Tuhan Manusia

Author: Faisal Tehrani

"Andai kota itu peradaban, rumah kami adalah
budaya, dan menurut ibu, tiang serinya adalah agama."

translation: If civilisation is a city, then our home
is culture, and according to mother, its main pillar is religion.

The prose above greets you at the beginning of every chapter in the latest work by Faisal Tehrani.

Faisal Tehrani is noted as a thinking author. One local English magazine hailed him as one of Malaysia's Most Outstanding Individuals in 2005, describing him as "one of the rare ideologists in Malay literature". And having heard of his credentials and read his blog several times in the last couple of years, I decided to give his works a try.

Mind you, this is the first Malay novel I've read in a very long time. I usually approach Malay novels with some skepticism, seeing as how the few I've read before seem to be merely a tame translation of Mills & Boon romances, which seems wholly inappropriate in a Malaysian (Malay?) setting. And the multi-syllable Malay words and 'bahasa bunga-bunga' make the reading longer and more difficult for me - heck, I'm an engineer, I may be longwinded myself but give it to me straight to the point. No wonder I always go for the discussion/debate topics in Karangan BM.

'Tuhan Manusia' is first of all surprisingly devoid of the traits above. According to one review, "Take away the 'only just' plot, add a few footnotes and a bibliography, and you would've a formidable collection of essays, each demanding the reader digest it separately." I did find it engaging and easy enough to read the first time, though I will probably come back to revisit the novel and properly dwell on the issues brought up in the book. There were a lot of ideological and philosophical terms - pluralism, secularism, name any 'ism' and the word makes an appearance - but it was presented in a manner more palatable than 'Sophie's World'.

Anyway, back to the point of this so-called review. The author himself stated that this is probably his most ambitious work to date. And he tackles a most sensitive but extremely important issue affecting the Muslim world generally and Islam in Malaysia specifically: apostasy.

The protagonist is a teenaged Ali Taqi, pondering the fate of his brother Talha who has renounced Islam for Christianity. Ali Taqi strives to understand why and how his brother becomes an apostate. Eventually he strikes a stand against pluralism, which he believes to be one of the ideologies used to perpetrate apostacy among Muslims.

'Tuhan Manusia' is basically a 'How To Combat Apostasy' manual. His characters are role-players, examples of how to behave and how to deal with the issue. Even as the parents, the ustaz and a bus driver educates Ali Taqi, so is the author actually informing the reader of his proposed strategy. In writing this book, Faisal Tehrani has actually pitted himself against the "manusia yang tidak kenal diri ini pula, hah, menjadi seniman, mereka bikin filem, menulis novel malahan mementaskan teater maka makin ramai orang jahil yang rosak dan terus rosak..." - Ch. 20, pg 322.

Obviously a lot of research has been put into writing this book, with a large number of references to the Qur'an and Sunnah, as well as Sufism. As Ali Taqi himself stated to his mualaf friend Tse, "Hujah ilmiah dan akhlak yang menambatlah senjata sebenar Islam. Begitulah Islam disebarkan." Ch. 17, pg 247

If ever it was the intention of the author to do so, it certainly succeeded in sparking an interest in philosophy as much as Ali Taqi himself thirsts for it. My only regret is that, unlike the novel's main character, I am no longer a remaja lepasan SPM but a 31-year-old with only 9 years of youth left inside me. But it's never too late to start, right?

My only grouch about the book is its epilogue. Ali Taqi going back to his roots after an illustrious career as a philosopher is fine, but to have his daughter marry Tse's son, and the children's names similar to some of his former mentors is a bit - well, too much like the epilogue from Harry Potter. Fortunately he didn't go so dar as to marry Zehra.

Some more quotable quotes from the book:

"Masyarakat secara fitrah adalah pengikut kebenaran. Akan ada yang setia kepada kebatilan bukan kerana kebatilan itu kebenaran. Tetapi lebih kerana antara jambak keadilan itu, engkau cuba selitkan bunga kebenaran. Dan ini namanya fitnah.

Dan dalam keadaan serba fitnah siapa yang akan selamat? Ada, ada yang akan selamat, orang yang sesuai dengan takdir Ilahi. Dan percaya dengan keMahabijaksanaan Allah, orang jenis ini yang akan cuba menemukan kebenaran, dan bila dapat, mereka akan menggenggamnya dengan kemas..." Ch. 16, pg 241

Confessions of an Old Boy – The Dato’ Hamid Adventures

Author: Kam Raslan

Bored with my pre-natal selection for post-natal reading, I had placed another order of books with MPHOnline, this time restricting myself to 3 ‘Malaysiana’ books in English, and one Malay novel.

I started with this one, and boy was I glad I made this choice. I had initially expected the book to be filled with short anecdotes and recollections, a la Dina Zaman's 'I Am Muslim' (which was excellent, BTW!) but was surprised to find that it only contained 7 stories. For someone who was born in the 1920's or 1930's, you'd expect a lot more confessions from the Old Boy. Sadly none of the adventures took place in the 'Eton of the East'.

