Reviews with content warning for Hate crime - Di Situ Langit Dijunjung

Why is no one talking about this book?? I get that it's a backlist read, but if you liked The Hate U Give, you'll definitely want to pick up The Weight of Our Sky.

Full disclosure: I'm Chinese Canadian and never learned about May 13, 1969, or the tension between Malays and Chinese people within Malaysia, which led to various race riots through the 60s. A big part of this is likely due to the fact that the number of deaths and injuries that occurred on this day were thought to be fudged to the media, with suspected casualties being over 300 more than the reported 196. Saying that this moment in history wasn't important enough to teach because there weren't enough reported bodies is a heartbreaking fact, but it's also likely due to the race of the parties involved. Either way, thanks to this book, I am now more educated on this historical event, and the present conflicts that still exist (though it's a lot more peaceful nowadays, obviously). Additionally, I am not OCD so I cannot speak to the representation of the illness in this book.

The Weight of Our Sky is a phenomenal story about Melati Ahmad, who has OCD and imagines her mom dying in hundreds of colourful ways, which can only be countered by counting through multiples of 3 (she believes her OCD is a djinn that's taken over her life - it's 1969, and Malaysia is a Muslim state so proper mental health assessments weren't really a thing at the time). When the Chinese-Malay riots begin, she finds herself stranded without a way back to her mother. A Malay herself, she's surprised when a Chinese Auntie takes her home to her family and takes care of her - a kindness during a moment so full of violence and death. As Melati tries to find her way back to her mother, she learns more about the way words can dole out friction and be a poison to the heart, but also be the way to bridge people together.

I can't emphasize enough how amazingly this book was written. The message is really brought home as Melati sees varying perspectives regarding race, hurt, and healing - how it really is the hate and othering of people, whether by race, skin colour, or something else, that really leaves the deepest wounds.

Not only does Melati see the way people react to racism, but we also get to see how people alienate her due to her OCD. In particular, Melati experiences counting compulsions, and that leads to a need to tap her fingers or count out tiles or mutter numbers to herself, especially in times of great distress. She tries to hide it from those around her as she attempts to get through the city because she doesn't want her companions to think she's possessed, or crazy, or to come to any conclusion that makes them think it'd be best if she be left behind.

I am so glad I picked up this book - it was fantastically written and brought to light an event of racism and violence that hasn't made it into our history books (at least, not here in Canada). Definitely recommend, all the stars.

"We bit our tongues when people whispered things behind our backs, or made those sharp little comments to our faces, or even spit on our door [...] But Frankie was so sensitive. He took all those little sharp pokes and kept them in his heart. He started talking back. He started getting into fights. He let them make him bitter."

TW: Racism, multiple scenarios of death (Melati's OCD), grief, descriptions of wounds and injuries

Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 4.5/5
Overall: 5/5

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durrareadsstuff's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I'm a Malaysian, and the only thing I knew about 13th May was that it was a bloodbath fueled by racism and it was something I used to include in my essays about unity to make me sound smart. I don't recall anyone really talking about it and I was too much of a coward to find out for myself. Although it took a while, I'm glad I finally read this book. Besides covering the incident itself and the racism issue behind it, the author also did a fine job—in my opinion—writing about anxiety, OCD, and the stigma surrounding mental illness in Malaysia. Even a half-century later, the things mentioned in the book is still quite prominent. That, to me, was all too real and just devastating.

All that aside, I'd say Melati's character development was done amazingly. However, I do think that the arc was a little bit rushed in the end. I think it's important to create a narrative that is able to incite feelings from the readers, and the author did just that. I felt sad when she mentioned her family or her OCD (god knows how many times I cried), worried when she thought of her mother, or when she thought someone saw her counting, and I was rooting for her all the way. The thing that awed me most though, was Frankie's arc. I like that the backstory was also included so we can sort of understand where all the hate is coming from.

Even though they didn't really become friends afterwards, but I think he's come along way, and that's such an important thing to include in the story, how it's not too late for people to see sense and stop hating each other.

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astarlia's review against another edition

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Really appreciated the ocd rep in this, but couldn't manage the politics

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