Lake Like a Mirror

by Ho Sok Fong, Natascha Bruce (Translator)

A portrait of Malaysian society in nine stories, by an author described by critics as 'the most accomplished Malaysian writer, full stop'. Lake Like a Mirror is a scintillating exploration of the lives of women buffeted by powers beyond their control. Squeezing themselves between the gaps of rabid urbanisation, patriarchal structures and a theocratic government, these women find their lives twisted in disturbing ways. In precise and disquieting prose, Ho Sok Fong draws her readers into a richly atmospheric world of naked sleepwalkers in a Muslim women's home, mysterious wooden boxes, gossip in unlicensed hairdressers, hotels with amnesiac guests, and poetry classes with accidentally charged politics - a world that is both bizarre and utterly true.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Magical Realism, Asia, Fantasy, Contemporary, Literary Fiction

199 pages, ebook

First published July 18, 2014

About the author

Ho Sok Fong (賀淑芳) is the author of two short-story collections in Chinese, Maze Carpet (迷宮毯子, Aquarius, 2012) and Lake Like a Mirror (湖面如鏡, Aquarius, 2014). Her literary awards include the Chiu Ko Fiction Prize (2015), the 25th China Times Short Story Prize, and the 30th United Press Short Story Prize. Originally from Kedah, Malaysia, she has a PhD in Chinese Language & Literature from NTU Singapore, and lives in Malaysia.

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Works in translation - a tricky thing. Do we read them the same way that we do anything else? Do we apply the same rules, "standards", criteria?

This new collection is written by Ho Sok Fong, a Malaysian writer, and is translated from Chinese. I struggled a lot with these stories, which have loose-to-very-loose narrative structure, unreliable or shifting narration, and lack of resolution. At best, they are experimental and edgy. At worst, bewildering meta-fiction.

It's always great to read out of one's culture, to learn outside one's own experience. Reading Fong's stories taught me a little about what it means to be Malay - or, more specifically, Chinese-Malay. For example, I never knew that by law, Malays must practice the Muslim religion (or else be incarcerated for apostasy, until they mend their ways). I didn't know how careful a Malay person must be, how dangerous it might be to read an e.e. cummings poem aloud. The themes of female loneliness and oppression run strong through Fong's stories.

The themes are clear, but I have to say I struggled with the rest. Direction, plot, characters. Because in addition to being a translated work written by someone from a culture not familiar to me, the stories are also surreal in style. So is the "problem" I had a poor translation? A significant culture gap? Or just personal taste? I would have appreciated a foreword to this book, just to gain a little insight, a flashlight to guide me through the dark murkiness of these tales. Or is my being lost the specific (if not sadistic) aim of the author?

As a thoughtful reader, I will do what I can to meet the author as close as I can to where she is; but if she doesn't meet me even halfway, something is lost.

So, I'm glad I read this collection, for stories that brought to mind whiffs of The Vegetarian and Hotel Iris, for the haunting imagery of a nude sleepwalker, for glimpses of life and struggles for women in Malaysia. But, at the end of the day, my personal taste just cannot be left at the door.

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book of short stories is from a Malaysian Chinese author whose first published story was banned from papers in Malaysia - both the story and any commentary or reviews. That might clue you in to some of the themes of her writing, but I found this interview to be very useful in understanding some of the ethnic and religious identity implications that are important in the stories. All the stories are about women and beyond the limitations already implicit in the previous identities, I felt they were also dealing with themes of control, access to education, social mobility, family expectation, invisibility, and more.

We are discussing the book in the Newest Literary Fiction group in June so I am looking forward to that.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

I admired this collection more than I absorbed it. Each story holds a degree of surreality, something I never mind; but some of the stories meandered to places I didn’t seem to be able to follow, no matter how I tried. The translation is beautifully worded, but I imagine some of my difficulties arose from being unfamiliar with the tensions of the different worlds these Malay women straddle. Yet, for me, it is a start.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe it's the translation. But I know for sure the stories did not work for me as the characters were pretty unconvincing and the plots were just par below children's horror fiction. So not recommending it.

[Carmel Hanes · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up--2 for my enjoyment of reading, and 3 for the writing itself.

This collection of short stories offered a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed some of the prose, and appreciated the underlying themes of identity, struggle and oppression within a culture, but often reached the end of a story wondering what the author was really trying to convey. Some selections reached outside real into the surreal, which often leaves me spinning my head around to see where it went.

