Susan Abraham - Malaysia

Malaysian novelist Tan Twan Eng's 2nd novel, The Garden of Evening Mists, out on 2 November

Caption: A lively green for the cover design may yet prove an eye-catcher!

I'm pretty much delighted to read that Malaysian novelist, Tan Twan Eng, once longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2007 for his first novel, The Gift of Rain, is to have a second one titled The Garden of Evening Mists, out in London on 2 November.

I gather from past observations, that this would mean simultanous distribution in several other countries as well. Like the first novel, the second hardback priced at £18.99 (ISBN: 978-1-905802-04-3) and export paperback, would also be published by independent publisher,Myrmidon Books.

I'm personally excited about the second book but then I normally am about any other novel that would herald the presence of contemporary Malaysian novelists in Britain today. In recent years, we have enjoyed a cheerful number starting with Rani Manicka and this followed by Tash Aw, a little later, Tan and Preeta Samarasan and more recently Shamini Flint and Chiew-Siah Tei.

I am careful to mention the writers who stay the big names and with the exception of Flint at the last count; those who enjoy agented representation, are still in print with mainstream publishing houses and receive absolutely fantastic world distribution.

I believe there is another Malaysian writer in Britain to come; Ivy Ngeow, who was once published by Silverfish (Malaysia) and who won an international literary prize at Middlesex University in 2005, is currently agented but not yet published.

The Gift of Rain received worldwide critical acclaim. During my travels, I remember seeing Tan's novel being displayed for sale in unlikely regions and of course, at several airports while in transit.

Then, Tan had turned his pen to setting his plot in 1939 Penang, thus, etching his story deep into the complexities of an intense Malayan history that occured three years before the rampage and subsequent occupation of the Japanese in World War 2. Tan's storyline later moved beyond.

In the modern tale, an obvious exotic imagery crowns an almost mythical narration on the pain secured from an engagement of risky loyalties and the measured artistry of an opulent indulgence with *aikido, a Japanese culture relying on the searching rules of a life energy, and for which I've often read that Tan is himself famed.

The Garden of Evening Mists returns to a Malaya now 10 years later, in 1949.

In a new plot that bears no relation to the first one, Yun Ling Teoh, a traumatised and solitary survivor of a brutal Japanese wartime camp, still seeks solace from the Northern Malayan jungles close to where she grew up. Thankfully, she hasn't done too badly. With a law degree from Cambridge, she spends her time helping to prosecute Japanese war criminals.

In the midst of her trying time, she stumbles upon Yugiri, a single Japanese garden in Malaya created and owned by Aritomo, an exile and a former gardener to Japan's Emperor. Much as Yun Ling deplores the Japanese people, she feels compelled to request that Aritomo builds her a garden in Kuala Lumpur, in memory of a sister who perished in the prison camp. After an initial refusal, Aritomo eventually agrees with Teoh as his apprentice for a temporal season until the monsoon arrives.

The plot promises to widen and entice its reader with its entrance into the fringes of human intimacy and stirs up strong hints of unanswered questions There are dark secrets wound around the day-to-day realities. All the while, threats of murders and kidnappings from jungle guerrillas, stay one of these.

Why do I feel from just embarking on the summary alone, that here stands a plot, screaming to be turned into an intriguing film...

Tan Twan Eng who lives in Cape Town, South Africa and is now working on his third novel has always provided for high inspirations with regards to an admirable disciplined focus in his attitude towards the subject of novel-writing in general. He is not visible on the virtual networking scene but keeps his presence as a writer vibrant, with consistent appearances at international writing festivals. - susan abraham

*Aikido - Its detailed definition of a Japanese martial art resting on the philosophies of Morihei Ueshiba, may be found HERE.

Leaving The Heart Behind by Joan Foo Mahony - New Fiction on Old Malaya

Title: Leaving The Heart Behind  Author: Joan Foo Mahony. ISBN: 9789670138008, Format: Paperback, Released: 1st October 2010, Publisher: JF Publishing Sdn. Bhd.  Price: Ringgit Malaysia RM59.90.

Publisher's Website: * JF Publishing Sdn. Bhd.

(*Detailed information on the novelist, Joan Foo Mahony, may be had on the above-mentioned website.)

