ewee (8/26): The Harmony Silk Factory, by Tash Aw

This book was a gift from Shiny-eye, who thought the book would be the kinda thing that I'd like...something that might suck me in, and I might have difficulty putting down.

All-in-all Tash Aw's first book is almost those things. It's a good read and is engaging enough. It paints enough of the colliding forces of communism, British colonialism, Japanese invasion, Malaysian culture to keep the pages turning. But it's not quite unputdownable. Instead, it's the ideal commute companion. Whether it's 30-60 minutes of company along a pleasant ferry ride, or a welcome escape from an uncomfortably overfull BART ride, it was the perfect accompaniment to beer or coffee (on the ferry), or a thankful escape from sweat and all-over body contact (on BART).

If I make it to KL this January, I'll let you know if any of the book resonates with me on my travels. (Not likely, as the bulk of the story -- and some of its most engaging parts -- deals with the jungle and countryside in Malaysia.)

Overall, the book is a pleasant read with interesting narrative structure. Three very disparate narrators, whose stories (mostly) combine to make some point about the mallablility of truth, identity, self. Read my copy, or check it out at the library, I don't think you'll need to buy your own.

[And hey, kw! -- *No pictures!* pbbbbth!]