His second book is already out and I have yet to read his first! That prompted me to get hold of The Harmony Silk Factory. And I'm certainly glad I did. A very impressive first novel by a fellow Malaysian Tash Aw. No surprise that he won the Whitbread Book Awards.
No, this is not the story about some lame factory but instead it tells the life of the man behind the legendary HSF, one Johnny Lim from the eyes of three different individuals - his son, wife and a mat salleh friend. The author changes his rhythm of writing effortlessly in capturing the essence of a bitter son, a lonely wife and a rather 'cultured' white man. I must say TA knows his stuff and really did his homework to get his facts right. Facts on various topics like the Japanese occupation in Malaya, tin mining, music, gardens etc. But the way he executed these facts was not at all boring. As I go through the pages I was also reminded of 'sejarah' in school - the book was set in 1940s when the British ruled Malaya.
Do take note of the little details throughout the novel as in the end everything will fall into place.
An excerpt from the book: "... It explains everything, the rain. Power cuts? Hujan. No post? Hujan. What, no vegetables at dinner? Hujan. Why are you looking so sad today? Hujan..." (and now - no astro? hujan!)
