"Angry" by Catalina Rembuyan-A Malaysian Short Story

"Angry" by Catalina Rembuyan (6 pages, 2007)-

Third Post in A Series of Five in Honor of Malaysian Independence Day

About three week ago Jovenus of Biblio Junkie and I decided we would do a joint posting in honor of Malaysian Independence Day which is observed on August 31.     I more or less got the idea for this project from Novroz' posting  in honor of Indonesian Independence day on her blog , observed on August 17.   I ended up doing a series of five posts on short stories by Indonesian women, all written in the 21th century.   I really enjoyed doing this project and wanted to see if I could expand the idea to other countries.   At the time I did a Google search on independence days world wide to see how many South and South East Asian countries observe an independence day.  I noticed Malaysian Indepedence Day is observed August 31.   I was very interested in posting on Malaysian literature in part because Malaysia is less than two hours away from my home in Manila.    Also most historians see Malay culture as having a large influence on pre-colonial Filipino history.

Jovenus has done a great overall post on Malaysia (for which she has a special knowledge and affinity) which explains the history of Malaysia and its struggle for Independence.   She also talks about some of the best known Malaysian writers of today.   I decided as my contribution to our project to post on five short stories by contemporary Malaysian writers.    This will be done in a series of five posts.     This is my third post in the series.    

Catalina Rembuyan, author of "Angry" and numerous other short stories works at and and is working on an advanced degree at the University of Malaysia.   "Angry" is a simple story that any one who has ever walked their children past the candy store window can directly relate to.

Anna saw the chocolate shop. It was a very small shop, but it had all of the richest and the tastiest chocolates that could be found in the Klang Valley: chocolates coating raisin jelly, chocolates coating more layers of chocolate coating nuts, chocolates white and sweet, and chocolates hidden in caramel shells. She felt an urge to grab one rise in her, and thought of stopping for a minute or two - which, she reminded herself; she had no time for, and marched straight on towards the ticket counter. Then she heard Samantha yowl.   "I want a chocolate!"

What parent from wherever you may be cannot relate to how trying this can be:

Samantha gave one last bitter howl, a howl Anna thought would never end, howling and howling and filling the air with thick shame, until the howl turned into a whimper and Anna heard a sob. Moments later Anna heard another howl on her shoulder. Samuel had woken up and was bawling his heart out, confused and frightened by the commotion, sensing the bitterness in his mother's voice. Samuel's tears sparked more tears from Samantha and a fresh flow of tears poured out of her eyes. 

Emotional blackmail works pretty much the same everywhere.    Everyone in the train station where the shop is located seems to be looking at the mother and thinking what a horrible little child raised by a quite unfit mother.  

"Angry" is just a simple story that any parent can relate to.  It can be read online here

Mel u

"The Stalker Within" by Sabrina Abu Baker-A Malaysian Short Story

"The Stalker Within"  by Sabrina (aka Zabrina) Abu Baker (4 pages, 2007)

Second post in a series of five on Malaysian Short Stories In Honor of Malaysian Independence Day

About three week ago Jovenus of Biblio Junkie and I decided we would do a joint posting in honor of Malaysian Independence Day which is observed on August 31.     I more or less got the idea for this project from Novroz' posting  in honor of Indonesian Independence day on her blog , observed on August 17.   I ended up doing a series of five posts on short stories by Indonesian women, all written in the 21th century.   I really enjoyed doing this project and wanted to see if I could expand the idea to other countries.   At the time I did a Google search on independence days world wide to see how many South and South East Asian countries observe an independence day.  I noticed Malaysian Indepedence Day is observed August 31.   I was very interested in posting on Malaysian literature in part because Malaysia is less than two hours away from my home in Manila.    Also most historians see Malay culture as having a large influence on pre-colonial Filipino history.

Jovenus has done a great overall post on Malaysia (for which she has a special knowledge and affinity) which explains the history of Malaysia and its struggle for Independence.   She also talks about some of the best known Malaysian writers of today.   I decided as my contribution to our project to post on five short stories by contemporary Malaysian writers.    This will be done in a series of five posts.   My first post was on "Hungry In Guangzhou" by Kow Shih Li.

