Amanda Lee Koe & Ng Yi-Sheng (eds.)
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2013
ISBN: 9789810756802
We love Asian folklore. We grew up listening to Chinese legends, Arab fairy tales, Malay ghost stories and Indian sacred epics, and their fabulous images have continued to inhabit our imaginations ever since.
Yet as grown-ups, we've sometimes been bugged by the moralistic, simplistic manner in which these fables are often told. What better way to negotiate this than to reinvent our heritage? This collection brings together 14 subversions, reinventions and adaptations of folktales from all across Asia, written by an international crew of authors.
Within these pages, you'll find a Cambodian horror story, a poetic meditation on Japanese fox spirits, a crime parable based on the Indian epic of the Ramayana, a sci-fi redaction of the Chinese legend of Lady White Snake, and many more exquisite gems.
This book is a treasure trove of the imagination, containing tales both intelligent and wondrous, combining the best elements of Asian heritage with the wit of the 21st century.
1 comment:
Hi! I'm upset that i didn't find this blog earlier! What a good effort u have in compiling all the local reads here :)
Sam Kee -from Arts Republic
artsrepublic.sg
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