If We Dream Too Long is a Singaporean's search for personal fulfilment and happiness within the social realm and set of values shaped by a young nation. Although Goh Poh Seng's canvas is that of old Singapore (when sixty cents adequately buys you a lunch consisting of a bowl of laksa and a glass of sugar cane water), the psychological landscape of his protagonist, reflecting aspects of the contemporary Singaporean experience, is one that many of us can still relate very closely to today.