Book set in Taiping, Malaysia. Reviewed on 2020/06: https://www.instagram.com/p/CB_QThwgciz/
Now with #thoughigethome by #yzchin , I have read 4 books set in #malaysia and 3 of those are collections of #shortstories . For some, a #collection or #anthologyof short stories can be an introduction to a country, to a diverse group of writers, to different stories coming together under one topic. To me, it felt that #chin ‘s stories wanted above all to interpellate. Beyond the romanticization of the country’s past and the allure of yet another skyscraper, where are we really going and why? The characters in her stories seem to be moving forward at a rapid speed only to realize that they need to return to those past ghosts they believed to have been forgotten or silenced. The faster they move forward, the stronger their past pulls them back in. What is the price that #malaysiansociety seems to be paying for ignoring its past, refusing to reckon with its past demons and how it’s all inevitably linked to its current silences and today’s addiction to rapid dehumanization. Do not come to this book expecting a UNESCO/Miss Universe type of intro to Malaysia. The complexity and deep abysms here give this book a completely different feeling. I just wish YZ Chin would consider making some of these stories a fully fledged novel. This is her #literarydebut . Therefore, I’m looking forward to her next writing adventures. #recommended #feministpress#taiping #kualalumpur#malaysianliterature #malay#politicalrepression #censorship#debut #healing
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