KL Noir: Yellow

KL NOIR #4

by Kris Williamson (Editor), Choong JayVee, Ai-May Chin

KL YELLOW is the fourth and final volume of the bestselling KL Noir series. And this one is sick and twisted. In these fifteen short stories and one essay, you get one last chance to slum through the underbelly of Kuala Lumpur. There are pedophiles and perverts, delinquents and the delusional. Every man, woman and child is a potential murderer. And then there are the french fries...

INTRO - Kris Williamson
TRAP - Choong Jay Vee
NEVER FORGET A FACE - Chin Ai-May
THE DISGRACED - Foo Sek Han
FRENCH FRIES FOR AUNTY KAMALAM - Sharmila Ganesan
THE KILL WISH - Catalina Rembuyan
CONTRAIL - Leroy Luar
DEATHWRITTEN - Abd Qayyum Jumadi
ANAI - Wong Pek Mei
THE RIDE - Paul GnanaSelvam
AMBROSIA - Timothy Nakayama
THE CASE OF BOTAK CHIN, THE ROBIN HOOD OF SENTUL - Martin Vengadesan
THE LOST PILGRIM - Sukhbir Cheema
HAPPY FAMILY - Claudia Skyler Foong
BREAKING POINT - Zufar Ismail Zeid
GIRL POWER - Subashini Navaratnam
VICTIMS OF SOCIETY - Natasha Gideon

Genres: Fiction

279 pages, Paperback

First published October 29, 2014

About the author

Kris Williamson is a publishing consultant and writer. Born and raised in Florida's Tampa Bay Area, he fled America when the neo-cons took over, choosing to continue his studies in Australia. Eventually he found his way to Malaysia and has been tolerated there despite the lack of itinerant mat salleh in the 1Malaysia agenda. He has written professionally for a decade but only turned to writing for fun over the last few years. He founded the Southeast Asian-themed e-zine Anak Sastra in 2010 and still edits its quarterly issues. When not writing about himself in the third person, he talks about other people in the third person.

Reviews

[Regina Ibrahim · Rating 4 out of 5]

KL NOIR TO THE BITTER END
Edited by Kris Williamson is simply magnificent. 18 shorts with different kind of styles and twists. As usual let me list out my favorites. French Fries For Aunty Kamalam by Sharmilla Ganesan, Anai by Wong Pek Mei, The Ride by Paul Gnanaselvam, Article on Botak Chin by Martin Vengadesan and The Lost Pilgrim by Sukhbir Cheema. Worth mentioning is Victims of Society by Natahsa Gideon.

Yang ala ala try hardpun ada, tapi satu dua sahaja. Seronok juga baca.

The final volume of KL Noir is another proven testimony that we have many talented writers. May all of them keep telling stories.

[Atikah Wahid · Rating 2 out of 5]

I rate anthologies for the sum of their parts and this one just does not make the cut. For one thing, reading this book made me question my understanding of "noir" because most of the stories here are NOT noir despite what the title tells you. This is actually the first time I read one of the KL Noir series and I am disappointed.

I am a huge crime fiction fan and I particularly love noir fiction, if you can't tell from my love of Jo Nesbo and Stieg Larsson. Noir is not just about sticking a murder scene and calling it a day. Some of the stories in here don't even have a crime or mystery element! Noir fiction is dark, gritty and violent where there are no heroes. The main character is usually an anti-hero, who's probably the biggest fuck-up in the entire story but has the ability to cut through bullshit and save the day or whatever that is left. It's cynical, twisted and very delicious to read. The short story format may not be the best format for this since there are only so many words and characters at your disposal to create the vibe and suspense. But some of the stories in here either pick and choose some of the elements or didn't even try at all.

The only short stories that really hit the bullseye are Foo Sek Han's "The Disgraced" and Zufar Ismail Zeid's "Breaking Point". This is probably the best of Foo's work that I have read so far. It has everything that noir fiction calls for: a broken man looking for redemption, the underbelly of Kuala Lumpur, violence and madness, a pretty good plot twist and even a femme fatale. Nicely done. I also like the fantastical religious imagery, which makes the story uniquely Malay. When I finally came around to reading Zufar's story after reading several duds, I actually sighed in relief because it had been a while since a cop shows up in a story. "Breaking Point" is the best story in this entire anthology, partly because it is about actually solving crime for once! There's the chasing game between cop and killer, the foreshadowing that I totally missed, the "Aha!" plottwists, the beautiful cynicism that is so thick within the story. It shouldn't be placed all the way at the back of the anthology. Well done, Zufar.

