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misspalah's review
4.0
“But i am not the past they molded. I do not tell the tales they require. To believe in me is to first un-believe. So i remain drowned. But i am here. I am here”.
- Drowning Majapahit by Sharmilla Ganesan (9)
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Maybe because i read some review (how people are leaving it between 2 or 3 stars and it did reduce my expectation) but once i finished it, i thoroughly enjoyed the book. Maybe just ‘The Malaysian’ in me which i could be biased but i let you decide if you wanted to pick up this book. How do people write a story that only has 150 words? Sometimes, 150 pages novel also will not be able to have a proper Introduction, absent of monologue, lack of character development and sometimes, an inconclusive ending. Hence, dont expect all of these elements in these short stories. Anwar Hadi did mentioned in the introduction that they received 1163 stories for this book but they can only choose 100 stories and ultimately this book came to fruition. I have to applaud Caryn Koh as the illustrations in this book is amazing. The cover itself already stole my heart (Muslim Girl in High school Uniform with a Dog - you will be surprised that the extremist muslims will chanting ‘Haram’ like theres no tomorrow). I recognized few names among those authors. Glad to know that they have written a novel and managed to expand their career in writing. Some are new to me but their short story got potential. I really hope they persevere and keep on writing. Overall, i would say that this is a solid collection of short stories. Some tales are relatable , funny and some were quite unapologetic in it. Some can be a bit gory, explicit and violent. The themes are diverse : Malaysian timing vs Standard Timing, Pets, Revenge, Spirit / Ghost, Death, Games and many more (i cant list them all). I have about 10 stories that really stood out.
1. Beyond Gray by Flawlove (31)
2. Brothers wished to the mirror by Sufi Khirul Bhari (45)
3. Malaysian Timing by Candice Lim (76)
4. Natural Causes by Subashini Navaratnam (68)
5. Crimson Against Wrinkled Flesh by Tilon Sagulu (35)
6. Bad Date by Au Tang Lin (52)
7. Ramadan Mistake by Hani Mat Yassi (29)
8. Food Lover by Zack Wong (61)
9. You raise me up by Azrie Idzmeer (81)
10. Eat first by Saodah Haji Lasim (80)
- Drowning Majapahit by Sharmilla Ganesan (9)
.
.
Maybe because i read some review (how people are leaving it between 2 or 3 stars and it did reduce my expectation) but once i finished it, i thoroughly enjoyed the book. Maybe just ‘The Malaysian’ in me which i could be biased but i let you decide if you wanted to pick up this book. How do people write a story that only has 150 words? Sometimes, 150 pages novel also will not be able to have a proper Introduction, absent of monologue, lack of character development and sometimes, an inconclusive ending. Hence, dont expect all of these elements in these short stories. Anwar Hadi did mentioned in the introduction that they received 1163 stories for this book but they can only choose 100 stories and ultimately this book came to fruition. I have to applaud Caryn Koh as the illustrations in this book is amazing. The cover itself already stole my heart (Muslim Girl in High school Uniform with a Dog - you will be surprised that the extremist muslims will chanting ‘Haram’ like theres no tomorrow). I recognized few names among those authors. Glad to know that they have written a novel and managed to expand their career in writing. Some are new to me but their short story got potential. I really hope they persevere and keep on writing. Overall, i would say that this is a solid collection of short stories. Some tales are relatable , funny and some were quite unapologetic in it. Some can be a bit gory, explicit and violent. The themes are diverse : Malaysian timing vs Standard Timing, Pets, Revenge, Spirit / Ghost, Death, Games and many more (i cant list them all). I have about 10 stories that really stood out.
1. Beyond Gray by Flawlove (31)
2. Brothers wished to the mirror by Sufi Khirul Bhari (45)
3. Malaysian Timing by Candice Lim (76)
4. Natural Causes by Subashini Navaratnam (68)
5. Crimson Against Wrinkled Flesh by Tilon Sagulu (35)
6. Bad Date by Au Tang Lin (52)
7. Ramadan Mistake by Hani Mat Yassi (29)
8. Food Lover by Zack Wong (61)
9. You raise me up by Azrie Idzmeer (81)
10. Eat first by Saodah Haji Lasim (80)
melissakoe20's review
3.0
I love many stories in this book, but I did not love most of the stories like I did in PJ Confidential or the KL Noir set. I definitely love how each story shows a snippet into Malaysian life or pop culture, but some of the stories have themes/tropes that are repetitive.
qomareads's review
2.0
Finished in one seating. Free reading at Kinokuniya. A very short stories not more than 150 words? Kudos guys.
hikaoru's review
4.0
Is it me or fixi's a huge fan of psychotic stories? Love the plot twists. The only downside is there's two unoriginal stories: Makcik Karipap and that wifi password. Recycling hostels/lepak stories is a no for me.
crackedspines's review
dark
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
1.5
i mean... it's already pretty hard to come across a collection where every story suits a reader's taste, much less a micro fiction collection. i'd have to admit that it's not easy to write a solid story in 150 words and less, so 1.5 stars for effort. to me, most stories fell flat (though some were pretty fucked up like,,,,,, are y'all ok?? i'm now scarred for life & will never look at roller coasters the same way again) with the exception of 'foreplay', 'serendipity' and 'yusuf'. i'd say pick this up if you find yourself struggling to focus when reading, or if you're in need of a quick, mindless read without commitment.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse
lthe7th's review
4.0
For a book of 100 short stories containing 150 words each, I'm surprised I took so long to complete this although partly it's because it's been jumping from bag to bag so I could pick up a story for whenever I'm in between things. It's also small enough to do that.
I'm pretty amazed at most of the stories in here. Like wow, they can really mess with your mind in 150 words because it's in the things unsaid?? And there're a few formats the writers play with which is also pretty cool. I also like that some of them came with illustrations; I always felt that they enhance the story.
Some stories are not so fantastic as I feel that they contain too much telling but I guess it's the potential that counts. I also felt a little bit bored that quite a number followed the format of putting the plot twist at the end but er, that is precisely why they make for a good story in such a few words.
This book is good for a quick read or several quick reads when you're commuting or waiting for people to show up or if you get distracted easily.
I'm pretty amazed at most of the stories in here. Like wow, they can really mess with your mind in 150 words because it's in the things unsaid?? And there're a few formats the writers play with which is also pretty cool. I also like that some of them came with illustrations; I always felt that they enhance the story.
Some stories are not so fantastic as I feel that they contain too much telling but I guess it's the potential that counts. I also felt a little bit bored that quite a number followed the format of putting the plot twist at the end but er, that is precisely why they make for a good story in such a few words.
This book is good for a quick read or several quick reads when you're commuting or waiting for people to show up or if you get distracted easily.
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