Dato' Hamid is such an engaging and endearing character that I really wanted to read more of his adventures, and especially wanted to know where and how exactly he met The Wife. There were at least two accounts of how he had to 'leave behind the love of my life' only to meet another woman whom he 'knew then I was going to marry.' Neither of whom, of course, ended up as his partner in holy matrimony. By the time I got to the fifth entry titled 'Ariff and Capitalism', which was about 75 pages long, it was already long past midnight, hence I am going to rate the book 'Unputdownable'.

He is a man of many contradictions. Maybe that is just a Malayan characteristic. A true Anglophile, he revels in the decadence readily served up by London and Europe, yet wishes to be nothing more than 'a humble civil servant' in his homeland. And there is the 'Whodunit', which, although built on a cliched premise, still manages to entertain with a twist at the end.

By the end of the book, you'll be wanting more of Dato' Hamid, his family, his cohorts and even his beloved boss at the Ministry (I keep wondering which Tun he is alluding to). Here's hoping there's a sequel or prequel!

Your parcel has arrived

Strangely enough, despite being a member of the MPH Readers' Circle (MRC) for a number of years, I've only just discovered MPH Online - and with discounts too. Last weekend I placed two orders of books - and the first parcel arrived today! I felt a heady rush not dissimilar to what I used to experience during A-Levels whenever that brown carton made its way to me on the staircase of Wyatt House 13 years ago.

The books I ordered are supposed to get me through my confinement after I give birth, but I couldn't help taking a sneak peak. I've still got two other books to finish though (or restart, since I've left them about a month ago), so the new ones will have to wait. And of course there's another parcel to look forward to next week Oh bliss!!!

Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows

Author: JK Rowling

Book 7 (Final) of Harry Potter Series.

Yes, I know it's late, but hey, I'm not a diehard Potter fan who's willing to spend hours queueing up for the book. My sister had preordered one from MPH in Subang, and the other sisters wanted to read it too, so of course as eldest sister I have to mengalah lah kan?

Anyway, I've read all the other Potter books in the correct order, though none of them personally belong to me. I've never reread any of them, and I may not remember every tiny detail (can't even remember exactly what all the Horcruxes were before book 7) so please excuse me if I am not quite up to the mark of a true blue supporter of the Boy Who Lived.

If anyone out there has not read the book, be warned: SPOILERS APLENTY.

Right, so where do I start?

The first couple of chapters were quite gripping. We see Voldermort torturing a captive, and it sets the mood for a dark and sinister ride. Alas, that was about as sinister as it got. If you want a really dark book with real plot twists, go for the second halves of Books Four (Goblet of Fire), Five (Order of the Pheonix) and Six (Half-Blood Prince).

Throughout the book, there's a repetitive pattern: Harry gets caught, almost gets killed, and barely manages to escape. It's okay the first two times, but afterwards it gets a bit predictable. The final instalment, while action-packed, leads to a final showdown between Harry and the Dark Lord (as expected), but somehow ended on a damp Squib. I expected a big duel to shake the very foundations of Hogwarts (there was, after all, a very powerful wand involved) but one zap and that was it? Apparently Rowling didn't want to associate Voldermort with a spectacular ending, but it still would've been fun to see what the Elder Wand could actually do.

I felt Rowling spent too long on the locket Horcrux and rushed through the others. I mean, the locket's been carried over from the last book, and it takes you through half of this one before it's finally destroyed. It reminded me of LOTR where Frodo wears the Ring around his neck, complete with the emotional side effects on the bearer, but I liked that Rowling made it affect Ron Weasley the most and his subsequent role in destroying it.

The eventual revelation that Harry himself was a Horcrux (since Harry had this mental link with Voldermort, it was really no surprise) and had to die in order to destroy Voldermort - this idea seemed to have been borrowed from the Matrix movies. Only Harry somehow didn't die. I suppose destroying Horcruxes really only destroys the soul within it, but the original functionality of the item is sustained, so that's why Harry Potter ended up alive and well. Some people had a problem with that, calling JK Rowling a cop-out, but I can accept it. Besides, didn't the ring Horcrux also turn out to be the Resurrection Stone (more on this later) and function as one?

Prior to the book's release, Rowling did say some characters will die. I wished she'd expanded a bit more on them before they met their ends though. I especially hoped she'd write a bit more about Lupin. I mean, he's a werewolf with issues, who wanted to fill Sirius Black's shoes as Harry's guardian while (according to Harry) running away from his responsibility as a father, so I was looking forward to a bit more about him, even a depiction of how he and Tonks died. Maybe the movie (of course there'll be one) could show a a one-on-one between Lupin and Fenrir Greyback, the baddie werewolf? Just a thought.

