A review by dreesreads
Lake Like a Mirror by Ho Sok Fong

4.0

The stories in this collection all focus on young women, who may be teens to 40ish. Several have a touch of surrealism, or "magical realism" (I'm not sure this term can be applied to Malaysian lit?), or just an interesting not-quite-supernatural twist. All give a taste of Malaysian society, weather, culture, and expectation on women.

I liked all of these stories, though right now I would pick my favorite as "Wind Through the Pineapple Leaves, Through the Frangipani"--which takes place at a home for pregnant single women, though perhaps it is a mental institution as well?

Others I really liked:
October--about a young woman and a pirate.

March in A Small Town--a young woman working at her aunt's hotel tries to understand a man who comes in daily yet he doesn't remember her.

Summer Tornado--a stepmother at a water park with her husband and stepkids

Translated from Chinese.