And then, there's the rest.

Lol. Okay, fine, there are actually quite a few well-written stories here but they are simply not noir. You can't publish an anthology called "KL Noir" and then give me something else. That's just false advertising. Ironically, the few that are the best written ones do not have any noir elements at all. I just feel that it is rather wasted to have them in this anthology when their work could shine better in other suitably themed anthologies.

Reading through the reviews, fan favourite "French Fries for Aunty Kamala" is one of the culprits. Basically, it's about a devout Hindu lady, horrified to find out her favourite french fries are not vegetarian and proceed to lose her mind. It's actually a charming story that I would adore in other anthologies. But that ending? It's a complete overkill, pardon the pun. I feel the ending only serves to fulfill some basic requirement to enter this anthology but it escalated way too quickly. Also, what does this story got anything to do with noir?? I love Leroy Luar's writing, his short story in Hungry in Ipoh is one of my favourites, and his style reminds of Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood. But again, "Contrail" has no crime, murder, or anything remotely feels like noir. Why include this story in a noir-themed anthology? I don't get it! Another short story I love but not for this anthology is Paul GnanaSelvam's "The Ride". It's a beautifully written literary fiction about a working class boy ashamed of his status and falling in love with lifestyle of his well-to-do classmates. It's a solid story with a heartbreaking end ... BUT IT IS NOT NOIR.

I don't see the point of listing other short stories because I'm probably going to end up nitpicking. You know the drill: THIS IS NOT NOIR. Some of the stories do have crime elements and are not bad like Chin Ai-May's "Never Forget a Face" and Timothy Nakayama's "Ambrosia". Timothy tries to bend the rules a little by mentioning "Cluedo" and having a character describe to another character about noir fiction. I see what you did there. Catalina Rembuyan's "The Kill Switch" is also pretty good.

There are some truly awful ones, ones that make you wonder if this anthology just couldn't find enough submissions to publish that they've resorted to just accepting whatever comes their way, but I'll spare you the details. There are also some that are more interested in talking about a political or social issue rather than telling a story. If you're into crime fiction, KL Noir: Yellow is going to disappoint you. If you just want to read short stories that has a dark slant and set in KL, I suppose this is not too bad.

[Marc Faoite · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Disclaimer - Fixi Novo is the publisher of my collection of short stories Tropical Madness and has also featured stories of mine in several other collections of short stories, including KL Noir Red, the first in the KL Noir series)

So the series draws to an end with KL Noir Yellow, the fourth and final collection of short stories based in and around Malaysia's capital city Kuala Lumpur, more frequently abbreviated to KL (or to the infuriation of some of my readers - Kay El).

This one is a strong collection with many new and authentic voices and unlike the previous tomes in the series is utterly devoid of typos or spelling mistakes - not a single one that I could spot, which is quite an accomplishment, so kudos to editor Kris Williamson on that.

One of my favourite parts of the book was Kris's introduction, particularly the fact that he draws attention to the arbitrary manner in which the Sedition Act is being used to attempt to silence even the mildest expressions of dissent.

Several of the authors in this collection have also bravely raised their voices against the endemic corruption, moral laxity and double standards of modern Malaysia. I think many young (and not so young) Malaysian readers will be reassured by some of the ire that is vented.

I won't attempt to go through the book story by story, but will just mention the stories that particularly impressed me.

Chong Jay Vee's TRAP opens the collection and sets the tone for the rest of the collection. It is lean, violent and in your face.

I've had the chance to read Leroy Luar's work elsewhere and I really enjoyed his writing style in CONTRAIL (though the ending was perhaps a little inconclusive).

In her story ANAI Wong Pek Mei tells a no-holds-barred unflinching account of a sexually abused young girl married off to her abuser for cash. If the purpose of writing (or any art) is to hold up a mirror to society then the image reflected here is an ugly one indeed. The real tragedy of this story is that it is repeated over and over again in real life Malaysia. A story worth telling and one that needs to be heard, rather than swept under the carpet.

