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mimorireads's review
3.0
I really love some of the stories but overall it’s just… well not what I really like.
Anyway, my favorite stories are…
“DON’T EAT THE RICE” by Jill Girardi
So gross but I LOVE IT!! Black magic the housemaid uses is so disgusting. Very gross. But I love how the story unfolds around Suzanna. And I really love Mrs. Noraniza’s character. Sassy is a perfect word to describe that. I truly did enjoy reading this story.
“MOMISOK” by Ciciolisa Natallia
This story totally blew my mind. I had no idea what’s gonna happen next and the passage “she would be patient to strike at the right time, and her plan was flawless” literally got me. It made me feel really excited haha!
“WITCH WORDS” by Timothy Nakayama
I love this story so much! It’s a beautiful and sweet story that makes our hearts melt <3
“NOT A FAIRYTALE” by Tina Isaacs
Literally not a fairytale… not even a bit… SAD (BEAUTIFUL) TRAGIC
Anyway, my favorite stories are…
“DON’T EAT THE RICE” by Jill Girardi
So gross but I LOVE IT!! Black magic the housemaid uses is so disgusting. Very gross. But I love how the story unfolds around Suzanna. And I really love Mrs. Noraniza’s character. Sassy is a perfect word to describe that. I truly did enjoy reading this story.
“MOMISOK” by Ciciolisa Natallia
This story totally blew my mind. I had no idea what’s gonna happen next and the passage “she would be patient to strike at the right time, and her plan was flawless” literally got me. It made me feel really excited haha!
“WITCH WORDS” by Timothy Nakayama
I love this story so much! It’s a beautiful and sweet story that makes our hearts melt <3
“NOT A FAIRYTALE” by Tina Isaacs
Literally not a fairytale… not even a bit… SAD (BEAUTIFUL) TRAGIC
sophialai's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
misspalah's review
5.0
“This was KK after all, not KL. In KL, you left early because of the congestion ; even with the buses and the trains, the highways and the wide - lane roads, you could still get stuck. KL was the metropolis, after all, where people moved fast. If you could not keep up in the rat race, there was little to no point in going at all. In KK however, everyone was chill. There was a mantra in the minds of many Sabahans that separated them from their KL brethren : ‘at the end of the day we’ll still get there bah, so why go so fast when you can stop, chill out and see the sights?’ Many Sabahans lived by this mantra. It was ingrained in them”.
- Butod by Nathaniel Sario (Chronicles of KK)
.
.
Ann lee finished her intro with “May this collection inspire many more” - i was like yes, FIXI, please give us part 2 of this anthology. I wanted more. 20 short stories were featured in the book from 20 different authors. These authors connect to Sabah in their story because some of them are born and bred there, some migrated from Peninsular to Sabah, some were fellow travellers and wrote the stories inspired by their journey. Some stories were lyrical and exquisite. Some stories were mindboggling and heartbreaking. Some stories were fun and quirky. Some stories is simple and nothing much happens, but the ending revealed that everything happened along the way matters. What i truly love is the infusion of myths/ mythologies , Nature/flora & fauna and customs/culture in the majority of these stories. For example, In Sharina’s baby - you learned about ‘The caterpillar’ from the
old Kadazan Tales. In ‘Momisok’ story, you were introduced to the sacrificial ritual for the deceased. Another story titled ‘strange fruit’ emphasised on the prohibition of women or girls to climb the tree as it will spoil it and none of the fruits will grow well. Whether it is inspired or taken from Kadazan, Dusun, Murut or Bajau indigenous group belief and tradition, these authors penned their tale extremely well. Aside from the magical realism part, some stories brought forward an important issues like Illegal prostitution, wildlife trafficking and Vote rigging by giving immigrants a blue IC so that they will keep on voting for the corrupt as they have been given a citizenship. If you have never to Sabah, you wanted to read something about it but you don’t want to read non fiction books, You want to read something light and easy written by locals themselves, this is the one. Pick up this book! Note to other readers that i applied don’t judge a book by its cover especially for this book (because I hated the book cover). I was wondering why they didn’t go with Kinabalu Mountain or at least a traditional attires of any native Sabahans (either Kadazan or Dusun) just to capture readers attention on the book. People can see it right away from the cover that this is a short stories collection about Sabah (Kota Kinabalu to be specific). I still couldn’t wrapped my idea around to why the perfume was being used. Maybe i am just not artistic enough. Overall, i like almost all the stories in this book. Not all of them were hit but none of them were miss as well. I extremely enjoyed reading this book.
My 5 Favorite stories from the book is :
1. Butod by Nathaniel Suroi
2. Momisok by Ciciolisa Natallia
3. Sui Gwai by Alistair Young
4. Sharina’s baby by Deena Kasim
5. Why he called me Pam by Maizura Abas
- Butod by Nathaniel Sario (Chronicles of KK)
.
.
Ann lee finished her intro with “May this collection inspire many more” - i was like yes, FIXI, please give us part 2 of this anthology. I wanted more. 20 short stories were featured in the book from 20 different authors. These authors connect to Sabah in their story because some of them are born and bred there, some migrated from Peninsular to Sabah, some were fellow travellers and wrote the stories inspired by their journey. Some stories were lyrical and exquisite. Some stories were mindboggling and heartbreaking. Some stories were fun and quirky. Some stories is simple and nothing much happens, but the ending revealed that everything happened along the way matters. What i truly love is the infusion of myths/ mythologies , Nature/flora & fauna and customs/culture in the majority of these stories. For example, In Sharina’s baby - you learned about ‘The caterpillar’ from the
old Kadazan Tales. In ‘Momisok’ story, you were introduced to the sacrificial ritual for the deceased. Another story titled ‘strange fruit’ emphasised on the prohibition of women or girls to climb the tree as it will spoil it and none of the fruits will grow well. Whether it is inspired or taken from Kadazan, Dusun, Murut or Bajau indigenous group belief and tradition, these authors penned their tale extremely well. Aside from the magical realism part, some stories brought forward an important issues like Illegal prostitution, wildlife trafficking and Vote rigging by giving immigrants a blue IC so that they will keep on voting for the corrupt as they have been given a citizenship. If you have never to Sabah, you wanted to read something about it but you don’t want to read non fiction books, You want to read something light and easy written by locals themselves, this is the one. Pick up this book! Note to other readers that i applied don’t judge a book by its cover especially for this book (because I hated the book cover). I was wondering why they didn’t go with Kinabalu Mountain or at least a traditional attires of any native Sabahans (either Kadazan or Dusun) just to capture readers attention on the book. People can see it right away from the cover that this is a short stories collection about Sabah (Kota Kinabalu to be specific). I still couldn’t wrapped my idea around to why the perfume was being used. Maybe i am just not artistic enough. Overall, i like almost all the stories in this book. Not all of them were hit but none of them were miss as well. I extremely enjoyed reading this book.
My 5 Favorite stories from the book is :
1. Butod by Nathaniel Suroi
2. Momisok by Ciciolisa Natallia
3. Sui Gwai by Alistair Young
4. Sharina’s baby by Deena Kasim
5. Why he called me Pam by Maizura Abas
mobyskine's review
4.0
I was fascinated with most of the stories cause of the contemporary traditional myths that most of the writers adapted to their narratives; spiritual rituals, some folklore tales in a realm of reality-- surreal and thrilling, a gripping rendition with slice of life that you could relate.
"Po-po once said, the sea is a corridor through which spirits pass. Like a conduit between worlds." (Sui Gwai, Alistair Yong)
"Hold and then climb. Just walk, no pressure. Very easy, bah!" (Never Curse The Mountain, Foo Sek Han)
"My ancestors believed that only human sacrifice would appease the rice spirit. So much for a bunch of peace-loving farmers, right?" (Butod, Nathaniel Sario)
"My grandmother became a tantagas or priestess, with powers to heal the flesh and hear the spirits." (Tahil, Christina Orow)
Some stories that I love:
Don't Eat The Rice (Jill Girardi)-- another fun adventure of Suzanna Sim! Toyol, 'nasi kangkang', a husband's affair and a make sense witty revenge.
Momisok (Ciciolisa Natallia)-- story of infidelity and a mystic revenge. "She didn't mean to be selfish and use her mother's death but she was the victim here. She would be patient to strike at the right time, and her plan was flawless."
Sharina's Baby (Deena Kasem)-- based on an old Kadazan tales, a bit spooky and frightful but I love the storytelling a lot.
Most of the stories revolved around family, relationship and ethnic beliefs, some old folks' wise words which quite interesting and I like that they phrasing some narratives with pinch of native dialect/slang.
"Po-po once said, the sea is a corridor through which spirits pass. Like a conduit between worlds." (Sui Gwai, Alistair Yong)
"Hold and then climb. Just walk, no pressure. Very easy, bah!" (Never Curse The Mountain, Foo Sek Han)
"My ancestors believed that only human sacrifice would appease the rice spirit. So much for a bunch of peace-loving farmers, right?" (Butod, Nathaniel Sario)
"My grandmother became a tantagas or priestess, with powers to heal the flesh and hear the spirits." (Tahil, Christina Orow)
Some stories that I love:
Don't Eat The Rice (Jill Girardi)-- another fun adventure of Suzanna Sim! Toyol, 'nasi kangkang', a husband's affair and a make sense witty revenge.
Momisok (Ciciolisa Natallia)-- story of infidelity and a mystic revenge. "She didn't mean to be selfish and use her mother's death but she was the victim here. She would be patient to strike at the right time, and her plan was flawless."
Sharina's Baby (Deena Kasem)-- based on an old Kadazan tales, a bit spooky and frightful but I love the storytelling a lot.
Most of the stories revolved around family, relationship and ethnic beliefs, some old folks' wise words which quite interesting and I like that they phrasing some narratives with pinch of native dialect/slang.
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