Being a translation representing a culture I know little of likely added to my having less connection to the stories offered. I don't need to be spoon fed, but I do like to recognize what I'm eating, and this collection left me less satisfied than I had hoped. Chances are, that's a big slice of "it's me", and others may find this collection more to their liking. But I had to ask...what's with all the frogs?

[Eric Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s an eerie tension at the centre of the short stories in Ho Sok Fong’s collection “Lake Like a Mirror” but it’s not a conventional tension to do with plot. It’s more an uncertainty about how reality might bend around the perspectives of the characters involved. They might be consumed by plants or become amphibious or escape in an air balloon. Some stories slide more into the surreal while others confront harder realities such as women who are institutionalized or teachers who are dismissed for teaching liberal ideas. These tales revolve around the lives of different Malaysian women who are trapped in certain circumstances often to do with religious or social pressure. The title story is one of my favourites as it delicately describes a sense of how other people’s distressed lives touch upon our own and how we’re sometimes powerless to help them. But I also enjoyed the unsettling humour of the story ‘Summer Tornado’ where a woman attaches herself to a family at an amusement park and forces them to continue going on rides with her in manic desperation. Although many of the characters seem trapped in a sluggish existence there’s often a frenzy bubbling beneath the surface which warps the world around them in surprising and, sometimes, terrifying ways.

[jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is not an easy book to read. for one, the stories do not typically gratify our desire for narrative closure. they sit there, and although i think there is progress (can there be a story without progress?) i think the progress mostly happens in the reader, who gets to see complex situations for the the rich complexity they contain. in a lovely interview ho sok fong says that when the translator asked her to clarify a passage, she would re-read and discover new facets in the story she herself wrote! so you know, this is the frame of mind one needs, i think, to get into these stories.

the other difficult bit is that if you don't know anything about malaysia you will have to hit the google (i knew nothing about malaysia, including where to locate it on the map). what i learned from this book is that malaysia is a theocrazy; that it has a bunch of big minorities (including the chinese and chinese-speaking one, to which the author belongs); that these minorities experience racism; and that catholicism and other religions are not necessarily a force for the good (surprise!).

i love the female characters of these stories. they are broken but feisty, or maybe enduring and lasting, and i'm so glad this book was translated into english.

oh, also, it rains a lot, like a whole damn lot.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

From an author described by critics as 'the most accomplished Malaysian writer, full stop' I think I just expected something more. The themes and plot lines had potential, I just like my short stories to have a bit more focus and narrative thrust.

Thank you Netgalley and Granta Publications for the advance copy, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

É um livro de contos escrito por Ho Sok Fong, uma autora malaia.
Os contos abordam diferentes temas, como identidade, sociedade e questões humanas.
Cada história oferece uma perspectiva única da vida moderna e das suas complexidades.
Gostei da forma como a autora escreveu e dos temas de identidade, luta e opressão cultural. No entanto, muitas vezes as histórias terminam de forma ambígua, fazendo-me questionar qual a mensagem que a autora pretendia transmitir.

74/198 – Malásia

[Marie-Therese · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

There is much that is really touching, beautifully drawn, atmospheric, even surreal, in these stories, and Ho is remarkable at evoking the lives of women in liminal situations, stuck between child and adult, dependent and independent, moving forward or staying in place.

In the best of these tales, as in the exquisitely realized title story, one of the most technically assured tales I've read in a long time, she melds the uneasy states of mind of her characters with vivid, sometimes surreal word pictures that bring the difficulties they face into sharp focus. But too often she builds a story to the point of unbearable tension and then just seems to give up on it, ceding a real ending or resolution to a striking visual image, a momentary sensation that brings neither the character nor the reader any closure or deeper understanding of what went before. This can be effective occasionally but as the standard ending for all stories in a collection it quickly seems more like a cop out than a revelation and the reader begins to wonder if the author herself can't quite imagine a way forward for any of her characters, if she too is stuck between worlds in the way that they are.

Despite the frustration of the vague endings, this is a beautifully written collection and the lives of the women depicted here are intriguing and frequently moving. Well worth reading if you don't mind very ambiguous endings.

[Bill Hsu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting ideas, but I'm not a fan of the writing. 2.5 stars, rounded down.

[Nicole Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

If you don’t enjoy short stories that are a little vague and up for interpretation, then you won’t enjoy this, but they were all a little bizarre and I had fun with them.

My favourite were: The Wall, Radio Drama, Aminah, and March in a Small Town

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know how when you are exhausted, and in a creepy place (even if that is your own home) and you hear a strange noise or see a shadow and suddenly you're just not sure if you are imagining things or if the world has subtly shifted under your feet? Well, apparently that's the place Fong lives. These nine stories skirt the boundaries of the real and the imagined, but with an intensity driven by exploring the psychological states brought on by our world, or in this case, the world of modern (mostly) Malaysia. Fong's protagonists are women trying to survive: an exhausted shopkeeper tries to remember what is in a long-neglected chest; a teacher dreams of a literary life she cannot live; a woman on the cusp of adulthood follows a mysteriously looping man, a devout Christian sex worker attempts to survive an abusive relationship, a young girl in a hair salon tries to puzzle out the life of its owner, a free spirit locked in an Islamic rehab facility tries to become Aminah, someone she is (mostly) not. Each retreats or embraces an inner world where the improbable seems normal. The stories are filled with atmosphere - often creepy, but not always - a holiday town bustles, the store has that strange semi-quiet of local shops, the hairdresser's line of chatting women become oppressive in the heat. I found the stories a mixed bunch - but when, as with the grocery store, or the first of the rehab stories, all the elements come together, the stories are memorable and rich.

[koyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

another happy writer discovery of this year!– Fong's slice-of-life stories have a soft, eerie, quiet depth; the surface of reality is rippled with a dark surrealism that unfortunately faithfully mirrors the life of most women... really enjoyed the particularity of the Malaysian context. i have read so little from this country which has so many of the same problems as my own

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some interesting reads in this collection. I’m especially captivated by the detailed accuracy of description for each story - the settings of time and place, and surroundings and culture - makes reading then stories a very realistic journey. I would recommend this to Malaysians first, cause we need to know our country better and this book brings out the elements that make us us. Then the world can partake a piece of this collection to know us better.

[Two Lines Press · Rating 5 out of 5]

*AVAILABLE NOW!*

“Dreamlike…[Ho Sok Fong] has created a world in these stories that is entirely, and uniquely, her own. Straddling the surreal and the pointedly political, Ho reveals herself to be a writer of immense talent and range.”—Kirkus Reviews (*starred review*)

“Excellent…Ho Sok Fong’s vivid imagination and keen eye for women’s pain, gracefully translated, are hallmarks of a deeply talented writer.”—Publishers Weekly (*starred review*)

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exacting surrealist stories of religious, ethnic, and gender-based oppression from Malaysian author Ho Sok Fong, translated from Chinese. Some of these stories were very good, while others were opaque and hard to connect with. I enjoyed learning about a culture that I knew nothing about, and I may return to this collection at a time when I have more mental bandwidth to engage.

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

A difficult read - but that was due to my ignorance - I needed more cultural notes to understand it fully.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

thoughts coming shortly

[Sharon Bakar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have very conflicted feelings about this collection of stories. I enjoyed the surreal and dreamlike quality of the stories. Ho represents a Malaysia I recognise and has the courage to push into territory that other Malaysian authors haven't tackled - like the rehabilitation centre for deviant Muslims in Animah, and the racial politics of higher education in the title story. Ho is an author prepared also to take risks in terms of her story telling - I was particularly intrigued by sudden shifts of point-of-view which snatch out the rug from under the reader's feet in Wind Through the Pineapple Leaves. The writing is atmospheric and there is some beautiful imagery (I loved the descriptions of the light shifts in sun and rain in March in a Small Town.)

What I didn't like about the book was that it was such a struggle. It was so hard to stay focused because the stories meander and drift so much and feel totally improvised (they felt like quickly written first drafts which needed to be shaped into something more readable). Above all, too often they just didn't engage me. I found The Chest so intensly annoying that I stopped reading the book at that point and didn't come back to it for over a year!

I'm wondering how much of the problems with the book are down to the translation and/or a lack of developmental editing, and how much to the work having come out of a very different literary tradition which I, as a Western oriented reader doesn't understand.

