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From the gritty back streets of Kay El to the remotest rubber estates, from fishing boats to food courts, from ancient rainforests to air-conditioned shopping malls and condominiums, the eighteen enthralling stories in Tropical Madness explore varied aspects of Malaysia. Whether set in the kampung or the city these are insightful and evocative stories of a country where dark magic coexists with gleaming technology. Marc de Faoite sensitively deals with some of the realities of modern Malaysia and gives voice to a mix of marginalized and overlooked sectors of Malaysia's population, including immigrants, transsexuals, fishermen, ethnic minorities and sex slaves. (Buku Fixi)
Equally nostalgic yet nightmarish, Lime Pickled is a short story collection set in a fictional Malaysia on the murky themes of exploitation, ecological damage, poverty, abuse and loss. Nefarious characters and the oppressed interact in modern Asia’s richly-textured familiar and amoral setting. At once dark and surreal yet heartwarming, this collection was written during the author’s 15-year stint in Malaysia and hits hard in many ways. Marc de Faoite’s gritty and satirical storytelling hints at traditional folklore with a brush of Zola’s detached naturalism. The initial primal shock cuts deep but these controversial and revealing stories of human longing and hope will stay with you for a long time. "A collection with an unmistakable heart." - Shih-Li Kow Read Lime Pickled and Other Stories today and discover new Asian writing.
Crocodiles in the city, street food fandom, a psychic club meeting in a Penang beach resort. Asian Anthology: New Writing Vol. 1 is a showcase of short stories and place writing by both new and more established prize-winning writers. Some unexpected, a few surreal and others traditional, these are 23 compelling stories of irony, humanity and satire, exploring a range of subject matter to reveal a glimpse of modern Asian society and culture: a funeral in India, a hotel encounter in Japan, a sleepless night in Hong Kong. Modern themes such as the chilling consequences of the environmental impact of logging, deforestation and the barbarism of the shark’s fin soup delicacy press on our collect...
TRASH is part of a threesome of Southeast Asian urban anthologies. The other two are called HEAT and FLESH. It features stories about Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia. The writers have sorted through the ‘trash’ and found things that can be valued as still useful, things that deserve to be salvaged, and recycled, or reused, but they also point unflinchingly at structures, strictures, and modes of thought that have clearly served their time and must be discarded. Writers: Zedeck Siew, Raymond G. Falgui, Lyana Shah, Dipika Mukherjee, Timothy Marsh, Richard Calayeg Cornelio, Ted Mahsun, Eliza Vitri Handayani, Michael Aaron Gomez, Tilon Sagulu, Alexander Marcos Osias, Nin Harris, Francis Paolo Quina, M. SHANmughalingam and Victor Fernando R. Ocampo (Fixi Novo) (Buku Fixi)
There are plenty of books on federal government and politics in Malaysia, but very few on local government. Yet it is the level of government that is closest to us and impacts our lives most directly, and is the one least understood by the average person in the street. This book addresses that problem. Local Democracy Denied? takes a unique and comprehensive approach to discussing local government – one that is political, analytical, personal, historical, and forward looking. It begins with the author’s personal journey to becoming a councillor for six years on the Penang Island City Council, as a representative of civil society. It then provides a brief history of how local government i...
An informative and well-researched book, The King's Chinese provides a superb account of the Straits British Chinese, a distinct migrant society from various districts of South China in the late 19th Century. Daryl Yeap gives us a fascinating story of this hybrid community, taking us on tour through one man's journey, beginning with how he left a war-ravaged China to Penang, where he started life as an illiterate itinerant barber to becoming one of the most successful bankers in South East Asia. As she takes us through his story, Daryl brilliantly captures its unique society and wonderful mix of cultures explaining how Penang was once considered the Cinderella of the East; what the earliest forms of passports were; how a coconut scraper, so novel, was confused as 'one musical instrument' by the British eye; and exactly how a borrower's credit profile was assessed with just one glance of the face. A highly readable book with plenty of witty anecdotes and compelling analysis, it is undoubtedly a book that sheds light on a significant development in Malaysia's history.
In February 2014, an international colony of young, freewheeling and footloose artists held a group exhibition that would stand as a pivotal turning point for the future of George Town, Penang. It was an exhibition destined to make the artists household names, infamous for boldly swinging into parties and installing challenging art onto Southeast Asian walls. It would also spell the return of George Town to a worldwide destination, a city relegated to backwater ashes rising to heights shared by heritage, culture, and cosmopolitanism. In this personal exposé, James H. Springer documents the lives and times of artists during the period of 2010 to 2016, telling the story of George Town’s gen...
This book comprises a collection of essays that address a significant gap in the study of Malaysian Literature in English by exploring selected local and diasporic writings produced in the new postcolonial millennium, including works by established, emerging, and new writers. The literary developments in this new millennium have been substantial and are reflected in the production of new voices, viewpoints, themes, trends, styles, and forms. By articulating these changing postcolonial perspectives and conditions, the chapters in this volume can inform and enrich the study of nation, society, and culture in a globalized and hyperreal age. Tapping into the difference, diversity, and hybridity ...
“We live in paradoxical times. Traditionally, the West has led the world in theory and practice. Yet, recent developments, from COVID-19 to the storming of the US Capitol, show how lost the West has become. This loss of direction has deep roots. In their usual thoughtful and incisive fashion, Lim Mah-Hui and Michael Heng Siam-Heng, draw out the deeper origins of our current crises and show us a new way forward. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand our strange times." -- Kishore Mahbubani, founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, is the author of Has China Won? “A powerful and compelling critique of neoliberal globalization and...
In March 1945 British Major Tom Harrisson and 42 Australian, New Zealand and British guerrillas dropped behind enemy lines in Borneo in an operation designed to assist the Australian Imperial Force’s (AIF) landings on the island, the largest amphibious operation in Australia’s history. In a matter of months the guerrillas moved well beyond their initial intelligence gathering mission, disrupting enemy supply lines, mounting raids on Japanese outposts, ambushing and often beheading, Japanese soldiers in the jungle. By the War’s end they had killed over 1,000 enemy. When Japan surrendered in August 1945, the AIF abruptly wound-up operations, leaving the Borneo tribespeople and brothers-in-arms to the fate of two roaming Japanese companies. Harrisson led a small band of guerrillas to hunt down these renegades, forcing their surrender on 30 October 1945, ten weeks after the war’s official end. Harrisson required his men to live off the land and at times, appeared oblivious to their appalling conditions. Nevertheless all 42 members of his force survived the war. But rather than revere their leader, many hated him and three wanted to kill him.