Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Di Situ Langit Dijunjung

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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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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

5.0

TW: graphic depictions of violence & death; racism; ableism; mental illnesses relating to OCD

A powerful story that was emotionally heavy, but absolutely critical especially for a Malaysian like me. It explored the cultural dynamics that not only shaped our multi-ethnics interactions (& subsequently, prejudices & racism that contributed to the '69 riot), but also depicted how they could also influenced one's views & approaches to their health, especially relating to mental illnesses.

The 1st person view was encapsulating. Hanna structured Melati's account with full convinction; you'd feel her fear & horror: you were roped into the maelstrom of the riot & her attempts to survive. Also, you were given a glimpse into how she navigated the event while living with OCD. Amidst the fears & attrocities though, there were also beams of kindness & resilience, seen not only in our MC Melati, but also in the likes of Auntie Bee & Vince. Notably though,

Hanna never attempted to paint the whole situations in rainbows; the story could get gruesome; even with the "kind" characters, there was prejudicial views, implicating normalization of racism. <\spoiler>

That being said, as a Malaysian, what was frightening to me was the fact that the "logic" shared by the bigots in this story had similarities to those bigots in the current day-and-age. As Hanna stipulated in the author's note, this part of our history was glanced over in our school; our government also likely had "revised" (i.e., a systemic disinformation) the event. I believed this story would allowed Malaysians in particular to contemplate the danger & failure to address racism in our country, one that is commonly weaponised by our politicians to turn us against each other while they maintained a kleptocracy; I hope we can all be like Melati, Auntie Bee, Uncle Chong, Vincent, Jay, & all the people who held the value of humanity highest.

The pacing of this story started out really fast as you were thrown into the chaos from the get-go. It did tapered off a bit in the middle; and at times, it got too emotionally heavy where I personally had to take a step away from it for awhile.

Regardless, I've shed tears of angers & disbeliefs at the displays of cruelty, and I was at the edge of my seats, willing for Melati to survive. Despite the adrenaline, kindness imbedded across the story lingered like the echoes from a gong. The story can be heavy & brutal, but I think that was also necessary, because it acted as a reminder of what dehumanizing others that came from racism can cause.

For this reason, I want to learn more, read-up more on the historical facts of what had happened so I, as a Malaysian, could be better; to contribute to building an antiracist society.

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