Sabrina Abu Baker is widely published Malaysian writer best known for her inspirational stories and her devotion to the Islamic faith as depicted in her work.    "The Stalker Within" centers on a woman whose lover has gone on his annual Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca).    Before he left he made some remarks that made her nervous.   When she asked him when he will be back he responded that anything can happen during Hajj and perhaps he will not return.    The woman about the time of his expected return begins to drive her car past his house repetitively.   She then sees a large number of people come to the house.    The people look like Indonesians to her and as far as she knew her lover had no Indonesian friends or relatives.   Then her worst fears are realized as a hearse pulls up in front  of the house.    She cannot see who is taken inside the house from the hearse.    She begins to break down until she gets a text saying:

She could not bother to hide her face anymore. With each passing vehicle, her heart sank deeper and deeper. She felt a void in her heart. She wanted to cry out his name, scream her heart out but her voice failed her. Even her tears refused to flow. She felt so helpless and empty.

Suddenly, a beeping sound from her phone startled her. She groped in the dark searching for her phone. With squinted eyes she pressed a button. Her jaw dropped upon seeing the message , "My mother's Indonesian maid had an asthma attack. She passed away at 2.30 pm today - Reza".

Her tears flew like a broken dam. Sadness and relief intermingled.

"The Stalker Within" is a simple story.     We do not even learn if the relationship between the man and woman is adulterous or not.     We do get a good insight into the devotion of the woman.   It is worth reading and gives us a small glimpse into a culture perhaps not quite known by most of us.


It can be read online here

Mel u

"Hungry in Guangzhou" by Kow Shih Li- A Malaysian Short Story

"Hungry In Guangzhou" by Kow Shih Li-, 2009, 5 pages Malayasian Short Story  1 of 5 in a Series of Posts

About three week ago Jovenus of Biblio Junkie and I decided we would do a joint posting in honor of Malaysian Independence Day which is observed on August 31.     I more or less got the idea for this project from Novroz' posting  in honor of Indonesian Independence day on her blog , observed on August 17.   I ended up doing a series of five posts on short stories by Indonesian women, all written in the 21th century.   I really enjoyed doing this project and wanted to see if I could expand the idea to other countries.   At the time I did a Google search on independence days world wide to see how many South and South East Asian countries observe an independence day.  I noticed Malaysian Indepedence Day is observed August 31.   I was very interested in posting on Malaysian literature in part because Malaysia is less than two hours away from my home in Manila.    Also most historians see Malay culture as having a large influence on pre-colonial Filipino history.  

Jovenus has done a great overall post on Malaysia (for which she has a special knowledge and affinity) which explains the history of Malaysia and its struggle for Independence.   She also talks about some of the best know Malaysian writers of today.   I decided as my contribution to our project to post on five short stories by contemporary Malaysian writers.    This will be done in a series of five posts.

"Hungry in Guangzhou" by Kow Shih Li  (some times her name is listed as Shih Li Kow) begins in the city of Guangzhou, (formerly known as Canton) a very large city in southern China.   Kow Shih Li was born in 1968 and has a degree in chemistry.    She is a well known author of short stories and has just been Long Listed for the very prestigious and lucrative (35,000 British pounds) Frank O' Conner prize for best collection of short stories for her book, Ripple.     The ancestoral home of the female narrator of "Hungry in Guangzhou" is Guangzhou.   She is there on a business trip from her home in Kuala Lampur.   She cannot find a feeling for comfort there try though she will.

Guangzhou has intimidated me from the moment I arrived. I feel out of place buying a common lunch of soupy noodles although the food and restaurant setting are familiar. Cantopop alternating with Mandarin chart-toppers on the radio cuts through the hustle bustle sounds. A press of hungry office workers crowds the counter. The people wend their way between plastic chairs and tables. The smell, the heat, the bodies, the noise and the oily floor don't faze me. I'm smooth, I'm cool, I tell myself.

"Hungry in Guangzhou" is about being out of place in what should be your home but for a few accidents of history.

On the three-hour flight back to Kuala Lumpur, I work some more, crunching numbers on the laptop. I'm dead tired but I've earned my right to feel good about a very successful working trip. It is night when I touch down and I'm dying for a hot drink. I find an all-nighter, an Indian Muslim restaurant, and I pile a plate full of rice, tandoori chicken and pappadoms. How much, I ask the dark-skinned man standing at the end of the steel buffet counter. Six-fifty, he says. Drink, he asks?

"Hungry in Guangzhou" is a simple story.    No real plot, no surprise ending etc.     I found the description of the market restaurant very well done. .    I would happily read more of her stories and wish her the best of luck in the Frank O'Conner Short story competition.     Look for four more post on Malaysian short stories soon.  

The story can be read online here.

My next post will be on "The Stalker Within" by Sabarina Abu Bakar.

Mel u