Zufar Ismail Zaid's story BREAKING POINT is one of the best written in the entire 4 books in the KL Noir series. The anger is palpable. While a few, just a very few of the stories featured in KL Noir yellow are a bit plodding and demand the reader's stamina to stay with and not skip to the next story there is no such problem with BREAKING POINT. Tight, taut and well-paced. A writer to watch.

GIRL POWER by Subashini Navaratnam is outstanding and definitely in my top three favourites in this collection. Okay, maybe this was my favourite. I would definitely like to read more of her writing.

Though there are one or two of the tales in KL Noir Yellow which could have made better stories if they had been worked on more, the vast majority of the stories here are great. These 16 stories show the Malaysia that I know and see, rather than some fantasy Wunmeuhletsseeland the propagandists would have us believe exists.
Malaysia is on the brink of something, teetering in an alarming manner, close to toppling off a precipice from which there is no way back. It will take some hard steps up a steep hill to get to a more stable footing and loud and strong voices to shout down the haters who thrive on racial discord and repression. Reading these stories, mostly from young Malaysians, restores my faith that there are sane voices out there, voices that need to be heard with stories that need to be told, and if Malaysia’s best-seller lists are anything to go by, thanks to the good ship FIXI and its indefatigable helmsman Amir Muhammad are most definitely being told and read.

[Sharon Bakar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fixi’s popular KL Noir series is completed this month with the release of this fourth and final volume. In Yellow, we are promised stories that are “sick and twisted”, and a journey through “the dark underbelly of Kuala Lumpur”. And this is pretty much what we get.

The nature of the genre means that we know that things are always going to end badly, but we are grateful to writers and who take the trouble to create convincing characters and believable scenarios along the way. The best stories in the collection also show us the city we think we know in a new light, and reflect the cultural zeitgeist.

When seemingly ordinary folk turn to violent crime in fiction, it takes skill on the part of the writer to make the transformation convincing. Two stories in particular manage this challenge very well.

Selvi in Subashini Navaratanam’s Girl Power feels rage and frustration at the lot of women in traditional Tamil society, and fights against social restriction. She comes to increasingly identify with the dark goddess Kali after accidentally glimpsing her statue during a temple visit as a child. This is an intelligent and heartfelt piece with a strong narrative voice and the journey into obsession is entirely credible. In Sharmilla Ganesan’s French Fries for Aunty Kamalan, a devout Hindu discovers from a website that her favourite French fries from a fast-food restaurant chain are actually fried with beef-fat to make them more delicious. This is of course completely against the tenets of her faith. We really feel for Kamalan as she is torn between desire for the forbidden food, haunted by the jingles and the TV ads, and her self-disgust. The story also nicely parallels the spate of scare stories about products on the market containing “porcine” DNA.

Several of the stories play with the idea of the duality of man, with good and evil coexisting within an individual. Zufar Ismail’s cop on the trail of a serial killer in Breaking Point by makes a terrifying discovery about himself, and the voice of the wearied cop is particularly convincing. Catalina Rebuyan’s The Kill Wish is an almost metaphysical tale of a hired assassin who comes across a victim who is so completely good that he must rethink his mission.

Appearances, as we learn, are deceptive. An old man suffering from dementia in a care home must be harmless, right? But when in Chin Ai-May’s Never Forget a Face, a retired cop thinks he recognises an old adversary among the other inmates, his instinct for self-preservation takes over. And the contrast between innocence and evil is nowhere stronger than in Trap by Choong Jay Vee, a chilling tale of a cosplayer attending an anime convention at KLCC dressed as Lolita.

As we might expect in a collection of this nature, there’s plenty of blood and gore. The opening of Sek Han Foo’s The Disgraced is stomach-churningly violent, while Happy Family by Claudia Skyler Foong ends up with almost as many corpses as a Shakespearian tragedy. But there are more understated pieces too, the most powerful of which is Paul Gnanaselvam’s The Ride. A poor boy from one of the roughest neighbourhoods feels a need to keep up appearances in front of his wealthier classmates, and is overjoyed when one offers him a daily lift in his chauffeured car. There’s real horror in the implied ending, which is surely drawn from newspaper accounts of unexplained deaths in the lift shafts of the notorious San Peng flats. Sukhbir Cheema’s story The Lost Pilgrim also uses setting very well and gets across the difficulty of creating any sense of connection in the city.

