Lost Times

Lost Times and Untold Tales from the Malay World edited by Jan van der Putten & Mary Kilcline Cody (RM 49.00)

How did the Komodo dragon influence Hollywood? What do Wanted posters reveal about the Wild Wild East? Was the hapless explorer a martyr to science or a gaseous windbag? Why were colonial officials secret pill poppers? Did bicycles really promoter Women's Lib? Who went looking for love in all the wrong places? What do you do at the Get-Rich-Quick-Tree? The answers to these and many other questions are found in the witty, useful, informative, amusing and sometimes amazing stories that make up this collection.

Inspired by the wry yet deeply scholarly perspective of Australian philologist Ian Proudfoot, the editors of Lost Times and Untold Tales from the Malay World bring together a distinguished group of international scholars who look at calendars and time, royal myths, colonial expeditions, printing, propaganda, theater, art, Islamic manuscripts, erotic literature, and many other topics from wholly unexpected angles. The book demonstrates the spectacular diversity of scholarship on the Malay World, and shows that offbeat texts can produce fascinating new insights into the past.

Also, Silverfish Books is giving away free copies of George Town, World Heritage Site Map produced by UNESCO and World Heritage to anyone interested (while stocks last). Please come early to claim your copy from the bookshop in Bangsar Baru.

Equality and Justice

WANTED: Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family edited by Zainah Anwar (RM 28.00)

This unique collection of analytical papers contains the arguments supporting Musawah, the Global Movement for Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family. These resource materials look at why they are necessary given the socio-economic realities of today's Muslim Society.

The collection's strength is that it brings together analysis from a remarkably broad range of disciplines to support rights-based reform of Muslim family laws and the protection of existing rights. These disciplines include: Qur'anic exegesis, fiqh or jurisprudence, socio-legal history and analysis, international human rights law, gender studies, political science, sociology and economics.

Although the contributions are from leading scholars and analysts in the field, the style is designed to be accessible to all who are concerned about the need for equality and justice in the Muslim family.

As a concise resource for the Musawah movement, the book also contains the Musawah Framework for Action, a collectively-developed holistic approach that lays the foundation for the claim that family laws and practice can -- and must -- change to reflect equality and justice and the lived realities of Muslims today.

And the hits keep on rolling

Malaysian Politicians Say the Darndest Things Vol. 2 compiled by Amir Muhammad (RM 25.00)

Test your knowledge on current affairs. Who said the following unforgettable lines?

"Malaysia has already far too many tigers. They should be shot because there is no use keeping them alive."

"Problems happen because women cannot accept polygamy, What about doing a campaign so that women can accept polygamy?"

"If you come across a snake and a man from a certain ethnic community, you should hit the man first."

The Malaysian politician continues to to be a gift that keeps on giving. Hot on the heels of the best-selling Vol 1 of Malaysian Politicians Say the Darndest Things, this compilation is further proof that we don't need to travel far to experience shock and awe. Join us for another dance through some of the toe-tapping delights of the past two decades. Some of the quotes are witty and pithy, others are weird and prickly, and still others are just out-of-tune. If all History lessons were this painless, none of us would have ever skipped class

More paintings

Drawings by Khor Seow Hooi (RM 88.00)

'Familiar places always surprise me and I will never tire of them. A back lane is never the same when I return to it. From a corner, on a porch, or out a window, something interesting presents itself. Perhaps it is a group of men hunched over a chess board. Or a parent encouraging a little child to cycle. It could be an old, old woman smiling toothlessly, framed by a door. Whatever it is, I must paint it.'

Khor Seow Hooi was born in Penang in 1946. He studied at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore from 1965 to 1967. He attended the Oriental Institute of Technology in Taiwan for textile painting from 1972 to 1974. He trained at the Bayer Lab in Hong Kong in 1974 and the Bayer Lab Training, Germany, in 1985. Khor held the first solo exhibition of his works in Kuala Lumpur in 1969 and his second one-man show in Singapore the same year. He has participated in many art exhibitions since and his paintings are part of both corporate and priovate collections in Malaysia and abroad.

Art and architecture

Sacred Structures: Artistic Renditions of Hindu Temples in Malaysia and Singapore (Hardcover)
by
Krishna Gopal Rampal (Editor),
Raja Thuraisingham (Publisher),
Saiful Anwar Yahya (Designer)

• Hardcover: 219 page
• Price RM 228.00
• Publisher: Bluetoffee (2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9810595859
• ISBN-13: 978-9810595852

Product Description

Sacred Structures is a fascinating guide to the world of Hindu Temples in Malaysia and Singapore, presented through the unique artistic vision of some of its leading artists. In four sections, beautifully illustrated with original paintings by ten leading artists, the book takes the reader through the various phases of Hindu Temple building from the 5-6th Century to modern times.

The book contains more than 190 original paintings (in full colour) that clearly illustrate the point that these temples are not only places of worship but magnificent works of art. These paintings are further illuminated by essays written by eminent writers on the historical development of the architecture, sculptures and renditions by these artists. A brief communication on the journey through these temples is also provided for those wishing to undertake similar sojourns.

Available mainly at: Silverfish Books Sdn Bhd, 58-1 Jalan Telawi, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel: 228 448 37 Email: info@silverfishbooks.com

Free delivery (by courier) to addresses within Peninsula Malaysia. Delivery to Sabah and Sarawak will cost an additional RM20.00