Reviews

The Sum of Our Follies by Shih-Li Kow

freddie's review against another edition

5.0

An amazing novel with honest writing that is not trying to hard to be "Western contemporary" or "Malaysiana". It pokes fun at many crazy aspects of Malaysian life. The characters are well developed and have unique voices. The writing is funny too.

nini23's review against another edition

lighthearted relaxing

4.25

Sum of Our Follies features the inhabitants and daily happenings of a hypothetical small town called Lubok Sayong in the state of Perak, Malaysia. Kow Shih-Li has rendered a charming fable of a 'backwater' town complete with its own myth, topography (chiefly being prone to flooding and overflowing of lakes) and very Malaysian multicultural flavor. The narrators are an elderly Chinese businessman with a lychee canning factory originally a transplant from KL and an adopted girl from an orphanage. The stream of memorable quirky characters include a Malay potter Ishmet, a woman Nain who cultivates leeches, a foul-tempered Tamil woman Beevi who inherits The Big House and inadvertantly releases a monster fish into the town waters. Kow boldly tackles hot potato topics like politics eg. Bersih and race relations but with a light deft satirical touch. I chuckled at the development of Lubok Sayong as an ecotourism spot (hornbills!) and the skewering of artificial cultural showcase villages by enthusiastic expatriate foreigners. Overdevelopment and gentrification of certain places in Malaysia are discussed, this book was first published by Silverfish Books in 2014. I just visited Penang a few months ago and am sorry to report it's suffering from the same gnarls as complained about in the book.  On the same roadtrip, had the opportunity to visit a few places within Perak like Ipoh, Taiping and Kuala Sepetang. 

I was thoroughly charmed by Sum of Our Follies and reveled in its distilled Malaysian rasa. So glad the book found a new publisher Buku Fixi after Silverfish shuttered its operations. 
Will be looking into Kow's two short story collections Ripples and Bone Weight. 

hiroto's review against another edition

3.0

La traduction de Zulma est, comme toujours, d'excellente facture.
Le livre est une petite bouffée d'air frais, avec ses personnages tendres et attachants et l'autrice fait un très beau boulot pour retranscrire l'atmosphère de cette bourgade malaysienne.
Malheureusement c'est loin d'être inoubliable.

dreameuse's review against another edition

4.0

This was such a comforting and soothing novel, perfect for summer. I loved the simplicity and the poetic aspect of the author's style. For me, it was also a nice opportunity to discover more about Malaysia, its weather, culture and architecture. Only downside (but it may have been wanted) is that tension is non-existent. I wanted to read the rest of the book just because it was nice, not because of anything specific happening.

matmat's review against another edition

lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia, Homophobia, and Rape

sharonbakar's review against another edition

5.0

4+

Thoroughly enjoyed this charming and surreal novel set in a small Perak town. The writing is beautiful, the characters deliciously quirky, and many of the episodes had me laughing out loud. Puts its finger on the pulse of Malaysian politics and social issues in a lighthearted way. For sure one of the finest Malaysian novels and a must-read for anyone interested I local literature.

sheryllpaul's review

emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75