The one piece of reportage in the book is an account by Martin Vengadesan of the rise of the legendary gang-leader Botak Chin in the 1970’s. Nicknamed “the Robin Hood of Sentul”, Chin was both charismatic and wily, and his sharing of the spoils with the wider community ensured his survival for a long time. It’s a shame that the piece feels a lot flatter than the fictional efforts that surround it.

However, while there is much good writing in the book, there are still plenty of rough edges. There are the problems with the nuts and bolts of short story construction which seem to dog most local collections; stories start too slowly and not far enough in, scene transitions are not smooth in places, and back story often seems dropped in whereas clues should have been planted much earlier.

Sometimes the flaws co-exist with the strengths. Timothy Nakayama’s Ambrosia takes us into the sharply realised world of the celebrity chef, but the darker elements in the story just don’t convince. Similarly, in Contrail Leroy Luar creates an atmospheric setting for his story of urban exploration set in the old budget terminal, but the encounter with the protagonist’s ex-girlfriend and the back story about their relationship is clumsily drawn.

Overall though, this is a very enjoyable collection, and the sheer inventiveness of the writers ensure that the tales never feel derivative or predictable.

[Fadillah · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Finally, yellow is associated with decay and sickness. And while no stories feature a character with jaundice or decomposing corpses, many do highlight the sickness that
can infest a society which erects walls and barriers between the artificially formed insular groups that comprise the whole of Malaysia. 1 + 1 + 1 + recognized other + unacknowledged other does not equal 1Malaysia. And it shows in this book. But the good news is that everyone shares this collective sickness equally, allowing for yet another means to bridge the widening gap between groups”.
- Intro By Kris Williamson (KL Noir : Yellow)
.
.
I have read KL Noir : Red and KL Noir : White 7 years ago. I can’t remember much about both books but at that time i was so looking forward to read an english book that has been localised to fix the taste of young Millennials and Gen Z. Most of the stories generally were like cross breeds of Black Mirror, Westworld, I spit on your grave and X-files but in a Malaysian Flavor. Now, In 2022, i would like to continue finishing the KL Noir Series but i couldn’t find KL Noir : Blue. I decided to just read Yellow first despite it being the final volume of KL Noir. Here’s my individual rating for each story. I only summarised the one that i rated high. :
1. Trap by Choong Jay Vee (2/5)
2. Never Forget A face by Chin Ai May (3/5)
3. The Disgraced by Foo Sek Han (3/5)
4. French Fries for Aunty Kamalam by Sharmilla Ganesan (4/5) - That French fries must be so damn good that Aunty Kamalam decided to take life for it.
5. The Kill Wish by Catalina Rembuyan (4/5) - Change and retract your statement or else, there will be a target on your back. I have been instructed to kill you.
6. Contrail by Leroy Luar (2/5)
7. Deathwritten by Abd Qayyum Jumadi (4/5) - Trust no one because you never know one day, who will betray you at the end.
8. Anai by Wong Pek Mei (3/5)
9. The Ride by Paul Gnanaselvam (4/5) - A loner and his quest to get a decent conversation.
10. Ambrosia by Timothy Nakayama (3/5)
11. The Case of Botak Chin, The robin hood of sentul by Martin Vengadesan (2/5)
12. The Lost pilgrim by Sukhbir Cheema (3/5)
13. Happy Family by Claudia Skyler Foong (4/5) - What constituted A happy family when the union began to demand blood?
14. Breaking Point by Zufar Ismail Zeid (5/5) - When a notable serial killer started to hunt racists in Malaysia, Police were left speechless. Should every Malaysian be killed since everyone is racist at some point?
15. Girl Power by Subashini Navaratnam (5/5) - Girl decided that she had enough of this patriarchal bullshit and decided to take revenge. She believes that Goddess Kali is with her and guiding her life.
16. Victims of Society by Natasha Gideon (4/5) - The last story made went ‘what the actual fuck’ especially with the ending. I was traumatised by it. The main character might see himself as a victim of the society but i don’t think any readers will.
I think the beginning of this volume is a bit slow. I did not enjoy the first 3 stories but then the fourth story pulled me back in and i finished this book in one sitting. Towards the end of the book where all the stories remain excellent and i was left wanting more from it. Overall, A solid collection. Even the stories that i dont like, it was not badly written, its just not for me. I am sure that some readers might find stories that i rated 2 or 3 stars more enjoyable than the one i rated 4 or 5. Now its time to find KL Noir : Blue.
.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second KL NOIR series read was indeed much better than the first one, which is KL NOIR RED. The flow of the language felt better to compare with KL NOIR RED. The stories were more focused and had specific story line. It might not appeared as twisted or as complex as KL NOIR RED but the stories had delivered their message better and the writers thought and idea was clearer. I loved the way the language felt at the tip of my tongue when I read it, it wasn't stiff like the words from KL NOIR RED.