The most interesting thing about Book 7, though, is the depiction of flawed characters and redeemed ones. I like flawed characters - hey, no one's perfect. I liked that Dumbledore was not such a goody-goody after all, that even he was tempted by absolute power, albeit at a young age. And that he succumbed to that temptation even at a later phase, when everyone believes him to be wise and the epitome of goodness - it's a pretty refreshing character development. I did feel that Rita Skeeter's biography was a bit tame though. A reflection of real-life media pre-release hype, maybe?

But my favourite, I have to say, is Severus Snape. His character has always been an enigma, right from the start in Book One. You know he's a Death Eater, and that he hates Harry Potter's guts, but somehow Dumbledore trusts him and he's always saving Harry's life. You could always tell there's something about his past that's more than meets the eye, and there's a hint of it in a previous book, in the flashbacks of James Potter and gang taunting him as a student and Lily (Harry's mum) coming to his rescue. I admit that when he killed Dumbledore it shocked me, but Rowling's explanation in Book Seven confirmed my suspicion of his feelings for Lily. In fact, when Harry used the Resurrection Stone, I half expected Severus Snape to be among those joining him.

Throughout the series, I couldn't help wishing that Harry would feel some remorse for how he'd treated Snape. The bit in the Epilogue where Harry's all grown up and about to send his second son, Albus Severus, off to Hogwarts for the first time, satisfied my wish. When he said to Albus, "you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I knew." Snape's death was justified. The rest of the epilogue, though, was unnecessary. Harry ending up with Ginny, and Ron with Hermione, with kids and all? It was just too convenient. Maybe it's to set up the scene for some spin-off series?

Neville ending up as a hero, killing off Nagini the Horcrux, was another gem. I have to admit that after Harry's turn as a snivelling, whingeing teenager in Book Five, I didn't like him so much and didn't want him to have all the glory to himself. So it was wonderful that Neville, so often portrayed as a geek, was the one to wield Godric Gryffindor's sword and destroy the snake. I did find it strange, though, how he managed to pull out the sword from the Sorting Hat after the goblins had reclaimed it as their own. You'd think the goblins would've put up some sort of magical defences to keep the sword in their midst.

Snape's character, I felt, was the most complex and compelling of all. Dumbledore's also was interesting. Lupin's could've been, while the other characters, including Harry himself, sometimes appeared too predictable. James Potter and Sirius Black, to me (and I know this will seriously anger Potter fans) had no real likeable qualities except that one happens to be Harry's dad and the other his godfather with a cool bike.

All in all though, I think Rowling did a wonderful job creating this fantasy world, but it's probably more suited to children than adults. I'm sticking with Tolkien, Weis and Hickman.

Other reviews and comments on this page.

Oh no, not another book review...

Yes, yes, I know some cynics out there will be saying this is just another mediocre no-brainer blog eating up precious cyberspace - but I don't really care okay? Besides it's much easier for me to file something on the Internet, with pre-sorted labels and all, rather than put it down on paper and misplace the notebook and start all over again. And if I'm really unhappy with the way things tuirn out I can always just delete the whole thing.

Anyway, what inspired me to start this blog was a post I read on Lina's blog. It reminded me of those logbooks we had to keep in primary school to encourage reading. Each student would have to make it a point to read something like 10 books a term, and record the name, date, number of pages and a summary of the book. I think there was also a section to list at least 10 new words picked up from the reading material.

Back then it wasn't difficult to chalk up 10 books a term - I read voraciously, was a member the TTDI Children's Library and even dreamt of starting up my own mini-library at home (my sister and I made it a point to collect the whole Enid Blyton rewards series). And at boarding school, it was easy to swap books with friends.

Studying in the UK was a blast as far as books were concerned. I discovered book clubs from the back of magazines or flyers, where introductory member prices were as low as 50p each for 6 books or something like that. While other girls in my hostel received love letters from their boyfriends, I would be anticipating the brown packages that carried these wonderful tales to my bedside. Yes, sad but true.

I read almost anything but murder mysteries and horror (I don't really appreciate getting frightened till I can't sleep at night). The only exception I ever made was for Interview with the Vampire, and even then it was because I was such a huge fan of Tom Cruise so picturing him as Lestat was pretty exciting. And I've only just picked up reading non-fiction and all those management-type books.

Perennial favourites are fantasy and historical fiction. Of course I've had my fair share of Judith McNaught and Mills & Boon, but after a while romances lose their appeal, unless I'm really looking for some fluff with dark hair and cold, steely eyes.

So, like I said before, I'm not expecting anyone to take my reviews seriously. And you shouldn't - there's hardly going to be anything deep, and it's not like I can predict the next Booker Prize winner or anything. You're free to share your own reviews or comments, everyone's entitled to their own opinions. But comments will be moderated, so don't attack anyone personally, okay?

Happy Reading!