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misspalah's review
4.0
“But then life only seems unfair when you start comparing yours with others and usually when you’re at the bottom, looking up. We rarely stop to think of what it might have taken them to get to where they are now. Imagine what a freaky world it would be if everybody gets everything they want all the time. So really, there’s no point agonising over the unfairness of life. It alwats finds a way to balance itself out in the end”.
- Bawah lembah by Raja Ummi Nadrah (Little Basket 2018)
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It started okay - i mean the stories, nothing blew me away until i finished ‘let them eat cake’ by Maizura Abas. Imagine being overfed by your mother until you are fat , being forced to be an unpaid labor simply because they are the parents - the emotional blackmail is on another level. From that particular story till the end, it keeps getting better and better. Probably because the themes of these stories suits me better growing up muslim woman in Malaysia especially ‘To end a journey’ by Mochi and ‘Oy Veil’ by Sheril A Bustaman - the pressure of covering up and the constant judgment on how to cover often placed on us. ‘Bawah Lembah’ by Raja Ummi Nadrah is another favourite story of mine simply because it showed that life is like a spinning wheel, there will be a time you are on the upper side and there will be a time you are on the lower side. Auntie Death penned by E.R Zhang is a quirky story. Imagine a grim reaper but in an aunty’s form and you can picture how the story goes. The other stories i would like to mention is ‘God of Parking’ by Terrence Toh and ‘A pod of seeds for the ghostman’ by Heidi Shamsuddin. Terrence Toh weaving a local spirit into some kind of God but this time, his power is granted you a parking availability whenever you needed it. Heidi Shamsuddin wrote a slow burn story - a good old revenge tale. Overall, A great collection. I would’ve given this 5 stars but the ice cream story threw me off. I like ice cream and imagining it in the form of dildo just doesn’t do it for me. However, others might love that story as it is peculiar. Other than that, you might want to pick up this book if you ever come across it.
- Bawah lembah by Raja Ummi Nadrah (Little Basket 2018)
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It started okay - i mean the stories, nothing blew me away until i finished ‘let them eat cake’ by Maizura Abas. Imagine being overfed by your mother until you are fat , being forced to be an unpaid labor simply because they are the parents - the emotional blackmail is on another level. From that particular story till the end, it keeps getting better and better. Probably because the themes of these stories suits me better growing up muslim woman in Malaysia especially ‘To end a journey’ by Mochi and ‘Oy Veil’ by Sheril A Bustaman - the pressure of covering up and the constant judgment on how to cover often placed on us. ‘Bawah Lembah’ by Raja Ummi Nadrah is another favourite story of mine simply because it showed that life is like a spinning wheel, there will be a time you are on the upper side and there will be a time you are on the lower side. Auntie Death penned by E.R Zhang is a quirky story. Imagine a grim reaper but in an aunty’s form and you can picture how the story goes. The other stories i would like to mention is ‘God of Parking’ by Terrence Toh and ‘A pod of seeds for the ghostman’ by Heidi Shamsuddin. Terrence Toh weaving a local spirit into some kind of God but this time, his power is granted you a parking availability whenever you needed it. Heidi Shamsuddin wrote a slow burn story - a good old revenge tale. Overall, A great collection. I would’ve given this 5 stars but the ice cream story threw me off. I like ice cream and imagining it in the form of dildo just doesn’t do it for me. However, others might love that story as it is peculiar. Other than that, you might want to pick up this book if you ever come across it.
mobyskine's review against another edition
4.0
Love most of the stories. Bittersweet and metaphorically interesting. Few of my favorite:
Death Doth Bark (Masami Mustaza)-- So enthralling, I like how it started and the plot developed well till the end with such twist. One of my favorite narrator, very whimsical. How a story of a dog obituary lead to an unexpected discovery.
God of Parking (Terence Toh)-- I read this story first and fell in love for the 'cheekiness'. Very amusing and mystical, unexpected but reality seems to bite the life real well.
Let Them Eat Cake (Maizura Abas)-- I love this one a lot that I read it twice! A bit psychological, quite dreamy and I love that the ending was 'vague' and engrossing. Making me craving for cakes too!
Bawah Lembah (Raja Ummi Nadrah)-- Love the message behind the plot, bittersweet and one's realisation of reality that teach massive life lesson. Love the ending; "...sometimes life so hard it seems unfair. But then life only seems unfair when you start comparing yours with others'. Imagine what a freaky world it would be if everybody gets everything they want all the time. So really, there's no point agonizing over unfairness of life. It always finds a way to balance itself out in the end."
Great collection to bad it was the last collection of Little Basket. I had a delish picnics, thanks!
Death Doth Bark (Masami Mustaza)-- So enthralling, I like how it started and the plot developed well till the end with such twist. One of my favorite narrator, very whimsical. How a story of a dog obituary lead to an unexpected discovery.
God of Parking (Terence Toh)-- I read this story first and fell in love for the 'cheekiness'. Very amusing and mystical, unexpected but reality seems to bite the life real well.
Let Them Eat Cake (Maizura Abas)-- I love this one a lot that I read it twice! A bit psychological, quite dreamy and I love that the ending was 'vague' and engrossing. Making me craving for cakes too!
Bawah Lembah (Raja Ummi Nadrah)-- Love the message behind the plot, bittersweet and one's realisation of reality that teach massive life lesson. Love the ending; "...sometimes life so hard it seems unfair. But then life only seems unfair when you start comparing yours with others'. Imagine what a freaky world it would be if everybody gets everything they want all the time. So really, there's no point agonizing over unfairness of life. It always finds a way to balance itself out in the end."
Great collection to bad it was the last collection of Little Basket. I had a delish picnics, thanks!
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