Motivating Forces

About the Book

Aristotle first wrote about it over twenty-three hundred years ago and his words still ring true today: desire is a motivating force in our lives that, when all-consuming, can even define our reason for existence. In this volume of short stories, Tan Kheng Yeang explores the many faces of desire through the thoughts and actions of his characters. A young man struggles to find the meaning of life. A bored woman risks all to run away with a stranger for the possibility of a more exciting life. By fulfilling one simple wish, an impoverished beggar strives to gain dignity and equality in the eyes of his fellow man. A businessman resorts to skullduggery to regain his clientele from a competitor. A youth is determined to attain wealth by whatever means necessary. But as all of the characters are about to discover in one way or another, life often takes unexpected and ironic twists when fate intervenes. Motivating Forces shares twenty short tales that reveal the journeys, struggles, and exploits of its characters as they attempt to find their way in a complicated, unforgiving world.

About the Author

Born around the time of the foundation of the Republic of China, in the former English colony of British Malaya, Tan Kheng Yeang was educated in an English school. His father was from China but had immigrated to Malaya and had become a successful businessman involved in various activities, including working as a rubber merchant. From his early days, the author was interested in literature and philosophy, and as his interest evolved to science, he decided to study civil engineering at the University of Hong Kong, as he felt he needed a practical career. After the Japanese occupied Hong Kong, he fled to free China, where he found work in an office constructing roads and later an airfield in Guangxi Province. After the war ended in 1945, he returned to Malaya and became an engineer in the City Council of Georgetown, Penang. After his retirement, he worked as an engineering consultant. He is the author of twelve books that reflect the broad range of his interests and talents.