What do you think?
Rate this book
Adorable
A young boy befriends a girl from a haunted house known as ‘Adorable’. A roast pig at a Taoist funeral becomes a symbol of rebellion. A man adopts a Thai doll, hoping it would change his luck.
Meanwhile, a family of monsters live on Mount Pleasure, disguising themselves with anagrams, and a black metal scandal ruins a teenage couple’s after-school hangout at Gurney Plaza.
Set in Penang, Malaysia, these short stories describe how the island makes its people do crazy things. Its characters navigate a world of social tension and moral panic, while trying to find peace for themselves.
Meanwhile, a family of monsters live on Mount Pleasure, disguising themselves with anagrams, and a black metal scandal ruins a teenage couple’s after-school hangout at Gurney Plaza.
Set in Penang, Malaysia, these short stories describe how the island makes its people do crazy things. Its characters navigate a world of social tension and moral panic, while trying to find peace for themselves.
- GenresShort Stories
137 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 6, 2025
7 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 2, 2025
This book is a must-read for everyone, especially short story lovers.
The stories capture the Malaysian locale, psyche, culture, custom and language intimately, from the strangest to the most enthralling, and in imitable fashion and style.
There are beautiful lines that straddle the boundary between verse and prose, and the creativity is ingenious, yet feel truthful at the same time. 'A snake tattoo on his calf peeks out'; 'Men like the dark, tattooed one have been left behind. For all their labour and toil, what else are they worth? Their children drive German cars in other cities, and they are not coming home.' ; 'his skin is wrinkled like an old turtle'. Absolutely original and delightful to read. There are plenty more but I won't spoil them for you here.
The rhythm and sentence structure feel absolutely musical and on-point.
The details that are included and those that are left out feel thoughtful and careful. The writer does a wonderful job of balancing between showing and telling, never forcing upon the readers, and letting us decide for ourselves. This is a hard and delicate task, and the writer does it with impeccable skill.
The pacing feels absolutely spot-on, never too hurried and never feels boring at any point, with description and action and dialogue and direct and indirect monologue wonderfully arranged as in a musical composition.
The stories invite a second or third or even more reading because they are so pregnant with possibilities and interpretations.
Just like the eponymous pool in this collection, the stories are focused, contained, and incredibly in-depth, with details easily missed and yet not to be missed, because the author has done such a good job of placing them subtly.
The world that features in the short story is crafted so lushly and with such economy that it feels masterful, like brush strokes in a painting. The depth and breadth of detail is incredible. The setting themselves feel like a character of their own, alive and brooding with sentiment.
I think it is the way ideas are worded that makes the stories such excellent read, even though not everything is spelled out. The writer does it with such arresting style, no two sentences ever feel alike, no two paragraphs ever sound the same, one hardly feels worn down reading because of this. And if there are similarities in style among the stories, it is because the author's writing style is so distinctive.
Of course, with any work, there's always things the reader feels that should have been done differently, because every reader is different. But no other person could have written these stories and in such beautiful fashion too. I suppose, if there's any issue I have, it's minor. In Leg Of Lamb, for instance, I felt some of the translation were unnecessary, mainly because I was so absorbed in the story and pacing, that they felt distracting. I wonder if it is because I don't need the translation? I venture that even readers who aren't familiar in the language will google search the short phrases in order to find out what they mean; even if they don't, they might get a contextual hint from the masterfully crafted scene. That's how good Leg Of Lamb feels to me, maybe because it is my absolute favourite story in the collection, I suppose. Every word and every line is an absolute delight to read, and I was rooting for the main character all the way. I think the likes of the protagonist and the other characters in the story, and the story itself, should be written about more often. They are diamonds in the rough, a supernova in the making.
The numerous translations in the other stories were very well done, I must say, never feeling forced and rushed, and some were just left the way it is.
There are 1 or 2 lines in 2 separate stories that I find hard to understand, in relation to the plot, but that could just be me. In spite of it, that makes me even more determined to read the story again in hopes of breaking the code.
I have loved reading all the stories in this collection. Whether some appeal to me more for reasons unknown, perhaps my own idiosyncracies, all of them, I feel, have been written excellently, with breadth of imagination, depth of detail and lustrous description, economy of words and power, with flair, style and verve. It is subtle and natural, belying the incredible skill and intelligence it takes to craft these stories from the ground up. If there is anything I have missed, do read the stories to find out for yourself.
The writer has made all these breathtaking stories so captivating and compelling. The hard process of writing is made to look easy, like magic. I find this incredibly inspiring, and I have no doubt will inspire countless others.
My shallow words do no justice to this masterpiece. Read it. I look forward to more stories from the author. Also, be sure to check out the author's other stories too that are not featured in this collection.
Thank you.
The stories capture the Malaysian locale, psyche, culture, custom and language intimately, from the strangest to the most enthralling, and in imitable fashion and style.
