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A review by jelundberg
Malaysian Tales: Retold & Remixed by Zed Adam Idris, Rehman Rashid, O Thiam Chin, Janet Tay, Ho Lee-Ling, Preeta Samarasan, Kee Thuan Chye, Daphne Lee, Jeremy Chin, Amir Muhammad, Ann Lee, M. Shanmughalingam, Fazlyn Abdul Malek, Adèle Geras, Karina Bahrin
4.0
A slightly uneven anthology, with some pieces that probably should have been left on the cutting room floor, but others gleam in contrast. The two stories by Preeta Samarasan in particular are incredible pieces of writing, and I'm now keen to seek out her other work. And the editor's own contribution is also wonderfully concise and beautifully written.
It was also a bit difficult for me (a non-Malaysian) to get a sense of the source texts that these stories were riffing on, because I'm just not familiar with them, and it would have been nice if the afterwords to each piece had more directly addressed these differences; some of them did, but others rambled on about other things. I also would have liked a list of compilations of Malaysian legends and folktales so that I could read these sources for myself. But it appears that the editor and publisher were largely aiming this book at Malaysian readers, and unconcerned with a wider international audience.
That said, I was excited to see this collection of retold tales as a mirror into Malaysian folk literature. I hope that other volumes exploring this genre are taken on by this editor.
It was also a bit difficult for me (a non-Malaysian) to get a sense of the source texts that these stories were riffing on, because I'm just not familiar with them, and it would have been nice if the afterwords to each piece had more directly addressed these differences; some of them did, but others rambled on about other things. I also would have liked a list of compilations of Malaysian legends and folktales so that I could read these sources for myself. But it appears that the editor and publisher were largely aiming this book at Malaysian readers, and unconcerned with a wider international audience.
That said, I was excited to see this collection of retold tales as a mirror into Malaysian folk literature. I hope that other volumes exploring this genre are taken on by this editor.