3.5 rounded up. ( )

This was an entirely random pick at the library. I think I recognized the cover style of Two Lines Press. After I checked it out, I almost didn't pick it up to read, as the featured goodreads reviews are not great, but I am glad I had faith in Two Lines Press, because I really enjoyed this collection and feel I learned so much about Malaysia in the process. These are the kinds of short stories where things are not tied up neatly at the end, but I found them each so immersive.

The stories center women, most of whom are incredibly constrained -- whether by university administration, Muslim reeducation camps, or actual cement walls. The imagery is intense and evocative, and while mostly set in present day, many of the stories verge into the surreal.

Because this is both translated and set in a culture I am unfamiliar with, I am sure there were layers of this book that missed me entirely. An author interview I found online about the collection did help a bit with context and what she was trying to do with these stories, but even coming into the stories with very little foreknowledge, the stories told me enough that I felt bewildered only where I believed they wanted me to be bewildered.

I would love to see more of Ho Sok Fong's work translated into English. ( )

The stories in this collection all focus on young women, who may be teens to 40ish. Several have a touch of surrealism, or "magical realism" (I'm not sure this term can be applied to Malaysian lit?), or just an interesting not-quite-supernatural twist. All give a taste of Malaysian society, weather, culture, and expectation on women.

I liked all of these stories, though right now I would pick my favorite as "Wind Through the Pineapple Leaves, Through the Frangipani"--which takes place at a home for pregnant single women, though perhaps it is a mental institution as well?

Others I really liked:
October--about a young woman and a pirate.

March in A Small Town--a young woman working at her aunt's hotel tries to understand a man who comes in daily yet he doesn't remember her.

Summer Tornado--a stepmother at a water park with her husband and stepkids

Translated from Chinese. ( )