There are beautiful lines that straddle the boundary between verse and prose, and the creativity is ingenious, yet feel truthful at the same time. 'A snake tattoo on his calf peeks out'; 'Men like the dark, tattooed one have been left behind. For all their labour and toil, what else are they worth? Their children drive German cars in other cities, and they are not coming home.' ; 'his skin is wrinkled like an old turtle'. Absolutely original and delightful to read. There are plenty more but I won't spoil them for you here.
The rhythm and sentence structure feel absolutely musical and on-point.
The details that are included and those that are left out feel thoughtful and careful. The writer does a wonderful job of balancing between showing and telling, never forcing upon the readers, and letting us decide for ourselves. This is a hard and delicate task, and the writer does it with impeccable skill.
The pacing feels absolutely spot-on, never too hurried and never feels boring at any point, with description and action and dialogue and direct and indirect monologue wonderfully arranged as in a musical composition.
The stories invite a second or third or even more reading because they are so pregnant with possibilities and interpretations.
Just like the eponymous pool in this collection, the stories are focused, contained, and incredibly in-depth, with details easily missed and yet not to be missed, because the author has done such a good job of placing them subtly.
The world that features in the short story is crafted so lushly and with such economy that it feels masterful, like brush strokes in a painting. The depth and breadth of detail is incredible. The setting themselves feel like a character of their own, alive and brooding with sentiment.
I think it is the way ideas are worded that makes the stories such excellent read, even though not everything is spelled out. The writer does it with such arresting style, no two sentences ever feel alike, no two paragraphs ever sound the same, one hardly feels worn down reading because of this. And if there are similarities in style among the stories, it is because the author's writing style is so distinctive.
Of course, with any work, there's always things the reader feels that should have been done differently, because every reader is different. But no other person could have written these stories and in such beautiful fashion too. I suppose, if there's any issue I have, it's minor. In Leg Of Lamb, for instance, I felt some of the translation were unnecessary, mainly because I was so absorbed in the story and pacing, that they felt distracting. I wonder if it is because I don't need the translation? I venture that even readers who aren't familiar in the language will google search the short phrases in order to find out what they mean; even if they don't, they might get a contextual hint from the masterfully crafted scene. That's how good Leg Of Lamb feels to me, maybe because it is my absolute favourite story in the collection, I suppose. Every word and every line is an absolute delight to read, and I was rooting for the main character all the way. I think the likes of the protagonist and the other characters in the story, and the story itself, should be written about more often. They are diamonds in the rough, a supernova in the making.
The numerous translations in the other stories were very well done, I must say, never feeling forced and rushed, and some were just left the way it is.
There are 1 or 2 lines in 2 separate stories that I find hard to understand, in relation to the plot, but that could just be me. In spite of it, that makes me even more determined to read the story again in hopes of breaking the code.
I have loved reading all the stories in this collection. Whether some appeal to me more for reasons unknown, perhaps my own idiosyncracies, all of them, I feel, have been written excellently, with breadth of imagination, depth of detail and lustrous description, economy of words and power, with flair, style and verve. It is subtle and natural, belying the incredible skill and intelligence it takes to craft these stories from the ground up. If there is anything I have missed, do read the stories to find out for yourself.
The writer has made all these breathtaking stories so captivating and compelling. The hard process of writing is made to look easy, like magic. I find this incredibly inspiring, and I have no doubt will inspire countless others.
My shallow words do no justice to this masterpiece. Read it. I look forward to more stories from the author. Also, be sure to check out the author's other stories too that are not featured in this collection.
Thank you.
May 13, 2025
#ADORABLE by #WanPhingLim is a short story collection that gathers eleven stories. As someone who shares the same hometown, I found the setting both nostalgic and personal, adding a unique layer of emotional resonance to the reading experience.
One of my favorite stories is The Doll. The inclusion of the Luk Thep doll immediately reminded me of the Vietnamese horror film The Guardian. It taps into that same eerie yet compelling atmosphere of Southeast Asian supernatural lore.
The 3️⃣ Things:
💙 𝓢𝓲𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓮 𝔂𝓮𝓽 𝓵𝔂𝓻𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓵.
The language is accessible, yet there’s a poetic quality in the way the writer crafts her narratives. Her writing has a rhythmic flow, and I particularly appreciate her skill in closing a story sometimes with a jolt, sometimes with quiet contemplation.
💗 𝓜𝔂 𝓱𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓸𝔀𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓲𝓽’𝓼 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼.
Reading Adorable felt like a walk down memory lane. In Let’s Go and Sit By the Pool, the relationship between Akid and Shilin and the chaos of the black metal controversy took me straight back to my school days. It was surreal to see real locations close to heart like Queensbay, Gurney Plaza, Kelawei, even Scotland road show up in fiction and it’s a rare joy to see Penang portrayed in contemporary English literature. 🫰🏻
❤️ 𝓓𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓸𝓷𝓮𝓼.
