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The Principal Girl: Feminist Tales from Asia
The Principal Girl: Feminist Tales from Asia features stories of bold, bright, and heroic women and girls drawn from Malaysia and Singapore, and the Asian diaspora that underlies the rich and diverse cultural heritage of the two countries. All eighteen stories in this anthology emphasise female empowerment, and privilege the strength and wisdom of young girls and women, over conventionally idealised traits such as beauty, obedience, conformity, and passivity, so frequently depicted in traditional male-centric folk tales.
Of these, eight tales are based on or inspired by Asian folklore and well-known female cultural icons, while ten are original stories with contemporary settings, drawn from sources as diverse as the Mahabharata and Sejarah Melayu, to Iban and Kadazan folklore.
Apart from reimagined tales of legendary female figures like Hang Li Po, Princess of Mount Ledang, Draupadi, Queen Vishpala, Khawlah bt Azwar, Mahsuri, and Cik Siti Wan Kemboja, and mythical creatures like the Phoenix and Gedembai, readers will also meet the crime-fighting teenager Surya, the scholar and philanthropist Lilly Po, and the beauty queen Eve, who learns the true meaning of embodying the spirit of Huminodun, among many others just as dauntless.
Aimed at young adult readers, this volume showcases the writings of both new and established authors from Malaysia and Singapore, and hopes to inspire its young audience with empowering narratives of various ‘principal girls’ of past and present, all courageous, resourceful, and intelligent in their own ways. These are tales readers will want to revisit, again and again.
Of these, eight tales are based on or inspired by Asian folklore and well-known female cultural icons, while ten are original stories with contemporary settings, drawn from sources as diverse as the Mahabharata and Sejarah Melayu, to Iban and Kadazan folklore.
Apart from reimagined tales of legendary female figures like Hang Li Po, Princess of Mount Ledang, Draupadi, Queen Vishpala, Khawlah bt Azwar, Mahsuri, and Cik Siti Wan Kemboja, and mythical creatures like the Phoenix and Gedembai, readers will also meet the crime-fighting teenager Surya, the scholar and philanthropist Lilly Po, and the beauty queen Eve, who learns the true meaning of embodying the spirit of Huminodun, among many others just as dauntless.
Aimed at young adult readers, this volume showcases the writings of both new and established authors from Malaysia and Singapore, and hopes to inspire its young audience with empowering narratives of various ‘principal girls’ of past and present, all courageous, resourceful, and intelligent in their own ways. These are tales readers will want to revisit, again and again.
222 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 5, 2019
Having curated and edited two collections of Malaysian short stories, I am aware that it's not an easy task to produce a book in which the stories are of a consistent quality. Unfortunately, we do not (as yet) have a large enough pool of experienced and talented writers to produce enough well-written stories (especially in English) to fill an anthology. Still, this shouldn't deter anyone from planning to collect and publish short stories by local writers. However, it should be stressed that such endeavours take time and patience to complete, and may leave those in the editing/publishing roles with their sanity in shreds. Nevertheless, I learnt a lot from editing the anthologies Malaysian Tales: Retold & Remixed and Remang and both experiences were ultimately rewarding and enriching. I hope this was also the case for Sharifah Aisha Osman and Tuty Dutta, the editors of The Principal Girl.
I really like a few of the stories in this collection. The Girl on the Mountain and Red and White by Preeta Samarasan are excellent, the kind of stories that send shivers up your spine, that excite you and make you want to write.
And I love Julya Ooi's Surya and the Supernatural Sleuths — in particular the voice of its protagonist and the tale's original take on Malaysia's most 'beloved' ghoul, the Pontianak; and Anna Tan’s delightful Operation: Rescue Pris (with its even more delightful gedembai).
I also enjoyed Golda Mowe's Under the Bridge, although I'm not certain what is 'feminist' about the story. In fact, this is not the only story which makes me to wonder if the collection's sub-title — Feminist Tales from Asia — is a suitable one. In my opinion, the title The Principal Girl would have been sufficient to convey the idea of stories that centre female protagonists, without actually championing feminism. As it is, the 'feminist' label is problematic as the definition of this word is not reflected in quite a few of the tales.