 Below are two major Malaysian bookstores, that signal stock availability & shopping cart orders:

Kinokuniya Book Web Kuala Lumpur &

MPH Bookstores (MPH Online.Com)

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I've just discovered a tempting new work of historial fiction laid out in the  English language, on old Malaya, out now in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Nothing's impossible for the enthusiastic world reader, these days, of course. If oceans make for a sore distance, then let your heart cajole you to an online book order instead.  After all, isn't Christmas a time for all fine things...

Now, I didn't work as a copywriter for international ad agency AP Foote Cone & Belding in Kuala Lumpur, before I became a magazine journalist for nothing.

Anyway, I'm excited writing about this novel as it's so up my street.

Penned by Joan Foo Mahony, who published the story, under her own publishing outfit called JF Publishing in Kuala Lumpur (see website above); the book is described as a work of historical fiction spanning from 1936 to 1975 and  stretching out, contrasting episodes of both war and peace. The plot rides on a saga that involves a tale of two dynamic families in two cities; Tokyo and Georgetown, Penang.

Malaysia, then Malaya, was invaded by the Japanese during the Second World War and this novel, capsules that era of a tragic consequence.

As described in an interesting book review, written by Anu Venugopal and published in the Malay Mail (Malaysia's city tabloid), who writes that "... the beautiful and musically talented Komiko Koyama, who together with twin brother Mako is as­signed to Malaya as part of the Japanese army's photographer-spy. Once in Penang, the siblings are introduced to Eurasian beauty Mai De Silva, newspaper owner Harry Lim and cinema magnate Win-Sun Lim, who eventually become entrenched in their lives..." - MM Tues, Nov 9, 2010.

 Venugopal also goes on to praise the easy flow of narration that might have otherwise created for a complicated timeline and highlights, Mahony's inner love for the chosen cities in the book.

I like the idea of characters being involved in creative occupations, that suggest whimsical moods  of light and colour, to what may have just as well been, a staid plot. Congratulations, Joan Foo Mahony! Well Done!

Forthcoming Penang Book Signing:

Joan Foo Mahony will conduct a book signing and meet-and-greet session, for her historical novel, Leaving the Heart Behind between 3pm - 4pm, on Saturday, 27th November, 2010 at the MPH Bookstore in Gurney Plaza, Penang, Malaysia.

Note: Do confirm beforehand to avoid any eventual disappointment, in case of a sudden notice of cancellation or postponment.

Re-issued edition of The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka (UK, 2010)

by Susan Abraham

Dublin May 21, 2010: Here is a re-issued edition of Malaysian novelist, *Rani Manicka's first novel, The Rice Mother, originally published by Sceptre London in September 2002.

The chunky poignant novel, pictured here, has recently been published once again by Hodder & Stoughton Ltd. London and released simultaneously with Manicka's latest saga effort, The Japanese Lover.  Both currently stand side by side in the shops and are being pushed for a reader's attention in a case of Happy Families, together with Sarita Mandanna's Tiger Hills, another alluring novel, banking its seductive attempts  on the coffee plantations of Coorg in South India.

I must admit with a half-smile, that the titles do look rather agreeable and make for jolly company while dressed in party colours, on the display shelves.

The new version of The Rice Mother also holds a first chapter extract to  The Japanese Lover.

Here at the moment is my own scanned picture. I certainly enjoy the vibrant splash of colour, which stays loyal to the plot... one that features a determined Ceylonese matriach,  in Malaya during the Second World War. Its protagonist, Lakshmi is reputed for weathering  tragedy with all  the ferociousness of a typhooned boulder.

Indeed, it was a wise idea to remind readers of Rani Manicka's presence in the fiction-writing world once more after a good seven years.  There's no denying that The Rice Mother has always been fondly remembered, still continues to make its vigorous rounds on the web worldwide and can to the present day, be found in the tidy alphabetical arrangement and not the bargain-basement section of a good bookshop's walled fiction collection.

Manicka's second novel, Touching Earth did not produce the same excitable clamour.  It is anyone's guess if The Japanese Lover will take off. Saying this, the sensuous tale is a commendable exercise , experimenting in the throes of an extraordinary heartbreak  and I would vote in its favour.

