TIMID

by A.B. Hashim

Angus was in love with Fay. Fay left and married another man. Devastated, Angus went to an island trying to forget everything. Angus met Beth. Fell in love. And the rest is written in this book.

162 pages, Paperback

First published June 23, 2012

Reviews

[Luc Abdullah]

Kelebihan A.B. Hashim adalah lenggok bahasa yang kemas, mudah difahami dan ditelusuri, boleh aku katakan yang tulisannya mampu menarik minat orang yang kurang bermesra dengan penulisan bahasa Inggeris.

Tentang pengisian, happily ever after?

Aku berharap penulis ini melebarkan penulisannya dengan tema yang lebih luas selain tentang Angus Baird dan sepasang kaki mengghairahkan (kerana penulisannya yang berkualiti, bagi saya lah).

[Hani Tiara]

The worst novel I've ever read. I'm not that good in grammar, but I can detect so many grammar mistake in this novel. The plot was very bad, with repetition for every chapter. Angus was in love with Beth (yes, the writer emphasize this in every chapter), but throughout the story, he slept with every beautiful woman he met. Is that love? And to make it worst, there was NO conflict at all. yes, NONE at all.

[nasyrun nasyrun]

susunan katanya, waima simpel namun tetap memikat. kisah cinta, dengan pengakhiran bahgia. buku ini, kalau ditulis dalam bm, akan hilanglah magisnya

[Sufi]

HORRIBLE BOOK!!!!
I am struggling to finish this book but still trying to just to give it the chance for the plot to, perhaps, pick up just a little bit?
It pains me SO much that there is 2-3 grammatical mistakes on almost every page. What was the editor doing? Don't tell me this was intentional. Disappointing really, when this was my first book from lejen press and first novel by a local writer. I had really wanted to support the local authors, but this just goes to show that we have a long way to go.
This book is filled with meaningless sex, vulgar language that made me uncomfortable (even though I am used to reading uncensored books with sexual and even LGBT themes), this was not in the least tasteful. The main character seems to drink every other hour and have sex with any beautiful woman he makes contact with, while lying to himself that he seems to love one of them and pretending to write a novel.
He is an awfully pretentious character, 1-dimensional; the story is flat with no direction, no internal struggle and I feel that the book too is pretentious and just plain, lost.
I hardly hate a book or even go the extra mile to write a bad review about it, but this has made me extremely frustrated, and it will be a while until I pick up a local book unfortunately.

[Fraja]

At first, it was exciting. But I get boring because the author kept on using the same vocab, the same words, the same situation over and over again. Too much repetition I got bored. Somehow, I do find this book interesting because I feel the character. Or maybe I've been through the same situation before. I don't know. Maybe.

It's time for some serious reading.

[Paypeepoo]

It's an obvious reality.
That happens everywhere.

[Ira Nadhirah]

Ok Mr Angus, i've had enough of you.

[Syaz]

Totally mengarut and meaningless book. Dont waste ur time peeps.

[Zell]

I do agree with some of the reviews here. Numerous grammatical errors were found (no one cared enough to proofread it 1st before it got published?) & repetitions of events.

I guess there is a significance as to why most of the events in Angus' life were told repetitively in the book. Aren't our lives made out of our own repetitive daily routines? It's part of our own reality but I guess it's not meant to be told for the purpose to entertain readers otherwise they would get bored.

Another mention in the book was between love & lust. He found love with Beth but not with the other women that he had secretly slept with, which were mostly based on lust. Love can be permanent, whereas lust can only be temporary. This again shows how Beth is mentioned throughout the story while the mentions of other women were brief. But as a woman myself, I would've have slapped Angus in the face for his infidelity. But I'm glad he still makes Beth her number 1 girl.

[Dayang Noor]

I like A.B Hashim's style of writing. He doesn't need the usual plots or tried too hard to build the climax for love stories, but he wrote a damn touching love story. Although Timid is not as romantic as those Malay novels (I tried to read, where the protagonists are always shy, plain girls)but it taught the readers how it really feels like to love somebody.
The story is filled with booze, late nights, jazz music, dancing, dining, a little shopping, a little gambling (beli nombor ekor 4D lagi!) and a lot of steamy sex.
This is a story about an adult male, dealing with his adult life and finding happiness that he hopes would last.

[Aisha Tan]

There are books that are so bad it's good, then there's Timid. A waste of time, trees and publishing resources. Seriously, Lejen press, if all your books are like this I think you should just STOP -___-"
At one point, a character said that she would buy the protagonist's book. The protagonist replies, "There's nothing in there." I took that as a sign and stopped reading it.
Grammar errors, no story flow, no character background, random description of places and unnecessary overuse of "dear" (and I'm only at page 25). Come on writer/editor, I've read status updates better than this. I am open to help you guide a better story telling or editing, you can reach out to me.

[Sharifah Syakila]

Grammar mistakes all over don't know whether it was intended or accidental. Didnt understand the theme of the whole book accept for the fact that Angus likes to get laid and is always writing a book. the climax was missing and the story line was pretty much flat throughout the book. I liked the first one better. This book however has its good points but I hope he puts a visible twist in his next book.

[Deez]

One of the worst books I've ever read. It's not about not appreciating homegrown literature. As a proud Malaysian, I'd love to read more from our local authors, but this was a tragic failure. A wannabe-hippie fantasy trapped in a work of art-gone-wrong. And I wonder how it was ever published with obvious grammatical errors.

[Syahmi]

One of the best book I've ever read. The storyline was quite unique for a guy trying to write and at the same time who soul was empty found Beth, a girl who was also at the same time searching for partner. Perfect love story I must say.

[Pyfa]

This is the hardest book to finish. Grammatical errors here and there. A lot of repetition. The story seems like the writer is trying too hard to create a wannabe cool person. The plot is just boring. It's sad cause this is my first book from lejen press.

[Sang]

..I was hoping for a sad-gloomy-never-reach-happiness ending but it wasn't there. I read a wrong book. No, it's a good book that I read at a wrong time

[Sarah Z.]

Hmm.. Up until now I'm still wondering was Angus really a timid? Well the writer knows best.

[Nazura]

just a book to read on a beach for your hols