The stories were better too. As a reader, I could picture the stories well and the flow of the stories were smooth as well. KL NOIR YELLOW is a bold attempt at the telling of the stories. It contained more sexual images, it talked more about truths, the language some were vulgar. But all of that make KL NOIR YELLOW a great read. It revolved around a few themes, such as feminism, justice, mental illness(this was for sure), and so much more.

I'd recommend people to read this book, for sure. But again, different reader, different perspective. This book/series might not suit everyone's taste to be honest. Overall, I enjoyed this second book I read from the series.

[Nik Hanies Nik Azlan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frankly, this is my least favorite of the series. Kinda sad because this is the last one but it didn't manage to give me a good closure.

Most of the stories are repetitive - or predictable.

My preferred shorts : (in no particular order) French Fries for Aunty Kamalam (hilarious), The Ride (not like the others) , and Ambrosia (started off well but a little draggy after).

The good shorts didn't manage to outweigh the mediocre ones, which is such a shame.

[Qurra L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The darkest among the series. Provoking (as usual).
Surprised me at times how very open the writers are. Freedom of speech is used, thought provoking and made me questions some issues in Malaysia, not solely in KL.
My favourites would be "The Ride" and "Breaking Point", but the rest are amazing as well. Well done, writers.

[Plainqoma · Rating 4 out of 5]

To the bitter end. Yellow can stand together side by side with Red. I swear this was as good as the first volume. Wanna cry loads this going to be the last volume of the series.

Few favourites.

FRENCH FRIES FOR AUNTY KAMALAM - Sharmila Ganesan
ANAI - Wong Pek Mei
THE RIDE - Paul GnanaSelvam
HAPPY FAMILY - Claudia Skyler Foong
VICTIMS OF SOCIETY - Natasha Gideon

[Julya Oui · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorites are Paul GnanaSelvam's The Ride, Timothy Nakayama's Ambrosia, Zufar Ismail Zeid's Breaking Point, and Natasha Gideon's Victims of Society.

There are a lot of good writers in this book with so much potential to be great writers of the future.

Looking forward to more.

[Mavalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last book in the KL Noir series, I found Yellow to be more likeable than Blue, which, aside from its collection of mostly boring stories that failed at drama and theatrics, also featured quite a number of republished work. It smells like a cop-out; like the writers were too lazy to come up with original content for submission. And in a way, I feel shortchanged. Somewhat. (Yes, I am still talking about Blue.)

We start with the Intro, which is a pointless rambling by the editor explaining all things bad that are associated with the colour yellow...

And we are catapulted into The Trap - a story about a cross-dressing gothic lolita who seemingly gets a kick out of tricking pervy photographers into inviting him for a private shoot. There, his secret is revealed in the form of a bulge hiding underneath his frilly skirt. Assault happens, the SD card duly confiscated and the reader is left wondering what the hell all that was about in the first place.

But fret not; this will not be the only story without a motive that you will encounter in this anthology.

Never Forget A Face is about an old ex-cop suffering from Alzheimer who, at present day, is an inhabitant of an old folks' home. Dealing with the crotchety old man is clearly no easy task as his mind shifts between past and present - we see this through the interactions he has with his caregivers and family. One day, a new inhabitant appears and the ex-cop realises the man is a wanted criminal that he let go of in the past and hey, there's no time like the present to right old wrongs, eh?

Cop gone rogue coming to the rescue of his damsel in distress is the next story in The Disgraced. The descriptions are graphic, gruesome and at times, overdramatic. The toady Tan Sri reminds me of Ib Ali, for some reason, and the damsel in distress turns out to be a really mean bitch. Everybody dies and goes to hell.

The piece de resistance for KL Noir Yellow has got to be French Fries For Aunty Kamalam. The title character, Aunty Kamalam, discovers to her horror that her beloved fast food variety French fries are fried in beef-tainted cooking oil. Now, being vegetarian, that is a big no-no, which should have been fine with Aunty Kamalam just doing away with it. Unfortunately, like really bad karma, the French fries come to tease and taunt her in the most unexpected ways, straining the limits of a woman struggling against an immense craving that needs fulfilling and an immense guilt at having been a "bad" Hindu devotee. The angst is real and so is the wit that shines through with this piece of writing.

Skip, skip, skip, skip and we arrive at The Ride, which follows the story of a brilliant schoolboy from a poor family who is enamoured with the riches of some of his peers. It's a story that most of us who have dealt with peer pressure growing up can empathise with but man, the boy is just so bratty, so self-entitled that you kind of just want to clap your hands when he gets his just desserts at the end.

Ambrosia would have been a lot more interesting to read if the death of the chefs were executed in the style of Cluedo, the board game, which was mentioned at the earlier part of the story. The setting up for the murder took too long, in my opinion, and the ending of the "baddies" taking their revenge against the real baddies driving away into the sunset just didn't do it for me.

Three more skips and I come to The Breaking Point. At this point, I realise that the book is full of characters with really bad attitudes, which is aplenty in this (yet another) cop story - this time about a detective on the trail of a serial killer with a vendetta against the corrupt. I actually like how the dialogue is played out here - there is emotion and energy and a couple of four-letter words thrown in for good measure. Like the final episode in the cult TV series Twin Peaks, some wonky dream sequence shit happens and then we find out too late that Agent Cooper isn't really Agent Cooper...

Girl Power started out with the humorously angsty ramblings of a Tamil woman who refuses to sit down and be the typical docile Tamil woman. The ending would have benefitted from a good prank against the main character's oppressors. To me that would have spelt Girl Power a lot better than the bloody conclusion tinged by something either crazy or supernatural.

The final story is about a psycho who turns out to be a paedophile.

And after long last, we come To The Bitter End.

The end.

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

the cover: makes me hungry!
trap: mind-blowing! a good start indeed to a yellow KL…
never forget a face: i don't know if i want to pity the old man or i should condemn him instead …
the disgraced: everyone dies in the end?
french fries for aunty kamalam: a religious fanatic's guilt turned her into a lunatic?!
the kill wish: a principled assassin?
contrail: errrrr………
deathwritten: more like death wish
anai: more like kisah benar…
the ride: the ending is a bit abrupt and leaves one to wonder …
ambrosia: never ever incur a woman's wrath!
the case of botak chin: ehm this is a not a fiction, right?
the lost pilgrim: yes, he is very sesat …
happy family: indeed… not
breaking point: 5 whopping stars!! my darker side is saying - We seriously need him in reality!
girl power: story is to-do.
victims of society: sendiri cari pasal...
overall, I enjoyed most of the stories.... recommended to people who like a touch of madness in a story...

[Georgette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This selection of stories is much better than Blue and Red. There were a few that made me go "Eh?" at the end but overall, this is a keeper.

[Atiqah Ghazali AlKashif · Rating 4 out of 5]

KL Noir: To the Bitter End
Edited by Kris Williamson
Written by Choong Jay Vee, Chin Ai-May, Catalina Rembuyan, Leroy Luar, Abd Qayyum Jumadi, Wong Pek Mei, Paul GnanaSelvam, Martin Vengadesan, Sukhbir Cheema, Claudia Skyler Foong, Zufar Ismail Zeid, Subashini Navaratnam, Natasha Gideon, Timothy Nakayama, Foo Sek Han, Sharmilla Ganesan
Published by Fixi Novo
Goodread's Rating: 3.64/5
My Rating: 3.5/5

"He hated Max, he hated Eric, and he almost hated his mom for getting them into this mess. Was she really happy with him? He wasn't ugly or scarred, but sometimes when Eric was around, Jason couldn't help but think of Scar from The Lion King, always snivelling and scowling, acting like the whole world owed him."

Gifted to me by one of the authors who have written one of these captivating short stories, it surely pushed me to an edge while reading it. Malaysia truly has many talented authors; hopefully more and more of them would follow the steps of the literature giants from Nusantara.

"You also get off on every kill and check your skirt every five minutes until you go soft or find a toilet, whichever comes first. You worry you'll get caught, but one look at your pretty face and your confidence returns. Your lack of moral obligation to the law is worrying, but Malaysians have very short memories; just lie low before you repeat the cycle next December."