It's a complex publishing industry these days and Manicka's continued absence from internet interaction may tell eventually on awareness and sales. The majority of authors now plump for their books either in a somewhat mild-mannered fashion or proferring otherwise to bold exclamations, on the web.  The publicity starts a few months before  a title's release.  Blog interviews and virtual book tours may be eagerly sought and the odd hopeful review, uncovered.   I am reminded of Tash Aw another popular Malaysian novelist in London, who while proclaiming  a dislike for the internet, still owns a website.  A registered digital presence is no longer an option, but a necessity.

I also feel that The Japanese Lover with regards to a theme , characterization and  plot - be warned that this is anything but straightforward -is slightly weaker than The Rice Mother.  The former features grand designs for introspection and may be perceived by some, as overly-ambitious. Over the years, Manicka's writing techniques have improved sharply and today, her style is far more lucid.  I must add that the structure to the complicated Japanese Lover is superb.  Still, in her career as  novelist, Manicka runs the risk of being recognised in her full  element pertaining to a novel's voice; as writing in the first person, and not otherwise.  The Rice Mother and not The Japanese Lover, is narrated with vivid clarity in the first person.

At the moment, both titles hold delicious bewitching covers, designed to  tempt the book-buyer's curiosity in more ways than one.  The Rice Mother and The Japanese Lover have also earned themselves terrific display sections in the big Dublin bookshops.

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*Rani Manicka is believed to be the first novelist in the Far East to produce sagas internationally, featuring the said region.

 

 

 

 

Sweet Offerings, a first novel by Chan Ling Yap, Malaysian Fiction in the UK

 

 

by Susan Abraham

 

As a fellow Malaysian writer in Ireland, I was thrilled to discover on the web - and only just - that former Malaysian lecturer at the University of Malaya Chan Ling Yap who later became a food specialist in Rome and is now resident in England, has published her first work of fiction called Sweet Offerings (ISBN  978-1906710989  £8.99)  by Pen Press Partnership Publishing UK.

Better still, Chan's debut novel is featured at this year's London Book Fair.

Below is a short synopsis of the historical work of fiction, aptly described by Pen Press which offers a complete publishing service at their offices in Brighton. As a commissioned publishing service, Chan couldn't be in better hands:

 

Set in the late 1930s and 1960s, this is the tale of Mei Yin, a young Chinese girl from an impoverished family. Her destiny is shaped when she is sent to Kuala Lumpar to become the ward and companion of the tyrannical and bitter Su Hei who is looking for a suitable wife for her son Ming Kong... and ultimately a grandson and heir to the family dynasty.

"Sweet Offerings" is not just a fictional story of the events that ripped one family apart, but a taste of Malaysia's historical political and cultural changes during its transition from colonial rule to independence and beyond.

On her website, Chan explains that the title of her novel was taken from the dish lin qi kung meaning a light syrup with lotus seeds and too, a fruit longan with which to sweeten, soothe and balance the yin and yang (energy harmony) of the body. Chan goes on to describe the priceless value of a traditional tea  infused and sweeten with the same ingredients so as to subdue suffering or bitterness.

Chan Ling Yap is holder of a PhD in Economics. She worked at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome for 19 years. In the past, Chan has also written technical books, academic and professional papers. Sweet Offerings is her first work of fiction.

The rose-coloured porcelain bowl on the book cover triggers tender memories of open air coffeeshops in Malaysia - famous roadside stalls - with aromas of curries, soups and fried noodles wafting about while noisy patrons sat  on wooden stools, eager  to dive into those tasty dishes with their clicking chopsticks.  Porcelain bowls, plates and spoons claimed a special novelty all their own before plastic cutlery was later introduced.

My hunch at first glance is that Chan's story will stay nothing short of alluring.

Read some flattering Amazon reviews Here.

Catch a few paragraphs of Sweet Offering Here.

A Few Thoughts from Amanda Sington-Williams

by Susan Abraham

Well...I flew into Singapore early this morning and will fly out once more tonight as I leave this weekend for Australia. To follow those famous lyrics from Leaving on a Jetplane, it's a case of 'All my bags are packed and I'm ready to go..."

I'm off to explore Arab & Bagdad Streets and Singapore's Chinatown for the moment. I am engulfed now only with vague memories at the most of these particular locations; it's been a few good years and way too long for Singapore to once more reach out her hand to me, while armed with her breathy hint of seduction for an assortment of quaint nooks and alleys, not often seen to the eye.

