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A review by ayundabs
LITTLE BASKET 2017: New Malaysian Writing by Catalina Rembuyan, Hazieqa, Daniel Chow, Satpal Kaler, May Chong, Mahen Bala, Hanna Alkaf, Elizabeth Gimbad, Marcus van Geyzel, Julya Oui, Masami Mustaza, Subashini Navaratnam, Ted Mahsun, Maizura Abas, Marc de Faoite, Kevin Lau, Chuah Guat Eng, Terence A. Anthony, Lee Ee Leen, Edwin Kho, Foo Sek Han, Sukhbir Cheema, Leon Wing, Tshiung Han See, Wan Phing Lim, Leela Chakrabarty
3.0
Before this book, I don’t think I have ever read any Malaysian writing before. Despite all the controversy surrounding Indonesians and Malaysians, I’ve always liked the people and the country. And reading this short story collection almost a year after last being home in Indonesia, it felt so nice to read something that feels so much like home. Because geographically, season-wise, and people-wise, though in this collection you can also see the uniqueness of Malaysians, they are not so much different from Indonesians. Especially aspects of familiar words and the weather, familiar terms and norms and activities present in the stories here reminded me a lot of home.
In general I think this collection is sophisticated and quite well-composed. There are stories, poems and even pictures, and some of the stories feel also similar to musings of a writer or just a small article. Every story had their own writer’s voices shining through, and it’s apparent that there are a lot of talent in modern Malaysian writing. My favourite stories include You can’t make nasi lemak with sushi rice, Broken English as a first language, and Misadventures in food.
Some of my favourite stories were the ones I read in the beginning, and I personally thought the first half of the book was much better than the second half. However it definitely depends on who you are and as with any other short story collections, each story will appeal to different readers, and it’s virtually impossible for someone to love every single story in this book, and likewise it is unlikely that anyone would hate all the stories in the collection. A writing style that really stuck to me (alongside the story and the characters of course) was Temptation. It was very different and unique and I’m very interested to read more stories by him.
All in all Little Baskets was a wonderfully unique collection that is fresh and a great start for my exploration of other countries’ literature. If you are familiar with South East Asian culture, you’ll probably love the references and the themes that remind you of the place. Even if you’re totally unaware of Malaysian culture, food, or people, I think some of the stories in this book will also grip you and give you an interesting overview on life in Malaysia.
In general I think this collection is sophisticated and quite well-composed. There are stories, poems and even pictures, and some of the stories feel also similar to musings of a writer or just a small article. Every story had their own writer’s voices shining through, and it’s apparent that there are a lot of talent in modern Malaysian writing. My favourite stories include You can’t make nasi lemak with sushi rice, Broken English as a first language, and Misadventures in food.
Some of my favourite stories were the ones I read in the beginning, and I personally thought the first half of the book was much better than the second half. However it definitely depends on who you are and as with any other short story collections, each story will appeal to different readers, and it’s virtually impossible for someone to love every single story in this book, and likewise it is unlikely that anyone would hate all the stories in the collection. A writing style that really stuck to me (alongside the story and the characters of course) was Temptation. It was very different and unique and I’m very interested to read more stories by him.
All in all Little Baskets was a wonderfully unique collection that is fresh and a great start for my exploration of other countries’ literature. If you are familiar with South East Asian culture, you’ll probably love the references and the themes that remind you of the place. Even if you’re totally unaware of Malaysian culture, food, or people, I think some of the stories in this book will also grip you and give you an interesting overview on life in Malaysia.