#MalaysiaMembaca

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea that this is the last book of the KL Noir collection. All I know was that this seems to be the most iconic and it has two writers I know so I was curious at what they will come up with. It was also going for cheap as the Popular bookstore at IPC was having a clearance sale.

Man, I obviously did not feel good reading any of these stories. But that's to be expected as I was reading twisted and sick tales. In nearly every story, someone dies. Some shocked me more than others. And some were definitely better written. I think the most memorable one would be French Fries for Aunty Kamalan which is also referred to by the cover.

But the ones that really stuck with me and make me think about how twisted we are as humans are Anai and Happy Family. Anai because it was something that is so prevalent in Malaysian society but it was never fictionalised in that context until now. Though that could be because I haven't come across any. I don't know why but I just thought it was really brave of the author to tackle this topic as it's too painful for me to even imagine it. Happy Family reminds me of the card game for some reason but it has nothing to do with it. I was just so shocked by how it turned out.

The other stories were just as twisted but these two are the ones that I recall every time I look at this book. Besides french fries.

[farah ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book after I've finished my SPM Trials, I need a getaway, something new to read and glad that I found it.

I liked how the final and last book of the series, had darker themes. Crime can be done by almost everyone, not solely a man, a children too, has a potential to become a killer. This book is a physical proof of it.

Just when you thought the first essay is bad enough, the next one will probably caught you off guard. i started thinking ¨Maybe the world is bad after all.¨

One of the short stories, in my opinion, makes no sense at all, but okay, we all make mistakes, after all.

[Nqbah Abdul Hamid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally! I have to say that.. this last part of KL Noir is a bit different than the previous ones.

Nevertheless, as usual.. same as the previous ones, you can expect your mind to be blown and expect some plot twists in this one. Those plot twists made me flip back to the few pages before and go all "Wait what, didn't see that coming!" But I honestly feel that some stories in KL Noir Yellow is a bit off and some I couldn't understand the storyline which made me skipped some. Sorry!

Some of my favourites are The Kill Wish, Deathwritten, Breaking Point & Victims Of Society.

[Uzma Said · Rating 4 out of 5]

some of the shortstories are being too cliche to be honest and from what i can conclude is malaysians writing's somehow exaggerate in many ways ,i meant why not u guys use a simple english ?just dont make life complicated .but still some of the shortstories got me captivated such as anai ,the lost pilgrm and many more

[Iem · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've made an unbelievable, slow progress on this book.

Despite a few violence, erotic and psycho anecdotes flooded which made readers love it more, I found it really disturbing with a few slow-and-nothing-to-be-found short stories. (Or maybe that was just me who thirsts for more actions than words).

Regardless those, good job!

[Rohini · Rating 4 out of 5]

One glance at the cover and I was sold, one can't go wrong with french fries, and this book was a tasty read. With its 16 stories of love, vengence, pedophiles, hurt and pain, Kuala Lumpur and its people were drawn out and displayed like the best of buffets. Draw in a deep breath, prepare for some discomfort and dig in.

[Firdaus Abu Bakar · Rating 3 out of 5]

1) Trap.

2) French Fries For Aunty Kamalam.

3) The Kill Wish.

4) Anai. (favorite one)

5) The Lost Pilgrim.

6) Happy Family.

7) Breaking Point.

8) Victims of Society. (another favorite one)

[Sraya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked French Fries for Aunty Kamalam and Victims of Society. These two are my favourites.

Anyway, pedophiles are disturbing as hell.

The book is sick and kind of heavy as well but it was a good read.

[Kathy Chung · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 3rd KL NOIR book that I have read. I felt that this collection does not suit my taste as the previous two. I find that quite a few stories in here left me with feeling of unfairness and despair. Still it's a good effort.

[Pie Mesnan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last anthologies KL Noir which wasn't disappointing for me, enjoy to read it.

[Drake · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorites are-

Anai
The ride
Breaking point
Never forget a face

[hans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saya suka cerita Anai walaupun ia sangat disturbing with sick human being still, it was a great story. Deathwritten as well.

Love the book somehow.

[Danial Jaafar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the editor said, it comes with fries. And you just cannot stop from munching the pages even after you are done.

[huicyeo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished the whole Noir series and I'd have to say that the first and last (red and yellow) are my favourites.

[farahxreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favourite but still enjoyed few stories

[Firdaus Ahmad · Rating 4 out of 5]

better than previous, but still can't beat Red.