Book Review : Rojak: Bite-Sized Stories by Amir Muhammad

Rojak: Bite-Sized Stories by Amir Muhammad

Product Details

• Hardcover: 146 pages
• Publisher: ZI Publications Sdn Bhd; First edition (June 30, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9675266104
• ISBN-13: 978-9675266102
• Available on: Amazon / Abebooks / MPH Online / Silver Fish
  

{Warning: This is not a recipe book. This is a collection of very short fictional stories.
The taste can be sweet, juicy, spicy, tart, or crunchy! The flavours of Malaysia, in fact.
So if this book could talk, it would say: "Bite me."}

Review

Rojak is a collection of short stories. And by short, I mean really short, where each story consists of at most two pages. Often, the stories end so abruptly that I don't know whether I should feel surprised or out of sorts. Some of the stories left me clueless about what the author wants to express, or are there no special meanings at all? However, I love the sarcasm that is displayed in a few of the short stories.

Stories like Speed, Ex-Prefect and DVD show us how the ones who held authority and power may not be as reputable as they seem to be. The letter Sham wrote to Wati in The Breakup made me laughed my head off with its direct translation from Bahasa Melayu to English. Feng Shui shows us how people tend to look in the wrong directions without pinpointing the cause of problems. Honesty is a wonderful short story; the theme is very much in touch with reality. At the end of the story, the protagonist's action betrays his character, and this creates a rather powerful effect on the reader. Dorm Horror Story is presented in the style of black humour, making readers crack up by the time they reach the end of the story.

Overall, this book is quite enjoyable, but I would recommend parents to read through it first before allowing your underage children read it as it contains stories about sex. Rojak is a funny, witty, sarcastic book, but sometimes I couldn't fully grasp the message the author wants to convey.

Rating:

Note: Thanks to Lori Lee from ZI Publications for sending me a copy of this book for review!