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sharonbakar's review
4.0
It's hugely encouraging to see collections of stories by Malaysian writers patrticularly one that introduces so many new names.
The collection opens little windows through which we can glimpse how the pandemic affected different Malaysian communities, and at a time when our social interaction is necessarily limited by stay-at-home orders, such insights are all the more necessary for us.
My favourite piece in the book is Rites of Passage by Pauline Fan an atmospheric and poetic piece drawing on traditional Malay magic.
I was both moved and delighted by the quirkiness of Marc de Faoite's MCO - Manicure Control Order, a deeply compassionate piece about the plights of migrant workers during the lockdown. Other deeply compassionate stories are Viji Krishnamoorthy's Migrating to Community in which a poor Indian woman is forced out onto the city streets with her children and Hartini Zainudin's Waiting which shows us what a refugee family goes through. Than Su Ming writes about the plight of the terminally ill and the nurses who deliver pallative care during the pandemic.
Candice Foong's The Affair was an excellent opener to the book -a hilarious account of a state assemblyman having an affair. His lover's arranging a rendez-vous in the biscuit aisle of the supermarket during lockdown made me laugh out loud. I also enjoyed Lavina Valiram's humourous Vaastu Shastra about the unwelcome visit of a distant relative who turns out to be godsend.
I liked the Sarawak setting of Clarice Chan's The Hunter, as a young man returns from the city because of the pandemic. Superstition and legend are woven into a story of scandal and murder.
Mwaffaq A-Hajjar's The Burglar is so quirky and sureal with some beautifully turned lines. Sujatha Sekhar Naik told her story about city dwellers in the pandemic from the perspective of the Klang River, threading through the city.
But some of the other pieces didn't hold my attention and I didn't make it to the end of them. I'm unapologetic - a writer has to win your willingness to spend time with them.
I liked the physical makeup of the book - the paper and binding made it a pleasant volume to hold in the hand and the huge print was a relief as my eyesight is getting worse and I hate to wear reading glasses.
The collection opens little windows through which we can glimpse how the pandemic affected different Malaysian communities, and at a time when our social interaction is necessarily limited by stay-at-home orders, such insights are all the more necessary for us.
My favourite piece in the book is Rites of Passage by Pauline Fan an atmospheric and poetic piece drawing on traditional Malay magic.
I was both moved and delighted by the quirkiness of Marc de Faoite's MCO - Manicure Control Order, a deeply compassionate piece about the plights of migrant workers during the lockdown. Other deeply compassionate stories are Viji Krishnamoorthy's Migrating to Community in which a poor Indian woman is forced out onto the city streets with her children and Hartini Zainudin's Waiting which shows us what a refugee family goes through. Than Su Ming writes about the plight of the terminally ill and the nurses who deliver pallative care during the pandemic.
Candice Foong's The Affair was an excellent opener to the book -a hilarious account of a state assemblyman having an affair. His lover's arranging a rendez-vous in the biscuit aisle of the supermarket during lockdown made me laugh out loud. I also enjoyed Lavina Valiram's humourous Vaastu Shastra about the unwelcome visit of a distant relative who turns out to be godsend.
I liked the Sarawak setting of Clarice Chan's The Hunter, as a young man returns from the city because of the pandemic. Superstition and legend are woven into a story of scandal and murder.
Mwaffaq A-Hajjar's The Burglar is so quirky and sureal with some beautifully turned lines. Sujatha Sekhar Naik told her story about city dwellers in the pandemic from the perspective of the Klang River, threading through the city.
But some of the other pieces didn't hold my attention and I didn't make it to the end of them. I'm unapologetic - a writer has to win your willingness to spend time with them.
I liked the physical makeup of the book - the paper and binding made it a pleasant volume to hold in the hand and the huge print was a relief as my eyesight is getting worse and I hate to wear reading glasses.
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