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misspalah's review
4.0
“From a laborer’s stool to a king’s throne, all chairs are functionally the same. But in their state of being they reveal as much about ourselves as we care to read. But not just any chair, only ‘sleeping’ ones. Unused, unoccupied, abandoned, forgotten, sacred, discarded, broken, celebrated ; they remind us of ourselves and the roles we play in life, the things we build, the places we travel, and the many ways in which we function. Chairs are a sign of us. All of us”.
- #sleepingchairs by Mahen Bala (little basket new malaysian writing 2017)
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I actually like Little Basket New Malaysian Writing 2018 a bit better than 2017. Dont get me wrong both are equally the same in term of story and writing quality but if people ask me “which one?” I would say go for 2018. In this little basket 2017, we have about 21 short stories/anecdotes/poems that majority of Malaysians can relate to. Among the writers that featured here, big names in Malaysian Literary field like Chuah Guat Eng and Hanna Alkaf made the cut. I saw few names that i recognized because i have read many of their short stories before like Maizura Abas and Foo Sek Han. The book started strong with a story penned by Terence A. Anthony titled ‘Broken English as a first Language’. The author recalled his experience growing up in mixed heritage - A sarawakian with Iban, Bidayuh and chinese ancestry. Due to this, his code switching experience sometimes can be a blessing and a curse depending people’s perception. It gets worse when he encountered Malaysians that have english as their first language. Their english is impeccable and were considered the standard while the rest of us were known to use imperfect english. Another story that leave a strong impression to me is ‘Bhenchod’ by Satpal Kaler. “You taught me a lot more about life by leaving than you ever did by talking about it” - I wouldnt call this confessional although it has that vibe. The story is written from the POV of the youngest son, he noted his father changes from being the reliable one to the alcoholic one and eventually met his demise on his bed after few days. Now, after his passing, the narrator find himself slowly turning into his father, adopting his bad habit and understanding the lessons his father left behind. Hanna Alkaf, on the other hands, wrote the story of a motherhood. Only this time, the baby is not there. She died before the birth. As malay custom dictate, the ‘Pantang’ were required to proceed regardless there’s a baby or not. Hence, the herbs, traditional rites and the dos/the dont that the grieving mother has to abide. Elizabeth Gimbad wrote ‘And Crocodiles Lurk Below’ which highlighted the difference of language, slangs and evev customs. A childhood story of a Malay girl that shifted from Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah, East of Malaysia. She met Anna in primary school and become a best friend until Anna decided she dont want to befriend her anymore as they are no longer in the same class. What i like about this story is the author highlighting the term ‘Orang Semenanjung’ / West Malaysian used by Anna have double meaning depending on the context. It can be used to show that you are not one of us, you speaks different or you stuck out like a sore thumb and its obvious. ‘Tok Kok : Dissecting Toleransi’ by Sukhbir Cheema is another story worth mentioning in the review. The message were loud - Any misunderstanding or ignorance can be quelled if you ask and try to unlearn your prejudice. I would say some other stories by Masami Mustaza and Maizura Abas were strong too but i will let readers to read the book if they are curious enough to pick up the book. What an enjoyable reading!
- #sleepingchairs by Mahen Bala (little basket new malaysian writing 2017)
.
.
I actually like Little Basket New Malaysian Writing 2018 a bit better than 2017. Dont get me wrong both are equally the same in term of story and writing quality but if people ask me “which one?” I would say go for 2018. In this little basket 2017, we have about 21 short stories/anecdotes/poems that majority of Malaysians can relate to. Among the writers that featured here, big names in Malaysian Literary field like Chuah Guat Eng and Hanna Alkaf made the cut. I saw few names that i recognized because i have read many of their short stories before like Maizura Abas and Foo Sek Han. The book started strong with a story penned by Terence A. Anthony titled ‘Broken English as a first Language’. The author recalled his experience growing up in mixed heritage - A sarawakian with Iban, Bidayuh and chinese ancestry. Due to this, his code switching experience sometimes can be a blessing and a curse depending people’s perception. It gets worse when he encountered Malaysians that have english as their first language. Their english is impeccable and were considered the standard while the rest of us were known to use imperfect english. Another story that leave a strong impression to me is ‘Bhenchod’ by Satpal Kaler. “You taught me a lot more about life by leaving than you ever did by talking about it” - I wouldnt call this confessional although it has that vibe. The story is written from the POV of the youngest son, he noted his father changes from being the reliable one to the alcoholic one and eventually met his demise on his bed after few days. Now, after his passing, the narrator find himself slowly turning into his father, adopting his bad habit and understanding the lessons his father left behind. Hanna Alkaf, on the other hands, wrote the story of a motherhood. Only this time, the baby is not there. She died before the birth. As malay custom dictate, the ‘Pantang’ were required to proceed regardless there’s a baby or not. Hence, the herbs, traditional rites and the dos/the dont that the grieving mother has to abide. Elizabeth Gimbad wrote ‘And Crocodiles Lurk Below’ which highlighted the difference of language, slangs and evev customs. A childhood story of a Malay girl that shifted from Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah, East of Malaysia. She met Anna in primary school and become a best friend until Anna decided she dont want to befriend her anymore as they are no longer in the same class. What i like about this story is the author highlighting the term ‘Orang Semenanjung’ / West Malaysian used by Anna have double meaning depending on the context. It can be used to show that you are not one of us, you speaks different or you stuck out like a sore thumb and its obvious. ‘Tok Kok : Dissecting Toleransi’ by Sukhbir Cheema is another story worth mentioning in the review. The message were loud - Any misunderstanding or ignorance can be quelled if you ask and try to unlearn your prejudice. I would say some other stories by Masami Mustaza and Maizura Abas were strong too but i will let readers to read the book if they are curious enough to pick up the book. What an enjoyable reading!
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