I would go so far as to say that some of the stories here are anti-feminist, in various ways. One example is Renie Ling's Saving Grace. Although it has an ostensibly highly-principled protagonist who strives to save the shrine of a goddess and be true to the promises she made to her late grandmother, she also betrays worryingly ageist and sizeist attitudes towards a stepmother who is stereotypically, conveniently and predictably unpleasant. All these points wouldn’t necessarily be at odds in a feminist story if the writing was more nuanced, and the issues more thoroughly explored. Unfortunately, that’s just not the case here.
This and other pieces in the collection would definitely have benefited from more rigorous editing. Sumitra Selvaraj’s The Queen’s Last Stand seems unfinished; Reborn by Joyce Ch’ng and Priya’s Faraway Tree’ by Krishnaveni Panikker are messily constructed to the point of being nonsensical and pointless; retellings like Cik Siti Wan Kemboja and Princess of Mount Ledang do little to add to the tales as we already know them; while Shireen Zainudin’s Grey and Sharmilla Ganesan’s Gamble could do with the authors delving more into what makes their characters tick and developing their storylines further. Grey is, I feel, especially vague. The author needs to decide what the story is about, or maybe I’ve just missed her point.
However, I do know that it is far from easy to work with more than a dozen authors and have to deal with different temperaments and styles of writing. The writers’ intentions and attitudes are also to be considered, and their willingness and ability to put in the work are factors that are rarely discussed in this industry. On occasion, short of rewriting work themselves, there’s not a lot that editors can do to improve stories.
There really is more to anthologies, especially local ones, than meets the eye, but I like the idea behind the creation of The Principal Girl and I hope it is just the first in a series that puts female characters front and centre.
May 7, 2019
The second short story of the book, by Preeta Samarasan had me rereading it many times over. The first paragraph alone was enough to have me fall in love with it.
April 5, 2020
My oh My! How do i start with this review? I love all the stories in this book. This is not an exaggeration. Every single story is so distinctive but at the same time retain the essence of feminism. The book are divided into 2 parts which are stories from long time ago and contemporary stories. In fact, i was surprised that i enjoyed the contemporary stories part more than the other part in the book. For the majority of the stories in this particular part, it consisted of the reimagining characters from old folklore and history that has been adapted to the current time. Furthermore, these authors managed to add layers of social commentary in these stories in a brilliant manner. It was about adventure, pain, passion, revenge and losses embedded in each tale. It was waiting to be uncovered by the readers when they picked up this book. While i love all the stories in this book, there are few that stands out from the rest.
Part 1 : stories from long ago
1) Red and White by Preeta Samarasan
Perhaps, you have read, watch and listen to 'Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih' million times. Try to read it again but this time in the perspective of the so called 'bad girl'.
2) The Veiled Knight by Hezreen Abdul Rashid
The first female warrior in Islam's history.
3) The girl on the mountain by Leela Chakrabarty
It takes a strong girl to defy the king and say what's exactly on her mind. While she is beautiful but she doesn't let anyone takes her for a fool.
Part 2 : Contemporary Stories
1) Surya and the supernatural sleuths by Julya oui
A kind hearted girl with a third eye vision tried to search a missing girl in her town. She got helped from supernatural beings that lived around her.
2) Gamble by Sharmilla Ganesan
The adaptation of draupadi in the modern setting.
3) Grey by Shireen Zainuddin
The journey of 2 best friends searching for 'Mahsuri' and rediscovering themselves while on the journey.
4) Unduk Ngadau by Julie Padasian
The strong bond between grandmother and grand daughters shared through the Huminodun and Unduk Ngadau.
5) Under the bridge by Golda Mowe
Is it a real crocodile? Is it only myth? Is it just a shred of imagination?
The fact that this book was so malaysian (if there's even such term) is just another plus points. I was surprised to check that the book got low rating in Goodreads. I would suggest everyone to browse gerakbudaya website and buy this book. After you have read it, please pass it to your daughters, nieces, females students whomever you feel that need to read this book. To gerakbudaya, if there's a possibility of translating this to Bahasa Malaysia, do publish it.
Part 1 : stories from long ago
1) Red and White by Preeta Samarasan
Perhaps, you have read, watch and listen to 'Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih' million times. Try to read it again but this time in the perspective of the so called 'bad girl'.
2) The Veiled Knight by Hezreen Abdul Rashid
The first female warrior in Islam's history.
3) The girl on the mountain by Leela Chakrabarty
It takes a strong girl to defy the king and say what's exactly on her mind. While she is beautiful but she doesn't let anyone takes her for a fool.
