Review: Amir Muhammad’s ROJAK: Bite Sized Stories (ZI Publications, 2010)
July 6th, 2010 § 10 Comments
crunchy, spicy Malaysiana
Have you imagined how the final encounter between Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat might have sounded like if they spoke like a couple of gangstas from the ‘hood? No, neither have I but Amir Muhammad has and The Newly Discovered Audio Recording of the Final Encounter Between Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat is one of the funniest short stories I’ve read. But don’t let any of those Malay nationalists read it (if they read at all). Amir might just end up detained indefinitely for tarnishing a ‘hero’.
An ode to minimalism, the short stories in Rojak are really short; most run no longer than two pages. But in those two pages that contain each story, we get a slice of Malaysiana that an orang asing might not be able to appreciate. Anyone outside Malaysia know anything about Mona Fandey? If so, they can appreciate My Life As An Artis. There are tales about sex, including one that revolves around tempoyak which delivers a punchier conclusion with an extended version which Amir included at the back pages of the book (two other stories are given extended versions as well). There are stories of hypocrisy like DVD and Honesty and laugh-out-loud stories like The Breakup where a jilted boy writes a self-pitying letter to his ex-girlfriend in English but with phrases literally translated from Malay. Also, do you remember the Yasmin Ahmad-directed commercial about the selfish passenger who refused to give up his seat in the LRT? Well, there’s an alternate hilarious take of that in this book. Was it not supposed to be hilarious? I giggled anyway.
One story is seen from multiple perspectives (Correspondence). Some characters appear in different stories. An unnamed Bangladeshi in Banana appears again in Mustafa. We follow a Malay Muslim boy to the mosque at dawn in one story and we see him again, this time as a grown man, cradling an injured varanidae (biawak if you’re not pretentious). Only then are we told that he was the same conflicted man in The Convert. Even the reptile he’s cradling appeared in an earlier story, trying to cross a busy road. This ‘bleeding’ from one story to another is fun for the attentive reader and Rojak is richer because of it.
Although I must say that Dorm Horror Story seemed a bit silly and not the good kind of silly. It reminded me of the lame non-scary ghost stories my friends and I tried to tell each other when we were kids. Still, one dud out of some sixty stories? Not too shabby.
Thank you
No problem, Mr. Amir. I meant what I wrote in the review. ‘Dorm Horror Story’ was lame! Loved the rest.
Khairul, do you collect all his books? I never read Amir Muhammad so far. But have been eyeing his books for quite some time.
Nope, this is the first time reading one of his books.
Always thought amir mu was kinda of serious writer although I’ve never read any of his books. thanks for the review. sounds right up my alley and I can’t wait to read it now!
Amir has written not-so-serious books before like ‘Malaysian Politicians Say the Darnedest Things vol. 1 & vol 2′. They’ve been banned by M’sian authorities so it must be good!
itulah kelebihan FAB!
Amir Muhamad asked me to tell you – i love dorm horror story
Well, no one’s perfect
Mwahahaha! If only everyone did what i told them to do!
my fav is “mosque slippers”…..
just like Cinderella meets nur kasih……*wink*…..