However, I have heard from Amanda Sington-Williams (pictured here) this morning - she authors an exciting historical novel, The Eloquence of Desire - so will not go off without leaving you a few poignant thoughts on how she views her new book to be published shortly by Sparkling Books in the UK. Her romantic plot focusses on a slice of old Malaya and you may read much more from my first blog post on the subject over Here. - susan abraham

 

Below, Amanda Sington-Williams (AMS) explains why she set The Eloquence of Desire in old Malaysia.

"Before I embarked on my novel, I wrote a short story called ‘The Carving’ which was set in Malaysia during the 1930s. This was shortlisted for The Asham Award and I thought I would take the three central characters and transform them into a novel. But I decided to move them on a bit time-wise as I’ve always had a fascination for the 1950s, the fashions and how the nuclear family were presented as perfect, how any flaws were concealed during that period. Books and films set during that period also influenced my decision to set it then. Also I wanted to set the novel before independence but during the Emergency which lasted twelve years." - AMS

...and on her connections with Malaysia...

"My grandparents lived in Malaysia for twenty two years and my mother and aunt both spent their childhoods there. I grew up with anecdotes of life there and I’ve spent long periods of time in Malaysia. This was a huge influence on my decision to set the novel there. I found old family photographs of my grandparent’s colonial house as well as pictures of the landscape and I was able to see the clothes people wore. My characters live in the houses that my family occupied, though my imagination played a large part too. When I was researching for the novel I came across a journal that a relative called Derrick Sington had written when he was a foreign correspondent for The Manchester Guardian in 1955. It had lots of information about the Emergency and that settled the date in which to set the novel – 1955, the year before independence." - AMS

Amanda’s book, The Eloquence of Desire will be published by Sparkling Books on June 14th 2010.

For more information on Amanda Sington-Williams, you may click on her Website. For added information on The Eloquence of Desire, you may click on Sparkling Books.

(This post was originally slotted into an older Wordpress blog on February 26th, 2010.)

 

The Eloquence of Desire by Amanda Sington-Williams

by Susan Abraham

Forthcoming Fiction on Old Malaya

Where internationally-published fiction on Malaysia is concerned in these coming months, the world can expect to be treated first of all to Malaysian award-winning novelist Rani Manicka's historical novel called The Japanese Lover - please do see my earlier post here slated to be released in London on May 13, 2010.

Then readers if you love a touch of literary flair that so kindly befits the Far East, do mark your bookshop or Amazon browse dates again because I have just stumbled onto the nicest surprise. The British novelist, poet and short story writer Amanda Sington-Williams is to have her novel, set in 1950's colonial Malaysia, published a month later on June 14, in London by Sparkling Books.

The Eloquence of Desire is based largely on the story of a scandalous Englishman George who is packed off to the tropics as penance for adultery. He arrives with his reluctant wife Dorothy while his daughter Susan, is dismissed to boarding school. A host of complicated relationships accompanied by clandestine visits are wound into the more painful reality of Malaya's Communist Insurgency. The synopsis warns that George subsequently takes on a lover, Dorothy turns a hermit and Susan resorts to self-harm. For some reason that exudes the plot's flavour and atmosphere, I'm recalling smouldering dinner jacket scenes and that, often moulded into tragic encounters, from 1972's The Whiteoaks of Jalna.

Brighton resident Williams has travelled the world and worked in a variety of interesting occupations. Her personality appears to soar off her website with an irrepressible vibrance and her rich portfolio of writings are clearly eclectic.

(This post was originally slotted into an older Wordpress blog on 6th February, 2010.)

The Last Chapter by Alicia Loh

by Susan Abraham

Recently, I read and finished with a long cool breath and mind you, while still not yet missing my coffee; 13 year old *Alicia Loh's ambitious 70-page novella called The Last Chapter.

This silent reading episode of course, taking place one blissful morning while still in bed in my hotel room. I remember being at peace with all the world, even as the book would dutifully outline a series of melancholy events that stoutly failed to rouse me into grief. This, surrounding the day-to-day events of a confused protagonist. What compels us to buy the books we do?

I was attracted to The Last Chapter initially for the vibrant blue that stood out on the rack. The soft shimmers projected silky threads of shades in-waiting like something beautiful, ready to be picked up, gazed upon and caressed.

I had wanted to talk about The Last Chapter then but preoccupied with the rushed notion of flying to Singapore, had allowed thoughts to be shelved on the back-burner.

The plot rests with a promising swimmer and hopeful Harvard student, 17 year old Piper, who much to her own amazement is promptly disowned by a seemingly scornful mum when she fails to qualify for the Olympics.

Piper flees to a river where deluged by mournful thoughts of failure, tries to end her life by drowning. She is stopped in the nick of time from an elegiac notion of self-proclaimed tragedy, by a young strange man, described in a way that a reader could only perceive to be nothing short of handsome.

Far from a supposed romance, the story delightfully plods its way into a dark mystery involving a series of broken family connections . Cryptic clues made up of notes, letters and a locket, hint at Piper's mother's shocking if not churlish behaviour. Each unravels a different secret. I enjoyed Loh's studied composition and skilled if not painstaking dialogue of events.

She also sketched out a thoughtful characterization where personalities shone to supplement a story that flowed with the same direct smoothness through the pages in a similar pattern of the river Loh describes so vividly, and which acts as a brilliant central theme .

At just 13, Loh's prose is already flawless and fluent. Still at 13, when perceptions, emotions and introspections are likely to rely heavily on idealism, I feel that Loh has rested on a fair bit of English romanticism - something that I sometimes come across in a few other local works of Malaysian fiction by adult authors these days - there seems to be a current conflict as an author wrestles with trying to personify a distinct Malaysian sophistication but resting finally on specific English adjectives borrowed from Britain's popular modern classics or even that odd whiff of Blyton, if you may, where measured against the Malaysian-ness of something, leaves a story slightly jagged and jarred.

This would be risky venture certainly as flavours and moods that may account for a present atmosphere instantly vanishes as an interested reader reluctantly abandons the present tale to remember another story from a different place.

Or perhaps it is simply someone like me, a neutral Malaysian reader from abroad, and one who constantly has her eye on regional literature, who will be astute enough to spot the struggle of two different cultures on a single page of prose. This, as is evident in parts, in Loh's novella.

Letters, lockets, trunks and other common clues found in Western mysteries or predictable British romances find their way into Loh's inspirations.

The setting is not Malaysian.

As a reader, I had to figure this out somehow which added to confusion as well.

In the same vein, I must say that I enjoyed Loh's very clear and definitive ideas and talent for suspense; a trait I hope she eagerly develops. Alicia Loh would make a superb mystery writer. She is also excellent at characterization and could easily pen scripts or plays. In The Last Chapter, there lay something all the more genuinely Nancy Drew-ish about each hapless and confusing event that spiralled Piper into an eternal whirlpool of distress.

In fact, the mysterious caring lad who invites Piper to take refuge at his home is credibly drawn out. His name is Jaeson and both he and his hostile sister, Autumn will lead Loh through deeper journeys into the unknown. I really enjoyed Loh's natural flair for suspense. At the end though, I found the last pages rushed and vague. The conclusion proved too abrupt for me to derive any further excitement. Still, a splendid show from Loh for her competent writing, an initially fascinating story and certainly an ingenious structure, which kept me happily hooked to the end.

I very much look forward to her next book. Further reading & viewing of photographs: *Alicia Loh suffers from the incurable Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2 which results in the weakening of muscles. Her novella was sponsored and published by MPH Publishing Malaysia. Here are some information/photos of Loh's recent book launch. Each book costs 15 Malaysian ringgit and all proceeds will go towards Loh's medical fund. International readers could place an order with MPH Online.com

The Japanese Lover by Rani Manicka

by Susan Abraham

Malaysia's first internationally-acclaimed novelist, Rani Manicka who authored the highly-successful The Rice Mother in London in September 2002, comes out with her third hardback (£17.99)/paperback (£12.99) in the UK on May 13, 2010, called The Japanese Lover and to be published by Hodder & Stoughton (ISBN: 1444700316).

The story will once more detail a romantic family history based on the lives of a Sri Lankan family in old war-torn Malaya, that matches closely with a loose theme bearing on her famous saga of the past.

The cover art is not yet available. The photograph above belongs to my personal records.

Further Reading: Vaani, the voice of Asian Women Writers.

The book cover design was slotted into this post on February 27, 2010 while still on Wordpress.