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The Ruined Nest and Other Stories by
Rabindranath Tagore
A beautiful collection of 20 of Tagore’s
stories about love, life and everything
in between, translated perfectly by the
talented Prof. Quayum.
Anakara House byMatthewThomas
Anakara House skilfully captures and
depicts the diasporic feeling of rootless-
ness, alienation and cognitive dissonance
amongst families and communities in
foreign lands.
Sumof Our Follies by Shih Li Kow
Stylish, subtle and witty, ‘The Sum of
Our Follies’ is set in the backwater town
of Lubok Sayong, Malaysia. Apart from
the annual floods and a mysterious, fishy
legend, it is otherwise nondescript, and
follows how the villagers, entrenched in
mediocrity, struggletocometotermswith
modernisation.
managerm Phek Chin, making it all the
more charming as a book spot.
It is the quintessence of what a book-
store ought to be – homey, comfy, quiet,
well-stocked and run by people who really
know their books. When was the last
time you could get this level of personal
insight and laid-back, casual chatting from
a mega-bookstore staff?
As I picked up my precious copy of
Tagore’s ‘The Ruined Nest and Other
Stories’ to flip through, Phek Chin shared
that sales of it have rocketed and it is
now the current bestseller in the store.
This was quite unsurprising – Tagore
speaks to the reader with a delightful
both light hearted and dark humour,
complemented with a mature, noir
undertone. A participant in the 2008
Silverfish Writing Programme, Shih-Li
Kow, published ‘Ripples and Other
Stories’ which was, alongside 5 other
books in the world, shortlisted for the
2009 Frank O’ Connor International
Short Story award (notable previous
winners included Haruki Murakami and
Jhumpa Lahiri) right after publication.
There are others too, such as Dr. Farish
A. Noor, Dina Zaman, Rumaizah Abu
Bakar and Chua Kok Yee, all talented in
their own right.
Raman, a writer himself, helms the
Silverfish Writing Programme, designed
to nurture would-be writers and novices
who are truly and wholly passionate
and serious about writing and wish to
improve their writing, regardless of their
vocabulary or grammatical standards.
That special, personal charm
Honestly, if we were to go on about the
state of affairs about reading, it would take
up too much magazine space. My visit
wasn’t meant to come to any definitive
conclusion – the subject is still up for
debate. Silverfish provides opportunities
for candid, intellectual and personal chats
with Raman and the ever knowledegable
whisper full of finesse and charm, and the
colloquialismand essence of his words are
all the more accessible to the non-native
Bengali speaker through Mohammad A.
Quayum’s translation; it reads so seam-
lessly as though it was originally written
in English!
Yes – I definitely trust Raman’s choice
when it comes to books.
So, really, designate a weekend to
pop by Silverfish Books, even if only for
a while. Do not be afraid to ask about
books, whether you are newor a seasoned
reader with a clear idea of what you
want. They would be more than happy
to recommend or just have a chat.