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 want to escape to the world where i can have lots of cats.
ReplyDeleteKafka On The Shore, yeah, a masterpiece that i haven't read yet.
Hopefully after i finish with Jonathan Strange And Mr. Norell.
And how are you enjoying Jonathan Strange so far? I'm planning to read that quite soon.
ReplyDeleteKafka's an okay book. Starts very well but a lot of people find the ending quite disappointing.
Not yet reading Mr. Norell actually.
ReplyDeleteNot until i'm done with my writing which i plan it all finish during this weekend.
:P
Will go to Them (Jon and Norell) after that.
Hahaha.. alrights. I hope you post your thoughts about it when you're done!
ReplyDeleteALL THE TIME!
ReplyDeleteInteresting pic. Book advertising in what looks like a train station tunnel? Is it?
ReplyDeleteLondon Tube if I'm not mistaken.
ReplyDelete