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lyanaareads's review against another edition
4.0
My favourite would be tingles, yana, rock n love, a swift tour and name :)
Reading challenge #3 completed: a book that takes place in your hometown
Reading challenge #3 completed: a book that takes place in your hometown
cookiemonstaly's review against another edition
3.0
Love in Penang is an anthology of varying forms on love which take place against the backdrop of Penang.
Out of 18 stories, I really enjoyed maybe three of them. The rest of them were standard "boy and girl fall in love" stories, most of them with tragic endings. Quite a number of the stories also touched on the interracial/religion aspect. Another observation: a lot of girls die in this anthology.
Double-Blind by Zen Cho is probably my favourite story in this anthology. A boy and girl meet at an LGBT gathering and a terribly funny misunderstanding ensues.
Tingles by Khaliza Khalid could tie with Double-Blind as a favourite as well. A concerned aunty recruits her niece's bridesmaid to investigate the groom.
Majestic Heights by Marc de Faoite, while not favourite, deserves a special mention. Though a standard boy-meets-girl love story, it takes place between two immigrant workers in Malaysia who are often overlooked in Malaysian literature. The love story aspect, I feel, shows their humanity.
I feel that LIP could have been better if the stories had a more varied interpretation on what "love" is.
Out of 18 stories, I really enjoyed maybe three of them. The rest of them were standard "boy and girl fall in love" stories, most of them with tragic endings. Quite a number of the stories also touched on the interracial/religion aspect. Another observation: a lot of girls die in this anthology.
Double-Blind by Zen Cho is probably my favourite story in this anthology. A boy and girl meet at an LGBT gathering and a terribly funny misunderstanding ensues.
Tingles by Khaliza Khalid could tie with Double-Blind as a favourite as well. A concerned aunty recruits her niece's bridesmaid to investigate the groom.
Majestic Heights by Marc de Faoite, while not favourite, deserves a special mention. Though a standard boy-meets-girl love story, it takes place between two immigrant workers in Malaysia who are often overlooked in Malaysian literature. The love story aspect, I feel, shows their humanity.
I feel that LIP could have been better if the stories had a more varied interpretation on what "love" is.
qomareads's review against another edition
4.0
I wish fixi publish more books of this kind of genre. I had so much fun reading this, I want to revisit Penang again. I was there, back then when I was 4 years old. Nothing much come to mind, except went to the famous mall, had nasi kandar and went to the beach. I'm just too old to remember everything now.
Looking at the title you know all of the stories was based in Penang. But for me it is actually more about life than Penang itself. Having said on the intro I quoted "I'm somewhat surprised that there was no ode to Penang food in these pages", and I can totally relate to it. Nothing too much about Penang actually, just the mentioned of few familiar places here and there.
But I have so much love for
"When it Rains" by Celine Wu Yee Pheng
"Amah's Bicycle" by Julya Oui
"Yana" by Nadia Khan
"Rock n Love" by Gina
"Runaway" by Dayang Noor
"Majestic Heights" by Marc de Faoite
"Name" by Fadzlishah Johanabas
I have different reasons why I love them. Some just got straight to your heart, it was funny, the ending was heartbreaking, the bittersweet feeling, the unexpected ending.
Looking at the title you know all of the stories was based in Penang. But for me it is actually more about life than Penang itself. Having said on the intro I quoted "I'm somewhat surprised that there was no ode to Penang food in these pages", and I can totally relate to it. Nothing too much about Penang actually, just the mentioned of few familiar places here and there.
But I have so much love for
"When it Rains" by Celine Wu Yee Pheng
"Amah's Bicycle" by Julya Oui
"Yana" by Nadia Khan
"Rock n Love" by Gina
"Runaway" by Dayang Noor
"Majestic Heights" by Marc de Faoite
"Name" by Fadzlishah Johanabas
I have different reasons why I love them. Some just got straight to your heart, it was funny, the ending was heartbreaking, the bittersweet feeling, the unexpected ending.
jayra's review against another edition
3.0
I love it was not too chessy, it's heartwarming and twisted plots at the same time.
terangbulan's review
4.0
There's a reason I don't read romance books. Most of it is predictable.
I decided to get this book because Anna Tan was one of the speakers for my event and well then, it's the right time to get familiar with her work. I knew that Anna is based in Penang, so how lucky for her to have the opportunity to edit a book that is solely set in her hometown! I don't read a lot of short stories compilation, so I was excited to start this book.
I know that most Malaysians overlook the works of local artists and authors, but wow..you are really missing out if you're not reading this. The stories revolve around different age groups and ethnicity, which represents the diversity of Malaysia. There are stories involving interracial couple, high school couple, college couple, old couple, arranged marriage, politics, gangsters and many more. Even though these are short stories, the authors can still manage to rip out your feelings (death, unrequited love, etc)...great..tissues please. I like how they included pop culture reference like, Taylor Swift and make the conversation sound SOOOO Malaysian!
If you hate cheesy lines and want to get a reminder of how awesome Penang is (especially the food and architecture), then this book is for you. This book has given me higher expectations for other Fixi novels.
I decided to get this book because Anna Tan was one of the speakers for my event and well then, it's the right time to get familiar with her work. I knew that Anna is based in Penang, so how lucky for her to have the opportunity to edit a book that is solely set in her hometown! I don't read a lot of short stories compilation, so I was excited to start this book.
I know that most Malaysians overlook the works of local artists and authors, but wow..you are really missing out if you're not reading this. The stories revolve around different age groups and ethnicity, which represents the diversity of Malaysia. There are stories involving interracial couple, high school couple, college couple, old couple, arranged marriage, politics, gangsters and many more. Even though these are short stories, the authors can still manage to rip out your feelings (death, unrequited love, etc)...great..tissues please. I like how they included pop culture reference like, Taylor Swift and make the conversation sound SOOOO Malaysian!
If you hate cheesy lines and want to get a reminder of how awesome Penang is (especially the food and architecture), then this book is for you. This book has given me higher expectations for other Fixi novels.
simplysajida's review
4.0
I love it. Lots of simple yet sweet stories compared to kl noirs which for me are a bit complicated to be understood. what I like best about this book is the setting of the stories which is in penang. it really gives me a feeling of breathing the air of penang. penang isn't so big. I can remember most of its places though I went there for only a few times. so whenever the writer mention certain places of penang that I know, I feel good! I love penang. The foods, the unique designs of the buildings n houses there, the beautiful arts etc etc etc. Thank you Love in Penang for giving me a nice and warm feeling inside. ;) among my fav short stories inside this book are:
1) Amah's bicycle
2) Tingles
3) Love Letters
4) Name
1) Amah's bicycle
2) Tingles
3) Love Letters
4) Name
heyfarahey's review
4.0
My fav - Tingles, When It Rains, Majestic Heights and Name
What a great compilation, please produce more books like this!
What a great compilation, please produce more books like this!
mobyskine's review
4.0
A great book. Hampir kesemua short stories aku suka walaupun mostly kisah cinta yang bittersweet dengan unexpected ending.
Thumbs up kepada semua penulis dan juga editor. And anyway, kenapa Yana kena ada 6 orang abang?! Saya sungguh dengki sekali.
Thumbs up kepada semua penulis dan juga editor. And anyway, kenapa Yana kena ada 6 orang abang?! Saya sungguh dengki sekali.
qomareads's review
4.0
I wish fixi publish more books of this kind of genre. I had so much fun reading this, I want to revisit Penang again. I was there, back then when I was 4 years old. Nothing much come to mind, except went to the famous mall, had nasi kandar and went to the beach. I'm just too old to remember everything now.
Looking at the title you know all of the stories was based in Penang. But for me it is actually more about life than Penang itself. Having said on the intro I quoted "I'm somewhat surprised that there was no ode to Penang food in these pages", and I can totally relate to it. Nothing too much about Penang actually, just the mentioned of few familiar places here and there.
But I have so much love for
"When it Rains" by Celine Wu Yee Pheng
"Amah's Bicycle" by Julya Oui
"Yana" by Nadia Khan
"Rock n Love" by Gina
"Runaway" by Dayang Noor
"Majestic Heights" by Marc de Faoite
"Name" by Fadzlishah Johanabas
I have different reasons why I love them. Some just got straight to your heart, it was funny, the ending was heartbreaking, the bittersweet feeling, the unexpected ending.
Looking at the title you know all of the stories was based in Penang. But for me it is actually more about life than Penang itself. Having said on the intro I quoted "I'm somewhat surprised that there was no ode to Penang food in these pages", and I can totally relate to it. Nothing too much about Penang actually, just the mentioned of few familiar places here and there.
But I have so much love for
"When it Rains" by Celine Wu Yee Pheng
"Amah's Bicycle" by Julya Oui
"Yana" by Nadia Khan
"Rock n Love" by Gina
"Runaway" by Dayang Noor
"Majestic Heights" by Marc de Faoite
"Name" by Fadzlishah Johanabas
I have different reasons why I love them. Some just got straight to your heart, it was funny, the ending was heartbreaking, the bittersweet feeling, the unexpected ending.
mellvynm's review
4.0
I've been eyeing this particular short story collection mainly due to its cover. I like that it's unconventional for a Malaysian book: street art. Sure enough, I wasn't disappointed by it. Then again, I'm a sucker for stories about love.
All stories are about love, with the setting being in Penang. Each story basically name-drop a few buildings and street names found there. I like how each story has a different view on love, yet they seem to be united not only in terms of location, but the spirit of behind the idea of 'love'. It's not all romance, as the book wants you to think. It's more about the many ways love can be interpreted, shown, and expressed. It's about family, friends, and strangers. Some stories stand out for me because they have interesting plot twist (some has more than one), coherence, and an interesting plot. Some were a bit flat, and they mostly contain flashback which interferes with the flow of the story. Some stories use flashbacks effectively (like Yana), but some others didn't work well for me (like The Baobab Tree). Others are just way to confusing to get.
Favs: Love Letters; Double-Blind; When It Rains; Name; Yana
Least faves: The Baobab Tree; She, He; Katak
This book, along with other Fixi Novo's anthology collections, really showcases what local authors can do. I'm still hoping for a sequel to this one.
All stories are about love, with the setting being in Penang. Each story basically name-drop a few buildings and street names found there. I like how each story has a different view on love, yet they seem to be united not only in terms of location, but the spirit of behind the idea of 'love'. It's not all romance, as the book wants you to think. It's more about the many ways love can be interpreted, shown, and expressed. It's about family, friends, and strangers. Some stories stand out for me because they have interesting plot twist (some has more than one), coherence, and an interesting plot. Some were a bit flat, and they mostly contain flashback which interferes with the flow of the story. Some stories use flashbacks effectively (like Yana), but some others didn't work well for me (like The Baobab Tree). Others are just way to confusing to get.
Favs: Love Letters; Double-Blind; When It Rains; Name; Yana
Least faves: The Baobab Tree; She, He; Katak
This book, along with other Fixi Novo's anthology collections, really showcases what local authors can do. I'm still hoping for a sequel to this one.
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