I don't feel that I'm done with this book yet. I want to reread it and reflect more deeply on these stories. I want to leave room to change my mind.

[Plainqoma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating 2.8⭐️

Translated from the Chinese by Natascha Bruce. So much potential but this one just did not work for me. I felt really disconnected with the characters and stories mostly. This is a kind of book need to digest slowly.

The book mainly focuses about the women in Malaysia whether they were Chinese, Malay or an immigrants. It also focuses on political/religious censorship. With surrealism and dream like flow potent imaginary as the main themes of the book I found it rather unsettling most of the time. I was so lost most of the time.

Some of my favourites were
- The Wall
- Radio Drama
- Summer Tornado
- March in a Small Town

The stories threads of plots were written in a sprawling, loose style, which we as a reader can interpret it in our own ways. There are no fixed answers in the stories. It will be more fun if you just enjoy it as it is.

[Dree · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories in this collection all focus on young women, who may be teens to 40ish. Several have a touch of surrealism, or "magical realism" (I'm not sure this term can be applied to Malaysian lit?), or just an interesting not-quite-supernatural twist. All give a taste of Malaysian society, weather, culture, and expectation on women.

I liked all of these stories, though right now I would pick my favorite as "Wind Through the Pineapple Leaves, Through the Frangipani"--which takes place at a home for pregnant single women, though perhaps it is a mental institution as well?

Others I really liked:
October--about a young woman and a pirate.

March in A Small Town--a young woman working at her aunt's hotel tries to understand a man who comes in daily yet he doesn't remember her.

Summer Tornado--a stepmother at a water park with her husband and stepkids

Translated from Chinese.

[Library of Dreaming (Bookstagram) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me realize how little I know about Malaysia and inspired me to do more research about the country. Ho Sok Fong's prose is beautiful and the stories are fascinating even if they're utterly baffling. I still don't understand them, but I enjoyed most of them nonetheless and I found it to be a well-crafted piece of literature.

Personally though, the story called "October" was really disturbing (as well as confusing) which led me to take off a star from my overall rating. There were other stories in this collection that I felt were five star worthy, but "October" left such a bitter taste in my mouth that I can't say I completely loved the whole book. Sensitive readers like myself may want to prepare themselves before digging into these stories...

[Farahi Kamaruddin · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my book wishlist for 2023 is to read more books by our Malaysian authors, and Southeast Asian authors generally.

So, I consider this as my starter for that wishlist. It's a compilation of few stories, highlighted on the lives of Malaysian women and the issues around them.

Some of the stories are somewhat strange, but it provide us the realistic thought that "yes, some of our women are experiencing this twisted kind of life".

Anyway, I enjoyed it!

[Owen Hatherley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted to like this rather more than I did: acutely eerie atmospheres, intensely local, but in large swathes found it all so impressionistic that there was little to grab onto; particularly enjoyed the nightmarish colonial stories, though.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up.

[Shana Brownell · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories have a real aura even though the translation makes it an awkward read

[Zana · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Trường Thịnh]

Đánh giá máy scan Ricoh Fi-8170: Sức mạnh vượt trội cho văn phòng số hóa

Trong kỷ nguyên số hóa mạnh mẽ như hiện nay, nhu cầu chuyển đổi tài liệu giấy sang định dạng số ngày càng tăng cao. Nắm bắt xu thế đó, Ricoh – thương hiệu kế thừa công nghệ máy scan từ Fujitsu – đã cho ra đời máy quét Ricoh Fi-8170, một trong những model tiên tiến và toàn diện nhất trong dòng sản phẩm fi-Series.

Được thiết kế nhằm đáp ứng yêu cầu quét số lượng lớn với độ chính xác và hiệu suất cao, Ricoh Fi-8170 là lựa chọn hàng đầu cho các tổ chức hành chính, tài chính, y tế, giáo dục và doanh nghiệp cần quản lý tài liệu chuyên nghiệp. Hãy cùng tìm hiểu và đánh giá chi tiết về thiết bị này qua các khía cạnh quan trọng dưới đây.

