Book Review: OBJECTS OF DESIRE: 10 Malaysian Chinese Short Stories in Translation

OBJECTS OF DESIRE: 10 Malaysian Chinese Short Stories in Translation by Lee Hao Jie


Interesting things I have learnt about Mahua, which I think is different from English lit:
- naming the main protagonist is, apparently, almost unheard of. OMG like 8/10 stories do not name the MC and sometimes not even the other characters T.T And one of them, I'm not actually sure if the MC was named or not, so maybe that's 9/10 lmaoooo
- the writers reference English classics, which is interesting, because I wouldn't expect any English works to reference Chinese lit!
- there are a lot of stories around memories and losing the past. Maybe this is an outflow of how Malaysian Chinese feel like we're slowly losing our culture to time and modernisation.
- also a lot of family feels.
- maybe also a preoccupation with death... idk, I feel like only 2 stories don't mention death (or a dead person) in any form.

How Mahua is similar to English literary short stories:
- the writers have an obsession with affairs, sex, and the penis. 
- some of them have really weird endings? Like what? What am I supposed to get from this? Is this story even complete? IS THIS A FEVER DREAM.
- these are the same reasons I rarely read (or write) in the "literary" genre lol.

Anyway, notable stories, or stories I thought were really strong:
Xia Mei’s Clock by King Ban Hui, Yee Heng Yeh (Tr)
This is the story where the title comes from:

“At one point, he had swiped through the photos of these girls who, through the way they dressed, presented themselves as objects of desire on the website. Whoever they once were had been reduced to just their name, age, body measurements, and nationality.”

Xia Mei’s Clock is a pandemic story, where interpersonal connections are fraying and time has lost its meaning. The protagonist (also unnamed, unless that stray mention of ‘Xing Ye’ towards the end is his name?) requests for a human prostitute at the clock hotel instead of a silicone doll. Yet as the story slips from the protagonist, to Xia Mei, then back again; and as COVID rages and time skips; there’s an underlying surrealness to the story, making you question if Xia Mei is actually human.
As much as I thought this was a really iffy premise, this is a solid story on connection, the male loneliness epidemic, and the ravages of time.

Our Years on the Mountain Top by Tew Pak Ching, Lai Suk Yin (Tr)
If I had to make a snap judgement on Mahua based on this book, it would be the fact that Malaysian Chinese writers are somehow obsessed with penises. This heartwarming story of sibling love (and rivalry) as well as a mother’s sacrifice for her children (both evident in the mother and grandmother in this story) is framed by the very strange peeing competition in the morning, and the younger sister’s preoccupation for looking at her brother’s pee-pee. Like why.

Yesterday’s Sunken Fragrance by Chan Yeong Siew, Foo Sek Han (Tr)
A chance look at a Malaysian news headline reveals the truth behind the long silence from Liu Chen Xiang’s lover, Ma Yao Han.
Actually, the most exciting thing about this story is that finally, finally EVERYONE IS NAMED. It’s a weird thing to note, because like a predominant writing advice in English is to name your characters upfront and all these stories so far have gotten away with having a lot of unnamed characters. But I digress.
Yesterday’s Sunken Fragrance dwells in memories and loss, and also secrets and the grief that comes from them. It’s bittersweet, and yet also tinged with practicality as Chen Xiang says her goodbyes in the city she’s long left behind.

Panas by leemuzmuz, Ooi Yining (Tr)
Panas is a hard-hitting story of sexual assault in school, flitting from her present trauma to the past events that created them. It’s a painful look at how the perpetrators are often protected and victims told to just suck it up and move on. And that last haunting question: would none of this have happened if she were a boy?

All in all, this was a fascinating exploration of literature that I would normally never read, either because of the genre or because of the language.

Looking forward to the next in the series!

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Book Review: Bright Green Futures: 2024 | Susan Kaye Quinn (ed)

Bright Green Futures: 2024 by Renan Bernardo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm going to review this in order of the stories I liked the most.

Coriander by Ana Sun - 5 stars
There's possibly a lot of bias in me liking this story best, because well, Ana Sun seems to be a fellow Malaysian. Corianderis the story of Aster, a young woman returning to her great-grandmother's homeland, chasing a cultural inheritance that has been lost along the way to westernisation, colonisation, and the need for assimilation. The details are semi-familiar, an ancestor fleeing this land for greener pastures elsewhere, their descendants return as mere tourists. There's the heat of the equator, the tang of spices and mud, a long description of food. Laksa, in this instance. And omg DOULOS! WHO REMEMBERS DOULOS, I loved Doulos (which has now apparently been converted from a floating bookstore to a hotel??). I spent way too long distracted, trying to figure out which island Aster's great-grandmother was from. Not Singapore, too much Malay; not Penang because dangit Penang Laksa does NOT have prawns, chicken or coriander, that's... AH, that's Sarawak Laksa, and this has to be Sarawak, but it's an island and... dangit Anna, Borneo IS an island. A very big one.
At any rate, Coriander is a story of connection - reconnecting to one's roots, making new connections, rediscovering your place in the world - and being kind and giving to everyone. It's also a story of adaptation - of rebuilding after devastation, of creating new ways to deal with the changing climate, of regreening the earth - and preservation.

What Kind of Bat is This? by Sarena Ulibarri - 4.5 stars
Is this a BAT or is this a DINOSAUR? Is the AI crazy or did a PTEROSAUR really survive in hiding all these years? It's a slightly crazy scenario, but I feel like I like this one quite a bit because the characters are active. They're doing something now to save the world, and they're teens/young adults still learning and growing (even if they're being petty to each other while doing it). Maybe I also like the slight Jurassic Park vibe, without the killer raptors.

Centipede Station by T.K. Rex - 4 stars
What's there NOT to like about interstellar travel and alien contact? And a reminder that sentient aliens might not look humanoid. They may look like clicky space centipedes. Let's try not to murder sentient species on first contact, m'kay?

A Merger in Corn Country by Danielle Arostegui - 3.5 stars
This comes back to community, exploring what it's like to live in a commune - from their confused, old neighbour's point of view. I like the slow shift from curiosity to understanding to acceptance from both sides. It's charming, but it's a little too foreign (lol) for it to truly resonate with me.

The Doglady and the Rainstorm by Renan Bernardo - 3 stars
In a flooded future Rio de Janeiro, Joseane (also known as the Doglady) gets stuck in a thunderstorm while trying to send the dogs she walks back to their owners. She thinks she's alone, ever since she lost her father, but she slowly discovers that she's not, not really. I think where it doesn't quite connect for me is where Joseane keeps making weird (to me) decisions... just very much why on earth would you do that? I know panic and dumb decisions are things, but... idk.

Ancestors, Descendants by BrightFlame - 3 stars
There are sentient trees in this one - and an integrated network of resources previously denied to humans (because you know, humans chop things down and hunt other things). What would integration with nature look like? And how would humans change if they went back to nature? It's a story of integration and ingenuity - and also sacrifice, to protect what these select humans have found while the world outside collapses on itself. The premise was just a little too far out for me to truly enjoy.

The Park of the Beast by T.K. Rex - ??
I dunno what to think of this story of trees in cages and invisible beings??? I cannot tell if this is a fever dream. I think I'm missing something here. I'm assuming this is the prose-poem, which goes to prove that really, poetry confuses me.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the publisher. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Bright Green Futures 2024 releases next week! You can get it here!  

Book Review: The Only Song Worth Singing | Randee Dawn

The Only Song Worth Singing by Randee Dawn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ooof, what can I say about this book? Randee Dawn first lured me in with tea at Glasgow Worldcon 2024 and her brilliant Tune in Tomorrow - and she definitely delivers again with The Only Song Worth Singing. There's much more beer than tea in this one, but it's a fantastic dive into Irish mythology and the lives of these three young rockstars from Dublin.

Ciaran (C) is the extroverted face of the band, Malachi (Mal) is the genius behind their musical arrangements, and Patrick (Patch, previously Padraig) often feels like the hanger on tagging along to support the dynamic duo. But what if, when they run into trouble with the sidhe, he's the only one who can save them? To do that, Patrick must face the past he's left far, far behind, and reconnect to the stories and superstitions he'd once been told to discard.

Part of Patrick's conflict in reconnecting with the traditions he'd grown up with as a boy is his later schooling and upbringing by the monks. Brother David tells him that it is possible to believe in both sets of stories - to believe in Jesus and also to honour and believe in the stories of his youth - but Brother David is sent away after that, and Patrick is made to leave the monastery the day he turned sixteen. Obviously this isn't the core of the story - but it's a thread that I would have loved to explore more.

For the underlying premise of The Only Song Worth Singing is actually quite an old trope - that the belief of humans is what gives the sidhe, or fairies, and other supernatural creatures their form. Dawn twists it and layers it, so it becomes much more than that - and the twists and turns are in turns delightful in their revelation and terrifying in their outcomes.

Ultimately, there's magic and music, and love and loss, and the power of friendship and loyalty to hold each other up. What's not to love?

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the CAEZIK SF & Fantasy via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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The Only Song Worth Singing released yesterday! (Or today, depending on where you are). Get it here. 

Book Review: Girls: Life isn't a Fairy Tale | Annet Schaap, Laura Watkinson

Girls: Life Isn't a Fairy Tale by Annet Schaap
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

These are familiar fairy tales retold, and mostly modernised in some way: Rumpelstiltskin, Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, The Frog Prince, Bluebeard, Sleeping Beauty, and Beauty and the Beast. (Well, at least I think "Monster Girl" is a gender flipped Beauty and the Beast, since I can't figure out any closer comparison.)

There's a wry humour that runs through these stories, and it's especially amusing to me how Schaap twists the original stories to new and unexpected endings. Whilst all the stories are pretty dark, there's also a thread of hope - and if not hope, a kind of resilience - that turns up at the unexpected times and in unexpected places in most of them. There's also a stark realism to them; I'd like to imagine that these retellings would have the same impact on us as the originals did in their time, in warning the readers about the dangers of the world. And also in telling us how to overcome them.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Pushkin Children's Books via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book Review: Murder at Gull's Nest | Jess Kidd

Murder at Gulls Nest by Jess Kidd
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Murder at Gulls Nest is a classic cosy mystery in the vein of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Here, we have an Nora Breen, a former nun, who arrives at Gore-on-Sea in Kent in search of Frieda Brogan, her former novice and friend. Gulls Nest, the same boarding house that Frieda disappeared from, is filled with odd characters: the grieving widow and her wild, silent child; the loving couple who may be facing difficult times; the secret smuggler; the old entertainer; the foreigner; and the grim housekeeper. It's all Breen can do to trace Frieda's footsteps... and then the murders start.

The mystery itself is intriguing. There's enough intrigue and misdirection, misunderstandings and coincidences to keep you entertained and guessing. The various characters are colourful and complex... and yet the main thing that kept me from really enjoying the book was Nora Breen herself.

Breen is supposed to be about 50, but she came across to me as rather brash, impulsive, and unlikeable, as if she'd staved off her teenage years in the convent and was now catching up with antics like constantly throwing shoes at the police constable. There's her rape backstory to contend with, which felt like it was mostly brought up to force a connection with another character. And then there was that nod to a relationship between Breen and the Inspector at the end of the book, which felt rather forced after their extremely contrary working relationship. It's not quite insta-love, but it feels like it was made to happen because both of them were single and had, well, a love for solving mysteries and this was the easiest way for them to work together in future books.

Other minor quibble: The book was written in the present tense, which felt rather jarring and strange for a book of this kind/genre. There didn't seem to be anything in the narrative or text that made it feel necessary, neither did it add to the atmosphere. This is very much a reader preference, however, so maybe it works for others.

At any rate, anyone who likes whodunnits would probably like this book.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from Atria Books via Edelweiss. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Book Review: A Palace Near the Wind | Ai Jiang

A Palace Near the Wind by Ai Jiang
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Land Walkers, or humans, have been encroaching onto Feng territory for years, bringing with it progress and development. But whatever good they purportedly bring is destroying the very fabric of Feng society and the Wind Walkers' way of life. Liu Lufeng's arranged marriage to the King is meant to buy them more time, her bridewealth used to negotiate ways to preserve what little they have left. Yet Lufeng's mother and sisters' marriages have had little lasting effect - so what hope does she have that her own marriage will bring needed change? Thus, attempted murder.

Despite its length - or maybe because of it - A Palace Near the Wind requires careful reading. It's a little hard to get into at first as there are many new ideas and concepts to orient yourself to and there's little to ease your way - and I say this coming fresh off the Stormlight Archives. Maybe if Ai had given it more space to breathe, it wouldn't be so hard to connect.

And yet, once things fall into place, A Palace Near the Wind feels less dense, but more richly layered, exploring not just the destructive nature of unchecked development, but also the any layers of governance and the hidden powers behind the throne. Is the face of the government, be it a king or a president, really the one making the decisions? Or are there others behind them pulling the strings? Can you truly take anything at face value? Or must one always be wary of where the money flows?

The longer Lufeng stays in the Palace, the more secrets she uncovers - secrets that shake the foundations of her very life. What are the true origins of Feng? And what should she do when she discovers that the people she grew up trusting may be complicit in the destruction of her nation? These are delicious breadcrumbs that Ai scatters as twists in the story, leading up to a tantalising cliffhanger.

It is here that I wish that this weren't a novella duology, but that it had been written as a complete novel, because now I have to wait for the next book to be published.

Note: I received a digital ARC of this book from the Titan Books via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Call for Beta Readers!

I've been writing again.... yay!

By which, I mean to say, I've been writing something that isn't the Tea Novel.

It's a prequel to Amok, following our good friend Yosua's father. You've already read some of his story, mostly via conversations, in Amok, but I thought I'd like to flesh it out a little into a short story of its own. (Uh, it's not really short, kinda verging into novelette territory, but well, it's not a novel.)

At any rate, I'm looking for beta readers! And I'd love to give you this early preview if you'd agree to give me some feedback! :D

Sounds like something you'd like to read? Apply here: https://forms.gle/uRnjkxN3MwyYLdy68