience of her forefathers and remember the stories of those who endured the Japanese Occupation.",
  "summary": "Lee Su Kim’s debut novel, ‘Run, My Daughters, Run’, draws on wartime history, family memory and Straits Chinese culture.",
  "key_points": [
    "Author Lee Su Kim's grandmother gave birth to ill baby during Japanese Occupation",
    "Novelist aims to add personal stories to Peranakan narrative of the period",
    "\"Run, My Daughters, Run\" follows Pei Lin's struggles with war and secret"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}