Part 2 : Contemporary Stories
1) Surya and the supernatural sleuths by Julya oui
A kind hearted girl with a third eye vision tried to search a missing girl in her town. She got helped from supernatural beings that lived around her.
2) Gamble by Sharmilla Ganesan
The adaptation of draupadi in the modern setting.
3) Grey by Shireen Zainuddin
The journey of 2 best friends searching for 'Mahsuri' and rediscovering themselves while on the journey.
4) Unduk Ngadau by Julie Padasian
The strong bond between grandmother and grand daughters shared through the Huminodun and Unduk Ngadau.
5) Under the bridge by Golda Mowe
Is it a real crocodile? Is it only myth? Is it just a shred of imagination?
The fact that this book was so malaysian (if there's even such term) is just another plus points. I was surprised to check that the book got low rating in Goodreads. I would suggest everyone to browse gerakbudaya website and buy this book. After you have read it, please pass it to your daughters, nieces, females students whomever you feel that need to read this book. To gerakbudaya, if there's a possibility of translating this to Bahasa Malaysia, do publish it.
June 5, 2021
My favourite stories are definitely written by Preeta Samarasan. For some stories in this book, the theme female empowerment or feminism is not really obvious.
Growing up in Malaysia, I can confirm there's a lack of reading materials like this that focuses on female empowerment. Now however more and more inspiring writings like this started to emerge in Malaysian literature. I love how the collection combines both traditional folklores and more modern stories, giving readers the best of both world. This book would be the perfect gift for young girls or even adults.
Growing up in Malaysia, I can confirm there's a lack of reading materials like this that focuses on female empowerment. Now however more and more inspiring writings like this started to emerge in Malaysian literature. I love how the collection combines both traditional folklores and more modern stories, giving readers the best of both world. This book would be the perfect gift for young girls or even adults.
June 10, 2022
Rating: 3.5 stars
This book is a collection of 18 stories; 8 retellings of folklores and 10 contemporary stories centering female characters.
The book was a project undertaken after the two editors identified the gap in the market for books with women as the main characters, particularly in Malaysian and Southeast Asian tales and folklores.
The book featured retellings of famous legendary figures like Puteri Gunung Ledang and Hang Li Po, from angles we've never heard before. The standout for me was Red and White by Preeta Samaresan. It was a refreshing and hilarious take on Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih! I was chuckling all through the short 10 pages or so. If you could spare some time to read only one tale from this book, I'd pick this one.
Though I applaud the initiative to bring together all the heroines under one banner, the selection was a bit underwhelming in my opinion. Some of the stories were more of just stories with central female characters, but unfortunately fell short in terms of impact to engage the readers. While they could probably stand on their own as short stories, when compiled under 'feminist tales', perhaps I expected more emphasis on women empowerment.
However, hopefully with the publication of this book, it'd signal that there's a market for feminist tales for our kids. I hope there'd be more books like this in future, putting the spotlight on our legendary women figures, as much as we have on our men.
This book is a collection of 18 stories; 8 retellings of folklores and 10 contemporary stories centering female characters.
The book was a project undertaken after the two editors identified the gap in the market for books with women as the main characters, particularly in Malaysian and Southeast Asian tales and folklores.
The book featured retellings of famous legendary figures like Puteri Gunung Ledang and Hang Li Po, from angles we've never heard before. The standout for me was Red and White by Preeta Samaresan. It was a refreshing and hilarious take on Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih! I was chuckling all through the short 10 pages or so. If you could spare some time to read only one tale from this book, I'd pick this one.
Though I applaud the initiative to bring together all the heroines under one banner, the selection was a bit underwhelming in my opinion. Some of the stories were more of just stories with central female characters, but unfortunately fell short in terms of impact to engage the readers. While they could probably stand on their own as short stories, when compiled under 'feminist tales', perhaps I expected more emphasis on women empowerment.
However, hopefully with the publication of this book, it'd signal that there's a market for feminist tales for our kids. I hope there'd be more books like this in future, putting the spotlight on our legendary women figures, as much as we have on our men.
December 22, 2023
The Principal Girl Redux: Feminist Tales from Asia
By Sharifah Aishah Osman, Tutu Dutta, Joyce Ch’ng, Preeta Samarasan, Hezreen Abdul Rashid, Leela Chakrabarty, Wan Phing Lim, Maizura Abas, Sumitra Selvaraj, Anna Tan, Golda Mowe, Julie Padasian, Julya Oui, Krishnaveni Panikker, Latifah Tamerlane, Renie Leng, Sharmilla Ganesan, Shireen Zainudin, Shalini Nadaswaran, Honey Ahmad
Published by Gerakbudaya
Goodread's Rating: 3.66/5
My Rating: 3/5
"Today she wanted me to transcribe my thoughts, her vision into ink on paper. Today our collaboration began in earnest, with a blinking cursor moving across my laptop screen. To tell a tale of once upon a recent time. When there was violence and vandalism, perhaps borne of bitterness but fueled by some deeper absence. A primal protestation for survival in the face of unharnessed ambition and unchecked power. Were these tensions inborne, or birthed only recently from a policy of division? What was this rage that extinguish hope. This something rotten in this kingdom of fairy tales? Where fairy tales sometimes ignited as nightmare."
All of the 20 stories in this book has one similarity, all of their main character is woman. However, not all stories fit the bill to be dubbed as feminist tales which supposedly to advocate for women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. If a reader is into feminism, there are many other books that can portray a better idea. However, the short story by Preeta truly ignited the carburettor in my women's empowerment engine. Bravo!
"Must always have a good girl and a bad girl in every story, otherwise you will feel like something is missing from your rempah ratus, but you don't know what. So go ahead. Tell yourselves that my so-called sister was the sweet innocent gold-hearted angel and her mother the poor wronged first wife usurped by the scheming perempuan sundal. Even the stupid names you have given us show how simple-minded you all are. The pure innocent white one and the dangerous red one who was will sting your eyes and make you cry. Supposedly my mother and I are the ones who drove my poor father to the grave."
#MalaysiaMembaca
By Sharifah Aishah Osman, Tutu Dutta, Joyce Ch’ng, Preeta Samarasan, Hezreen Abdul Rashid, Leela Chakrabarty, Wan Phing Lim, Maizura Abas, Sumitra Selvaraj, Anna Tan, Golda Mowe, Julie Padasian, Julya Oui, Krishnaveni Panikker, Latifah Tamerlane, Renie Leng, Sharmilla Ganesan, Shireen Zainudin, Shalini Nadaswaran, Honey Ahmad
Published by Gerakbudaya
Goodread's Rating: 3.66/5
My Rating: 3/5
"Today she wanted me to transcribe my thoughts, her vision into ink on paper. Today our collaboration began in earnest, with a blinking cursor moving across my laptop screen. To tell a tale of once upon a recent time. When there was violence and vandalism, perhaps borne of bitterness but fueled by some deeper absence. A primal protestation for survival in the face of unharnessed ambition and unchecked power. Were these tensions inborne, or birthed only recently from a policy of division? What was this rage that extinguish hope. This something rotten in this kingdom of fairy tales? Where fairy tales sometimes ignited as nightmare."
All of the 20 stories in this book has one similarity, all of their main character is woman. However, not all stories fit the bill to be dubbed as feminist tales which supposedly to advocate for women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. If a reader is into feminism, there are many other books that can portray a better idea. However, the short story by Preeta truly ignited the carburettor in my women's empowerment engine. Bravo!
"Must always have a good girl and a bad girl in every story, otherwise you will feel like something is missing from your rempah ratus, but you don't know what. So go ahead. Tell yourselves that my so-called sister was the sweet innocent gold-hearted angel and her mother the poor wronged first wife usurped by the scheming perempuan sundal. Even the stupid names you have given us show how simple-minded you all are. The pure innocent white one and the dangerous red one who was will sting your eyes and make you cry. Supposedly my mother and I are the ones who drove my poor father to the grave."
#MalaysiaMembaca
September 21, 2023
How to start a review...lol....
based on my reading, the various genres make me feel that I was back to my childhood, I was raised by my late grandmother and grandfather in a small village in a plantation area so-called Felda Gedangsa, a place surrounded by plantations and palm oil. For supernatural and superstitious it was common for me but I still feel sacred hahaha... when the author mentioned "Kak Tia" I still can remember her voice mengilai one night when I was 12 years old, that time I was studying for UPSR.. So damn scary things have happened to me. this book recalled my childhood experience but knew how hard to compile all the authors in one book only to share with their fans. I love the way storytelling has been created and this is among the best books ever. The book is shown as truly Asian generally, but specifically as Malaysian.
Keep continuing to publish a great boo, definitely will continue reading this book again.