Xem thêm thông số kỹ thuật của máy scan Ricoh Fi-8170 tại: https://truongthinhphat.net.vn/san-pham/may-scan-ricoh-fi-8170-2017 

1. Thiết kế hiện đại, gọn gàng, bền bỉ

Ricoh Fi-8170 có thiết kế tinh giản nhưng chắc chắn, mang phong cách đặc trưng của dòng máy quét chuyên dụng. Với kích thước chỉ khoảng 300 x 170 x 163 mm và trọng lượng gần 4.2 kg, máy dễ dàng bố trí trên bàn làm việc mà không chiếm nhiều không gian.

Phần thân máy được làm từ chất liệu nhựa cao cấp màu trắng xám, tạo cảm giác chuyên nghiệp và sạch sẽ. Khay nạp tài liệu tự động (ADF) được thiết kế rộng rãi, dễ dàng điều chỉnh kích thước giấy, giúp máy hoạt động ổn định và hạn chế sự cố kẹt giấy.

✅ Ưu điểm: Thiết kế nhỏ gọn, phù hợp với nhiều môi trường làm việc.
❌ Lưu ý: Mặt trên máy không có màn hình cảm ứng, người dùng điều khiển qua phần mềm trên máy tính.

2. Hiệu suất quét vượt trội: 70 trang/phút – 140 ảnh/phút

Điểm mạnh nổi bật nhất của Ricoh Fi-8170 chính là tốc độ quét nhanh: lên tới 70 trang/phút (ppm) hoặc 140 ảnh/phút (ipm) ở độ phân giải 200/300 dpi. Đây là con số ấn tượng, vượt trội so với nhiều đối thủ cùng phân khúc, giúp người dùng xử lý lượng lớn tài liệu trong thời gian ngắn.

Khả năng quét hai mặt tự động (duplex) giúp tiết kiệm thời gian thao tác và tăng hiệu quả làm việc. Với công suất khuyến nghị lên tới 10.000 trang/ngày, Fi-8170 hoàn toàn phù hợp cho các đơn vị có nhu cầu quét tài liệu liên tục như:

Văn phòng hành chính

Công ty kiểm toán, tài chính

Trung tâm lưu trữ dữ liệu

Bệnh viện, phòng khám

3. Khay nạp giấy ADF lớn và xử lý đa dạng loại tài liệu

Ricoh Fi-8170 được trang bị khay nạp tài liệu tự động (ADF) có sức chứa 100 tờ, hỗ trợ nhiều loại giấy và định dạng tài liệu:

Giấy thường, giấy mỏng, giấy dày (27–413 g/m²)

Tài liệu khổ dài (tối đa 6 mét)

Thẻ nhựa cứng (ATM, căn cước)

Hóa đơn, phiếu điền tay, giấy gập

Cảm biến siêu âm được tích hợp để phát hiện nạp giấy kép, đảm bảo quét chính xác từng tờ và giảm thiểu rủi ro lỗi. Bộ cơ cấu nạp giấy được thiết kế bền bỉ, tuổi thọ cao, phù hợp cho sử dụng trong môi trường công nghiệp.

4. Chất lượng ảnh quét tuyệt hảo nhờ PaperStream IP

Fi-8170 tích hợp công nghệ xử lý ảnh mạnh mẽ PaperStream IP, mang lại hình ảnh rõ nét, sạch sẽ và dễ đọc ngay cả với tài liệu cũ, nhòe hoặc màu nền phức tạp. Một số tính năng nổi bật gồm:

Tự động xoay và căn lề văn bản

Tự động nhận dạng màu

Loại bỏ nền, làm sạch viền

Loại bỏ trang trắng, làm sắc nét văn bản

Chuyển đổi sang định dạng PDF, TIFF, JPEG hoặc PDF có thể tìm kiếm (OCR)

Khả năng này đặc biệt hữu ích với những ngành nghề có yêu cầu lưu trữ chính xác nội dung tài liệu gốc như luật, y tế, tài chính.

5. Tính năng OCR mạnh mẽ, hỗ trợ tiếng Việt

Một điểm cộng lớn của Ricoh Fi-8170 là tính năng OCR (Optical Character Recognition) được tích hợp trong phần mềm đi kèm. Tính năng này giúp:

Chuyển đổi hình ảnh sang văn bản có thể tìm kiếm

Hỗ trợ định dạng Word, Excel, PDF tìm kiếm

Nhận diện đa ngôn ngữ, bao gồm tiếng Việt

Tìm kiếm và phân loại tài liệu theo nội dung

Tính năng OCR rất hữu ích trong việc lưu trữ tài liệu điện tử, tìm kiếm hồ sơ nhanh chóng và giảm thiểu thời gian xử lý văn bản thủ công.

