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Equally nostalgic yet nightmarish, Lime Pickled is a short story collection set in a fictional Malaysia on the murky themes of exploitation, ecological damage, poverty, abuse and loss. Nefarious characters and the oppressed interact in modern Asia’s richly-textured familiar and amoral setting. At once dark and surreal yet heartwarming, this collection was written during the author’s 15-year stint in Malaysia and hits hard in many ways. Marc de Faoite’s gritty and satirical storytelling hints at traditional folklore with a brush of Zola’s detached naturalism. The initial primal shock cuts deep but these controversial and revealing stories of human longing and hope will stay with you for a long time. "A collection with an unmistakable heart." - Shih-Li Kow Read Lime Pickled and Other Stories today and discover new Asian writing.
An informative and well-researched book, The King's Chinese provides a superb account of the Straits British Chinese, a distinct migrant society from various districts of South China in the late 19th Century. Daryl Yeap gives us a fascinating story of this hybrid community, taking us on tour through one man's journey, beginning with how he left a war-ravaged China to Penang, where he started life as an illiterate itinerant barber to becoming one of the most successful bankers in South East Asia. As she takes us through his story, Daryl brilliantly captures its unique society and wonderful mix of cultures explaining how Penang was once considered the Cinderella of the East; what the earliest forms of passports were; how a coconut scraper, so novel, was confused as 'one musical instrument' by the British eye; and exactly how a borrower's credit profile was assessed with just one glance of the face. A highly readable book with plenty of witty anecdotes and compelling analysis, it is undoubtedly a book that sheds light on a significant development in Malaysia's history.
There are plenty of books on federal government and politics in Malaysia, but very few on local government. Yet it is the level of government that is closest to us and impacts our lives most directly, and is the one least understood by the average person in the street. This book addresses that problem. Local Democracy Denied? takes a unique and comprehensive approach to discussing local government – one that is political, analytical, personal, historical, and forward looking. It begins with the author’s personal journey to becoming a councillor for six years on the Penang Island City Council, as a representative of civil society. It then provides a brief history of how local government i...
The true story of the 42 Australian, New Zealand and British guerrillas and their Borneo warrior allies who fought behind Japanese lines in World War II and forced the surrender of the last two Japanese companies, ten weeks after World War II’s official end. Over 1,000 Japanese were killed in the Semut I operation, a casualty rate out of all proportion to the small size and armaments of the force. But rather than revere and praise their leader, after the war, many of the guerrillas recounted their hatred for their British major, Tom Harrisson. “One of those amazing stories that wars throw up.” Steven Carroll The Sydney Morning Herald/The Age “Kill the Major reveals much that will be ...
In February 2014, an international colony of young, freewheeling and footloose artists held a group exhibition that would stand as a pivotal turning point for the future of George Town, Penang. It was an exhibition destined to make the artists household names, infamous for boldly swinging into parties and installing challenging art onto Southeast Asian walls. It would also spell the return of George Town to a worldwide destination, a city relegated to backwater ashes rising to heights shared by heritage, culture, and cosmopolitanism. In this personal exposé, James H. Springer documents the lives and times of artists during the period of 2010 to 2016, telling the story of George Town’s gen...
“We live in paradoxical times. Traditionally, the West has led the world in theory and practice. Yet, recent developments, from COVID-19 to the storming of the US Capitol, show how lost the West has become. This loss of direction has deep roots. In their usual thoughtful and incisive fashion, Lim Mah-Hui and Michael Heng Siam-Heng, draw out the deeper origins of our current crises and show us a new way forward. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand our strange times." -- Kishore Mahbubani, founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, is the author of Has China Won? “A powerful and compelling critique of neoliberal globalization and...
From the gritty back streets of Kay El to the remotest rubber estates, from fishing boats to food courts, from ancient rainforests to air-conditioned shopping malls and condominiums, the eighteen enthralling stories in Tropical Madness explore varied aspects of Malaysia. Whether set in the kampung or the city these are insightful and evocative stories of a country where dark magic coexists with gleaming technology. Marc de Faoite sensitively deals with some of the realities of modern Malaysia and gives voice to a mix of marginalized and overlooked sectors of Malaysia's population, including immigrants, transsexuals, fishermen, ethnic minorities and sex slaves. (Buku Fixi)
Includes entries for maps and atlases.