A review by heatherjay94
KL NOIR: RED by Dina Zaman, Khairulnizam Bakeri, Shaz Johar, Preeta Samarasan, Adib Zaini, Amir Hafizi, Shivani Sivagurunathan, Kris Williamson, Dayang Noor, Amir Muhammad, Fadzlishah Johanabas, Brian Gómez, Marc de Faoite, Eeleen Lee, Megat Ishak

2.0

I was really excited when I found this book sitting on a shelf in MPH. I have realized recently that I'd never read any stories that take place in Malaysia - something I decided that I'd like to change. I bought it despite the finding the manifesto rather off-putting, which felt like the most pretentious thing I've read in a while. The book was okay, I suppose. Out of the 15 stories it offered I felt like the only ones I truly enjoyed were 'A Gift of Flowers' (i liked the idea of the travelling bouquet, though the execution left a lot to be desired still) and the witty 'Mud' (with politically incorrect jokes that had me laughing and then feeling mildly guilty afterwards). Many others felt like they had promising premises but the execution fell short of their ambitions. I didn't come expecting to like all the stories - it's an anthology, after all, and a mixed bag is to be expected - but 2 out of 15 is disappointing, to be honest. Maybe I'll have better luck with the next volume. I can appreciate the message most of these stories are trying to bring to light, though, and the fact that this book is even a thing at all.