the harmony silk factory

I finished another book! :D This one took me two to three months to read from cover to cover. I read this in the bus on the way to work, at the bank but rarely at home.

(Tash Aw was born in Taiwan but raised in Malaysia and now lives in UK, so I'm not sure if it's 100% accurate to call him a Malaysian writer. The Harmony Silk Factory is his first critically acclaimed novel)

The story revolves around Johnny Lim, a typical Chinaman with a "side business" (which I'm still not clear what's it about!) during pre-Independence Malaya. His life is chronicled through the eyes of three characters: his son, Jasper, his wife, Snow and his BFF, Peter.

I love the way Tash writes. It's not an easy read, but the fluid flow of words is there and I really dig the descriptive narrations here and there of Malaya.

Side note: I do not like the one-word reviews normally printed on the cover and back of novels. "Seductive" "Unputdownable" "Mesmerizing" were just some found on this novel. Like bro, I don't need these positive one-worders planting ideas in my head before I finish this novel!