Author: Habiburrahman El Shirazy
This book, which has been turned into a movie and a song, is REALLY REALLY good.
Go out and read it.
And those of you who still wonder what 1 Malaysia stands for, just read the first few chapters to give you an idea.
Memanusiakan manusia. I like...
Friday, May 8, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Neverwhere
Author: Neil Gaiman
This book belongs to my sister. Halfway through reading it, I realised that I have actually seen parts of the original TV miniseries back in London - the book is a novelisation of the TV show. I didn't follow the miniseries - there must have been a serious lack of eyecandy to get me properly hooked - but the book I like very much.
The idea of people and events, conveniently sidelined by the rat-racers, falling through the cracks of London to exist in a parallel world - now who would have thought of that? A universe where an Angel called Islington resides under the watch of Afro-Anglo monks (Blackfriars, anyone?) and an elderly Earl holds Court on a moving Underground train. The most ingenious of all - Knightsbridge as a scary district. How true is that?
What struck me was how the villainous pair in this book is similar to the twosome in Terry Pratchett's 'The Truth': a short one with the words and brains partnering a huge hunk of a man who is mostly brawn. I suppose it is a prerequsite for bad guy characterisation, like the Good Cop/Bad Cop routine. Another similarity is one of the villain's penchant for fine antiques.
I'm not saying much more. Read it to find out.
This book belongs to my sister. Halfway through reading it, I realised that I have actually seen parts of the original TV miniseries back in London - the book is a novelisation of the TV show. I didn't follow the miniseries - there must have been a serious lack of eyecandy to get me properly hooked - but the book I like very much.
The idea of people and events, conveniently sidelined by the rat-racers, falling through the cracks of London to exist in a parallel world - now who would have thought of that? A universe where an Angel called Islington resides under the watch of Afro-Anglo monks (Blackfriars, anyone?) and an elderly Earl holds Court on a moving Underground train. The most ingenious of all - Knightsbridge as a scary district. How true is that?
What struck me was how the villainous pair in this book is similar to the twosome in Terry Pratchett's 'The Truth': a short one with the words and brains partnering a huge hunk of a man who is mostly brawn. I suppose it is a prerequsite for bad guy characterisation, like the Good Cop/Bad Cop routine. Another similarity is one of the villain's penchant for fine antiques.
I'm not saying much more. Read it to find out.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Girls of Riyadh
Author: Rajaa Alsanea
I first read about this book and author about a year ago, in a magazine interview. She is from Saudi Arabia, but at the time of the interview was studying somewhere in the Western hemisphere. The interviewer was surprised when Alsanea remarked approvingly of a mini-dress a passerby was wearing: "I'll wear it as a top over jeans," she commented. Well, in her own words, "The Western world still perceives us either romantically, as the land of the Arabian nights... or politically, as the land that gave birth to Bin Laden and other terrorists."
As for me, I had always perceived Saudis to be the role model of religiosity and piety. After all, their kingdom is the birthplace and final resting place of our prophet Muhammad PBUH, and one of the King's official titles is Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (referring of course to al-Haraam in Makkah and al-Nabawi in Madinah). This impression was shattered somewhat when I went there for Hajj two years ago, and did leave me feeling a tad disappointed. So reading this book - although the first few pages seem to entice the reader with promises of scandal and what not - was not such a shock for me.
The premise is broadly similar to 'Sex and the City' although still very much within the confines of Muslim society: a tale of a quartet of girl friends in Riyadh looking and lamenting of love. Well, technically, only 3 of them are actually lamenting, whilst the fourth didn't seem bothered about not having a man in her life until she ended up being the only one with a fairytale relationship. As the author's apparent goal was to highlight the trials and tribulation of love, this fourth girlfriend had only 3 or 4 chapters dedicated to her, the most memorable of which is a retelling of a highschool escapade involving videotapes (and no, they're not that type of videos either).
The most interesting part about the book is the way the chapters are structured: as weekly emails sent to a mailing list from an anonymous writer (again, parallels with Carrie Bradshaw, except the writer is not one of the quartet). Otherwise, there is nothing much to shout about, except that Saudi girls - at least those in Riyadh's 'velvet class' - are not much different from the rest of us.
I'll take the Arabian Nights any time.
Read more reviews here.
I first read about this book and author about a year ago, in a magazine interview. She is from Saudi Arabia, but at the time of the interview was studying somewhere in the Western hemisphere. The interviewer was surprised when Alsanea remarked approvingly of a mini-dress a passerby was wearing: "I'll wear it as a top over jeans," she commented. Well, in her own words, "The Western world still perceives us either romantically, as the land of the Arabian nights... or politically, as the land that gave birth to Bin Laden and other terrorists."
As for me, I had always perceived Saudis to be the role model of religiosity and piety. After all, their kingdom is the birthplace and final resting place of our prophet Muhammad PBUH, and one of the King's official titles is Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (referring of course to al-Haraam in Makkah and al-Nabawi in Madinah). This impression was shattered somewhat when I went there for Hajj two years ago, and did leave me feeling a tad disappointed. So reading this book - although the first few pages seem to entice the reader with promises of scandal and what not - was not such a shock for me.
The premise is broadly similar to 'Sex and the City' although still very much within the confines of Muslim society: a tale of a quartet of girl friends in Riyadh looking and lamenting of love. Well, technically, only 3 of them are actually lamenting, whilst the fourth didn't seem bothered about not having a man in her life until she ended up being the only one with a fairytale relationship. As the author's apparent goal was to highlight the trials and tribulation of love, this fourth girlfriend had only 3 or 4 chapters dedicated to her, the most memorable of which is a retelling of a highschool escapade involving videotapes (and no, they're not that type of videos either).
The most interesting part about the book is the way the chapters are structured: as weekly emails sent to a mailing list from an anonymous writer (again, parallels with Carrie Bradshaw, except the writer is not one of the quartet). Otherwise, there is nothing much to shout about, except that Saudi girls - at least those in Riyadh's 'velvet class' - are not much different from the rest of us.
I'll take the Arabian Nights any time.
Read more reviews here.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
The Truth
Author: Terry Pratchett
Truth be told, I've never read Terry Pratchett before. I suppose for someone who lists fantasy fiction as one of her favourite genres, this seems pretty close to sacreligious.
This book, I must say, was a pretty good introduction to Pratchett's work, despite being the 25th Discworld novel. It revolves around a certain William de Worde, a second son who ekes out a living writing newsletters to various important persons. Having met a group of dwarves with a printing press, he subsequently starts a newspaper and turns into an investigative journalist-cum-news editor. Along the way he is joined by a reformed vampire, a talking dog and a bunch of homeless folks.
What I love about this book is how it satirises the media, be it mainstream broadsheet or tabloid. Oh, and horror movies' preoccupation with heaving bosoms. Of all the characters, the vampire Otto Chriek is my favourite.
Quotable quotes from the book:
Truth be told, I've never read Terry Pratchett before. I suppose for someone who lists fantasy fiction as one of her favourite genres, this seems pretty close to sacreligious.
This book, I must say, was a pretty good introduction to Pratchett's work, despite being the 25th Discworld novel. It revolves around a certain William de Worde, a second son who ekes out a living writing newsletters to various important persons. Having met a group of dwarves with a printing press, he subsequently starts a newspaper and turns into an investigative journalist-cum-news editor. Along the way he is joined by a reformed vampire, a talking dog and a bunch of homeless folks.
What I love about this book is how it satirises the media, be it mainstream broadsheet or tabloid. Oh, and horror movies' preoccupation with heaving bosoms. Of all the characters, the vampire Otto Chriek is my favourite.
Quotable quotes from the book:
"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!"
"A lie can run round the world before the truth has got its boots on."
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
The Other Boleyn Girl
Author: Philippa Gregory
I actually read this book almost a year ago, after the movie was made but before it arrived on our Malaysian shores (and from the reviews in the papers, heavily sanitised by our dear Lembaga Penapisan Filem).
At the time, Jonathan Rhys Meyers was also ruling the screens as a hip & hot Henry VIII in 'The Tudors', which, judging from the clips on the internet, will never ever make it to Malaysian shores due to the severely shortened airtime post-censorship. However, I had a grand time imagining him playing Henry opposite Scarlett Johansson's Mary Boleyn. Picturing Natalie Portman as the scheming & seductive Anne proved more difficult, and from the trailers, she did not succeed at it either.
As historical fictions go, this was pretty interesting, although it relies heavily on heaving bosoms and the like. It did leave me wondering whether the British aristocracy really were so sexually depraved and morally deprived, what with incest, adultery and homosexuality being the three main ingredients in the making of the road to the English throne. A-Levels History it definitely is not.
Read it if you want to know what 16th century sex habits are, in addition to the fashion and music of that period. If you're expecting romance, you'd be better off with Judith McNaught.
I actually read this book almost a year ago, after the movie was made but before it arrived on our Malaysian shores (and from the reviews in the papers, heavily sanitised by our dear Lembaga Penapisan Filem).
At the time, Jonathan Rhys Meyers was also ruling the screens as a hip & hot Henry VIII in 'The Tudors', which, judging from the clips on the internet, will never ever make it to Malaysian shores due to the severely shortened airtime post-censorship. However, I had a grand time imagining him playing Henry opposite Scarlett Johansson's Mary Boleyn. Picturing Natalie Portman as the scheming & seductive Anne proved more difficult, and from the trailers, she did not succeed at it either.
As historical fictions go, this was pretty interesting, although it relies heavily on heaving bosoms and the like. It did leave me wondering whether the British aristocracy really were so sexually depraved and morally deprived, what with incest, adultery and homosexuality being the three main ingredients in the making of the road to the English throne. A-Levels History it definitely is not.
Read it if you want to know what 16th century sex habits are, in addition to the fashion and music of that period. If you're expecting romance, you'd be better off with Judith McNaught.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
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
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
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!
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