Sangkar memuatkan 22 cerpen Anwar Ridhwan. Lima daripadanya telah memenangi Hadiah Karya Sastera tahun 1973, 1976 dan 1982/83. Cerpen-cerpennya berlatarkan desa dan kota kosmopolitan yang mencabar fikiran pembaca untuk memahami dan mentafsir nasib manusia dalam sangkar kehidupan duniawi.
Dr. Anwar Ridhwan was born in an agricultural based family who was then reside in Sungai Besar, Selangor, previously the family lived in the neighboring state of Perak. He graduated from University Malaya with a Bachelor of Arts in 1973, then Masters of Arts in 1983 and finally finished his doctorate (Ph.D) in 1998. Soon he pursue his career in Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) until resignation in 2005 as Production Director of DBP.[1] On 11 August 2009, he was officially announced as the nation's 10th Sasterawan Negara by the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in his office in Putrajaya.
In writing, he is a well known novelist and a short story writer. His first novel, Hari-hari Terakhir Seorang Seniman won the Yayasan Sabah-GAPENA Novel Prize of 1979. Arus (1985) won the Malaysian Literary Prize of 1984/1985. Among his famous short stories are Perjalanan Terakhir (1971), Dunia adalah Sebuah Apartmen (1973), Sesudah Perang (1976) and Dari Kiev ke Moskova (1992). Naratif Ogonshoto won the Sastera Perdana Award of Malaysia 2000/2001 which was inspired and finally finished by Dr. Anwar Ridhwan in Japan. The novel with another title, "Bili i Nebili Ostrovov Ogonsoto" was published in Russian (translated by Victor Pogadaev) in 2006, Sanct-Petersburg (Paideia).
2 stars. This is a collection of story stories by Malaysian National Laureate Anwar Ridhwan. I enjoyed some of the stories, particularly "Tik Tik Tik". The rest of the stories are, in my opinion, rather difficult to read, possibly due to its unconventional storyline and speculative elements. The stories are mostly on human behavior, aging, relationships, travelling, isolation and alienation.
Tak mudah untuk difahami. Ada cerpen yang abstrak dan ada yang jelas plotnya. Memang sesuai untuk yang mahu berjinak2 dalam penulisan. Kalau nak dibandingkan memang aku lebih baik membaca saja dari menulis. Hihi
Beberapa cerpen yang diambil dari latar belakang Anwar Ridhwan ketika di luar negara seperti U.S dan Hong Kong. Ada beberapa cerpen yang susah untuk dibaca.