From the innocent love of Boy towards the ghost girl Adora in Adorable, to folklore-inspired tales like The Mock with Datuk Keramat, and even the eerie family dynamics in The Moon Is Bright, the collection ranges from magical realism to grounded modern narratives.
However, not all stories hit the mark for me. A few felt simply okay. Still, for a short story collection, Adorable shows strong potential. 3/5 ⭐. Thank you @penguinbookssea @chai_n_books and @bookstore.baby for this copy. ✨🤌🏻🥰 #parareads #parabaca #adorable #penguinrandomhouse #penguinbookssea
One of my favorite stories is The Doll. The inclusion of the Luk Thep doll immediately reminded me of the Vietnamese horror film The Guardian. It taps into that same eerie yet compelling atmosphere of Southeast Asian supernatural lore.
The 3️⃣ Things:
💙 𝓢𝓲𝓶𝓹𝓵𝓮 𝔂𝓮𝓽 𝓵𝔂𝓻𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓵.
The language is accessible, yet there’s a poetic quality in the way the writer crafts her narratives. Her writing has a rhythmic flow, and I particularly appreciate her skill in closing a story sometimes with a jolt, sometimes with quiet contemplation.
💗 𝓜𝔂 𝓱𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓸𝔀𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓲𝓽’𝓼 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼.
Reading Adorable felt like a walk down memory lane. In Let’s Go and Sit By the Pool, the relationship between Akid and Shilin and the chaos of the black metal controversy took me straight back to my school days. It was surreal to see real locations close to heart like Queensbay, Gurney Plaza, Kelawei, even Scotland road show up in fiction and it’s a rare joy to see Penang portrayed in contemporary English literature. 🫰🏻
❤️ 𝓓𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓶𝓮𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓸𝓷𝓮𝓼.
From the innocent love of Boy towards the ghost girl Adora in Adorable, to folklore-inspired tales like The Mock with Datuk Keramat, and even the eerie family dynamics in The Moon Is Bright, the collection ranges from magical realism to grounded modern narratives.
However, not all stories hit the mark for me. A few felt simply okay. Still, for a short story collection, Adorable shows strong potential. 3/5 ⭐. Thank you @penguinbookssea @chai_n_books and @bookstore.baby for this copy. ✨🤌🏻🥰 #parareads #parabaca #adorable #penguinrandomhouse #penguinbookssea
October 9, 2025
Sometimes a place doesn’t just exist around you — it seeps into you, shaping the way you love, fear, and dream. This is a collection of short stories that feels exactly like that kind of place. Set in Penang, it captures the soul of an island that is both beautiful and unsettling, where tradition and modern life collide in strange, moving ways.
Each story feels like a glimpse into ordinary lives caught in extraordinary situations. Wan Phing Lim writes about people trying to make sense of the world around them — their choices, beliefs, and the quiet battles they fight within themselves. There’s a sense of restlessness running through her characters, as if they’re always searching for peace in a place that keeps shifting under their feet.
The writing is simple but powerful. Lim’s words carry emotion without needing big moments — a look, a sound, a small act can change everything. She knows how to make even silence speak. There’s something raw yet graceful about her storytelling, the way she mixes darkness with warmth and makes the strange feel real.
What I loved most is how the book captures the mood of Penang — not just its sights, but its pulse. You can almost feel the weight of its heat, hear the echo of prayers, and sense the secrets tucked into its corners. It’s a world where superstition, love, fear, and memory blend together.
This is not just a book of short stories; it’s about the way places shape people, and how people, in turn, haunt the places they leave behind. It’s haunting, tender, and deeply human — the kind of book that lingers long after you’ve turned the last page.
Each story feels like a glimpse into ordinary lives caught in extraordinary situations. Wan Phing Lim writes about people trying to make sense of the world around them — their choices, beliefs, and the quiet battles they fight within themselves. There’s a sense of restlessness running through her characters, as if they’re always searching for peace in a place that keeps shifting under their feet.
The writing is simple but powerful. Lim’s words carry emotion without needing big moments — a look, a sound, a small act can change everything. She knows how to make even silence speak. There’s something raw yet graceful about her storytelling, the way she mixes darkness with warmth and makes the strange feel real.
What I loved most is how the book captures the mood of Penang — not just its sights, but its pulse. You can almost feel the weight of its heat, hear the echo of prayers, and sense the secrets tucked into its corners. It’s a world where superstition, love, fear, and memory blend together.
This is not just a book of short stories; it’s about the way places shape people, and how people, in turn, haunt the places they leave behind. It’s haunting, tender, and deeply human — the kind of book that lingers long after you’ve turned the last page.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews