Kam Raslan's right. In the preface for his new book, Confessions of an Old Boy: The Dato' Hamid Adventures he writes that we've known Dato' Hamid all our lives. Seeing as my own dad is an old boy of MCKK, the people I get to meet when he drags me to an Old Boy function and the people he tells me of, reflect the characters found in Kam's book. It really does feel like I've known Dato' Hamid all my life. Dato' Hamid is a civil servant of the Tunku Abdul Rahman generation. He is the sort of person you rarely see nowadays, a fine example of the anachronistic Malay. This generation, groomed in the ways of the colonial British would be out of place not just in 21st century Malaysia, but in Britain too. And yet, Dato' Hamid, in all his snobbishness and patronising ways, is essentially a Malaysian. Without people like him, our country would probably never exist at all. At least not like we know it now. I'm glad that Kam Raslan decided to capture this ...
Science Fiction. Fantasy. Malapropisms.
i love the b/w photos on the covers of some of his novels.
ReplyDeleteYeah, those would be the UK editions, which would be my preference too. The US hardcover for Wind-up Bird Chronicles was bee-yootiful though.
ReplyDeleteLove the UK cover here, but what's with the red square in the top-left-hand corner?
ReplyDeleteBit of trivia: Seems "After Dark" is a real popular book title. Best book I've read so far with this title is G.K.Chesterton's collection of short stories, all narrated by a temporarily blinded painter to his wife, after dark, of course...
Right, speaking of Murakami, this really lengthy interview posted on my blog might interest you.
ReplyDeleteLots of stuff about underread authors in the literary world, not just Japanese.
I was wondering when you'd pop up!
ReplyDeleteThanks Swifty, but I've actually already read the interview. I've got you on my RSS list, so don't worry, I won't miss any of your musings or Japanese babes.
Ooh, that's great.
ReplyDeleteSorry about my absence lately, been too busy gaming, ah, I mean, working on my film, Girl Disconnected, to submit to places.