6. Kết nối đa dạng: USB 3.2 + Ethernet LAN

Khác với model Fi-8150U chỉ có kết nối USB, Ricoh Fi-8170 được trang bị cả cổng USB 3.2 và Ethernet LAN, giúp mở rộng khả năng triển khai trong môi trường mạng văn phòng. Điều này cho phép:

Kết nối máy trực tiếp với máy chủ trung tâm

Quét tài liệu từ nhiều máy trạm sử dụng chung

Tích hợp dễ dàng vào hệ thống lưu trữ hoặc quản lý tài liệu nội bộ

Máy cũng hỗ trợ các driver tiêu chuẩn như TWAIN, ISIS, WIA và phần mềm Ricoh Scanner Central Admin để quản lý tập trung nhiều thiết bị cùng lúc.

7. Phần mềm kèm theo: Đa năng và dễ sử dụng

Máy đi kèm với bộ phần mềm gồm:

PaperStream IP: Trình điều khiển xử lý ảnh thông minh

PaperStream Capture: Phần mềm quét tài liệu và lưu trữ tự động

Scanner Central Admin: Quản lý từ xa nhiều máy scan

ABBYY FineReader (bản dùng thử): Chuyển đổi tài liệu sang định dạng chỉnh sửa được

Giao diện phần mềm thân thiện, hỗ trợ cấu hình workflow, tách nhóm tài liệu, nhận diện mã vạch, giúp tối ưu quy trình làm việc.

8. Tổng kết: Ricoh Fi-8170 – Đầu tư xứng đáng cho doanh nghiệp chuyên nghiệp
✅ Ưu điểm nổi bật:

Tốc độ quét cực nhanh: 70 trang/phút

Hình ảnh chất lượng cao với xử lý tự động

Hỗ trợ OCR tiếng Việt và nhiều ngôn ngữ

Kết nối linh hoạt: USB + LAN

Khay nạp giấy lớn, xử lý giấy hiệu quả

Phần mềm chuyên nghiệp, dễ dùng

❌ Hạn chế nhỏ:

Không có màn hình hiển thị trực tiếp trên máy

Giá thành cao hơn một số model phổ thông

🎯 Đối tượng phù hợp:

Doanh nghiệp vừa và lớn

Cơ quan chính phủ, ngân hàng, bảo hiểm

Trung tâm lưu trữ số hóa

Văn phòng cần quét tài liệu liên tục, chuyên nghiệp

Kết luận

Ricoh Fi-8170 tại https://truongthinhphat.net.vn/ là một trong những máy scan tốc độ cao hàng đầu hiện nay dành cho văn phòng chuyên nghiệp. Với sự kết hợp hoàn hảo giữa hiệu năng vượt trội, chất lượng ảnh sắc nét, tính năng thông minh và khả năng tích hợp mạnh mẽ, Fi-8170 giúp doanh nghiệp tiết kiệm thời gian, tăng năng suất và chuẩn hóa quy trình số hóa tài liệu. Dù mức giá cao hơn so với máy phổ thông, nhưng với những gì mang lại, đây là một khoản đầu tư xứng đáng.

[Laura Malkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite my annual anticipation of ~not buying more books~ i visited a relatively close independent bookstore last weekend and saw this hidden on the shelves. They only seem to stock one or two of each book and my brain, for reasons unknown to me, knew the title of this book but I didn't (and still don't) know where I've heard of it.

Watery and amphibious in nature this short but very talented collection shows the duality of being both and neither at once. Seemingly derived from the author's Malaysian Chinese identity and the forced religion (regardless of wanting) it's a book about hiding, subverting and avoidance.

I don't know if these are the characteristics the author chose to go for - i note from other reviews that when Natasha Bruce was translating, they would ask for assistance with passages (I'm guessing in my monolingual identity) for clarity and perhaps nuance, and the author would begin to read their work back in a different way.

I enjoyed this collection - it reminded me of Han Kang in its dark and lonely readings, the water, the animals, the self.

This book has truly put the spotlight on one of my favourite reasons for reading - that it is different for each person, reading really is subjective, from me to you - each experience at the hands of the text molds each of us differently.