Kudos to all the authors!!!
based on my reading, the various genres make me feel that I was back to my childhood, I was raised by my late grandmother and grandfather in a small village in a plantation area so-called Felda Gedangsa, a place surrounded by plantations and palm oil. For supernatural and superstitious it was common for me but I still feel sacred hahaha... when the author mentioned "Kak Tia" I still can remember her voice mengilai one night when I was 12 years old, that time I was studying for UPSR.. So damn scary things have happened to me. this book recalled my childhood experience but knew how hard to compile all the authors in one book only to share with their fans. I love the way storytelling has been created and this is among the best books ever. The book is shown as truly Asian generally, but specifically as Malaysian.
Keep continuing to publish a great boo, definitely will continue reading this book again.
Kudos to all the authors!!!
August 12, 2021
Initially, I bought the book for my nieces after a friend recommended it. Fortunately for me, it was mistakenly delivered to my house and decided to read it first. And it was amazing, the book is separated by sections from reimagined folklore championing women's POV and to modern time stories.
The chapter involving especially the modern times combined with Sarawakian folklore - it was so good I wished there is a full book for it. Also, another favourite is Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih written from Bawang Merah's point of view who is often seen as the evil step-sister, it was excellent.
The chapter involving especially the modern times combined with Sarawakian folklore - it was so good I wished there is a full book for it. Also, another favourite is Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih written from Bawang Merah's point of view who is often seen as the evil step-sister, it was excellent.
September 22, 2024
The version of the book I got is not on GoodReads.com, I had a different edition of the book:
The Principal Girl Redux: Feminist Tales from Asia
ISBN: 9789670076188
This book is amazing! Suitable for travellers who need some local short stories for light reading.
It is full of re-telling of local famous folklores and some are with a feminist twist in a good way.
I love the story about Bawang Putih Bawang Merah, Red and White of course. The twist in this short story is perfect as it made the sibling rivalry into something wholesome with happy endings.
Highly recommended!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-aR0...
The Principal Girl Redux: Feminist Tales from Asia
ISBN: 9789670076188
This book is amazing! Suitable for travellers who need some local short stories for light reading.
It is full of re-telling of local famous folklores and some are with a feminist twist in a good way.
I love the story about Bawang Putih Bawang Merah, Red and White of course. The twist in this short story is perfect as it made the sibling rivalry into something wholesome with happy endings.
Highly recommended!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-aR0...
October 23, 2021
The Principal Girl sets its setting mainly in SEA. Something that I find fascinating. Writers from different ethnicities, different cultures, and different skin colours. But they all share two things in common; a gender, and a nationality. I truly enjoyed the 2nd story written by Preeta Samarasan. Totally remarkable. Apart from that, Gamble by Sharmilla Ganesan had also found its way into my heart. Absolutely heartfelt.
July 28, 2020
Ada beberapa cerita yang meleret. Tapi, suka dengan ragam mereka bercerita. Terutama sekali apabila ia melibatkan imaginasi dengan kewujudan makhluk-makhluk ganjil seperti hantu atau raksasa. Ia menarik.
August 31, 2021
My favourite was Under the Bridge by Golda Mowe 🥰🥰🥰 Love a good crocodile myth hahaha 🥰🥰🥰
July 15, 2022
Will read this book to my daughter before bed time.
August 7, 2023
This anthology is great for my research. I find it fascinating how we actually have female empowerment in our traditions and history yet somehow... where did it all go wrong?
November 18, 2022
Witnessing 18 variants of writing style under one umbrella was not a piece of cake; each time I had to switch my approach as each new story unfolded. It took me more days than I had anticipated completing reading this 200-page anthology with its distinct tales. While I was adjusting and setting my mood right towards a story, an abrupt halt had to be taken as swiftly as I could to start all over again to get through the consecutive tales.
Preeta Samarasan’s tales were beautifully curated, and I have always been an ardent fan of her writing. She knows the best ways to convey complex thoughts in the simplest.
The touch of feminism was evident in some while absent in the rest, or — perhaps — I wouldn't be able to identify myself with it. Nevertheless, each tale had a takeaway of its own, and the reader will always have a thing or two to learn from them.
Preeta Samarasan’s tales were beautifully curated, and I have always been an ardent fan of her writing. She knows the best ways to convey complex thoughts in the simplest.
The touch of feminism was evident in some while absent in the rest, or — perhaps — I wouldn't be able to identify myself with it. Nevertheless, each tale had a takeaway of its own, and the reader will always have a thing or two to learn from them.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews