Asian Anthology New Writing Vol 1 Edited by Ivy Ngeow

Asian Anthology - Twenty-four short stories edited by the multitasking and multitalented, Ivy Ngeow. Published by Leopard Print Publishing and sold at Silverfish books and Amazon.

The anthology gives us a slice of life across several countries in Asia - from Japan to India, covering the time period from the 1970's to the first decade of the 21st Century.

Since it's quite daunting to tackle 24 stories, I'm only critiquing the few which caught my fancy here; however I will do a more comprehensive review on my blog.

Female protagonists featured in many of the stories and a few focused on the emotional pain faced by women who are still single, despite being successful career women. EP Chiew's Her Fluttering Womb is a well crafted and stylish story set in Singapore, featuring a protagonist who seemed to have an adolescent-like obsession over her own body who eventually gains agency over herself; and A Sparkle of Fireflies by Doc a Krinberg, featured a successful, self-assured woman from Kyoto who is nevertheless devastated at being objectified by the man she initially admired. One can't help feeling gutted that in the 21st century, otherwise independent women seemed to be defined by their relationship with men.

However, in Day of Silence by Yvonne Lyon, the woman had the upper hand in the relationship. In this atmospheric story, she had an epiphany during Nyepi, the 24 hour period of silence and isolation, observed on the island of Bali.

The significance of food in Asian society is a recurring theme. Spring Onions by Yang Ming is a touching story of a mother and daughter in conflict. The mother is desperate for her daughter to do well in her school exams, a route out of poverty in the fiercely competitive Singapore society. The mother comes vividly to life in this story, however I sometimes got confused by which mother the writer is referring to since the grandmother is also appears in the story. Laksa Uncle, by Jenny Hor made me want to eat laksa 

; while the tongue in cheek, Mee Mamak by VS Lai has a feisty female main character who is desperate for the perfect plate of mee mamak to forget a hard day at the office. In Riding the Killer Fish by Sylvia Petter, the female protagonist takes a huge gamble as a show of faith and to win the approval of a man. Cheung Louie's Winter Solstice (a boy who is part of the underground freedom movement in Hong Kong) is about a family in conflict, due to the choices made by their strong-willed offspring. In both Winter Solstice and Spring Onion, food helps to bring the family together.

However, these were my favourites:

Night of the Seventh Moon by Winston Lim. This is about a group of British ghost hunters who decided to spend their holiday in a haunted hotel in Penang during the Hungry Ghost Festival. The story, comical in parts, reminded me of an Agatha Christie novel. Unfortunately, the story is written almost entirely in the 'Tell' style, and would have been a lot more gripping with a bit more 'Show!' The other reason I'm drawn to this story is because I'm familiar with the folktale/urban legend it refers to...

I quite enjoyed The Brooches by Krishnaveni Panikker which seemed to feature an unreliable narrator. I think she could have pushed this POV further and fleshed out her main character(s) by being more ruthless with them. The story also leaves two issues unresolved - who ransacked the room on that fateful night and why was that particular brooch taken?

The Dog Walker by Ivy Ngeow is also delightful. I found myself being invested in the fate of this unattractive, middle aged, financially challenged protagonist and his oversized dog, which is always a good thing. However, the rich spoilt niece could have played a bigger role in the story... and can a 60+ year old dig a grave by himself?

And Buaya Tembaga, Bujang Senang by Mason Croft does not seem to have a death or even a crocodile although there could be one lurking in the shadows... But it does gives us an insight into life in Tioman island and this very famous legend from Sarawak. I happen to know something about this legend not mentioned in the story - Bujang Senang only attacked people on the lower reaches of the Baram river, where the clans who killed him when he was a man, lived. He did not attack his own tribe, who lived in the upper reaches of the river.

Overall, four doggo stars