Mexican writer at Silverfish in October

NEW MEXICAN NARRATIVES. A TALE WITHOUT END...

A dialogue with Pedro Angel PALOU at Silverfish Books, 58-1 Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, Kuala Lumpur on October 14, 2009 at 18.00 hours. Admission is free.

Since its origins in the sixteenth century, Mexican literature has been a significant component of Western literature. All along the Colonial period, Mexican writers were a key element in the development of Spanish imagination and creatitivity. After Independence two hundred years ago, they struggled to creatively contribute in building up a national identity within the Modern world. The Revolution of 1910 strengthened this commitment and generated a vital nationalistic literature.

Today Mexican writers consider themselves universal novelists, deeply involved in the crisis of globalization. The fact that Mexico is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world and a neighbor and major partner of the United States reflects itself in a vibrant and highly competitive literary environment.

New topics to attract Latin American readers, strategies to penetrate global markets, the complex interrelation with massmedia and Internet are among the issues and challenges faced by contemporary Mexican novelists.

Pedro Angel PALOU (Puebla, Mexico 1966) is a reknown novelist and thinker, author of 33 books. As a leading Mexican intellectual, he has been Minister of Culture at his home state of Puebla and President of a prestigious private university, The University of the Americas, as well as recipient of several national and international awards.

PALOU is an anchorman for Mexico's public television (Channel 22) and for the American broadcaster History Channel. He also enjoys a reputation as a futbol referee and a sophisticated chef. His visit to Malaysia is sponsored by the 2009 International Cooperation Program of Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Silverfish 10th Anniversary party

Yes, it has been ten years already since Silverfish Books first opened in Desa Seri Hartamas. We made a lot of friends, offended some, published over 30 books, organised two International Literary Festivals and many readings and book launches, had a few battles, won some, lost some, still fighting others, and we hope we made a small dent in the Malaysian literary world. So we are organising our tenth birthday party on Saturday 27th June 2009.

Farish Noor, Dina Zaman, Rumaizah Abu Bakar, Shih-Li Kow, Chua Kok Yee, Robert Raymer, Salleh ben Joned, are Silverfish authors who have confirmed will be there. Huzir Sulaiman, Antares and Ganese Jaganathan are definite maybes. A surprise for the evening will be Addeline Lee, who at 18 is the youngest Silverfish author to date. He book Lethal Lesson and other stories will be released on the day.

Tash Aw reading at Silverfish Books

Tash Aw, who will be in Kuala Lumpur in the first week of next month to launch his new book, Map of the Invisible World, in Malaysia is scheduled for a reading at  Silverfish Books on Sunday, 7th of June 2009 from 11.30am to 1.00pm. This event is a result of a request from Tash Aw who has specifically asked to read at Silverfish Books because he likes the type of people who come here, particularly those who will read his book and ask intelligent questions about it, not just about how much money he makes. So, do try and read his book book before you come so as not to let the side down. BTW  both the  hardback (RM85.00)  and  paperback (RM64.90) editions are now available in major bookstores.

I have, so far, only read three chapters, but I am already impressed by his steady, confident, no-drama style of prose. He's getting more and more like Ishiguro. I will ask him about it after his reading, during discussion period.

Readings from Echoes of Silence

In a session called Anatomizing the colonised mind: reading and discussion of Echoes of Silence, the author, Chuah Guat Eng, will read from her novel on Saturday, 23 May at Silverfish Books, 58-1 Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur (Tel: 228 448 37) at 5.00pm.

Echoes of Silence is the first full-length novel in English by a Malaysian woman. Critically acclaimed when it first appeared in 1994, it has been enjoyed by general readers, and studied by students and scholars of postcolonial literature in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia.

Echoes is a multi-faceted novel, which can be enjoyed at several levels. Although it is written in the first person, the novel is not autobiographical. And although there is a murder and murder investigation, it is not simply a detective thriller. For the reading Chuah will focus on excerpts illustrating the novel's exploration of the colonised mind. "In March 1970, as a direct result of the May 1969 racial riots, I left Malaysia." -- So begins the story of Lim Ai Lian, a Chinese Malaysian.

Besides Echoes of Silence, Chuah's other published literary works are Tales from the Baram River (2001), a collection of Sarawak folktales retold for children, and The Old House and Other Stories (2008), a collection of short stories written and published in various publications and anthologies between 1992 and 2002. She works part-time as a corporate communications consultant and occasionally runs lecture courses at universities.

Admission is free but seats will be on first-come-first-served basis.

Reading by writers of Sang Freud Press and Sindiket Soljah

Silverfishbooks, Sang Freud Press dan Sindiket Soljah dengan berbesar hati, menjemput pencinta-pencinta cerita pop untuk bersama memeriahkan sidang pembacaan naskhah DUA LAUK dan PEREMPUAN SIMPANAN.

Dua Lauk merupakan hasil kolaborasi dua orang perempuan yang dibesarkan oleh serigala di bawah jambatan Kuala Lumpur sementara Perempuan Simpanan adalah koleksi fiksi sejumlah perempuan-perempuan berpaksikan komunisme (dalam erti kata yang paling tulen).

Antara yang akan mempersembahkan karya mereka:

• D'ianadi
• Wani Ardy
• Taf 'Tifani' Teh
• Ila Syazwani
• Dila Raden
• Wahida Rahim
• Alina Abdullah