Malaysian bandit action adventure
5 stars
The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water is a novella by Malaysian writer Zen Cho. The story is captivating and fun, telling of a group of bandits joined by a nun of the order of the Pure Moon. The novella is expertly crafted. I admire how Cho guides the readers through her narrative, how she distributes information cleverly to introduce details about the setting, to slowly unfold the job the bandits are on, and step by step unveil the depth of the characters. It all fits together in the most entertaining and satisfying way. What I loved most are the characters and the joy and energy with which their personalities are portrayed – including the respectful handling of queerness. When the story found its natural conclusion, it left me wanting for more. The setting is influenced by mythic China and wuxia, but also by the Malayan Emergency, a …
The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water is a novella by Malaysian writer Zen Cho. The story is captivating and fun, telling of a group of bandits joined by a nun of the order of the Pure Moon. The novella is expertly crafted. I admire how Cho guides the readers through her narrative, how she distributes information cleverly to introduce details about the setting, to slowly unfold the job the bandits are on, and step by step unveil the depth of the characters. It all fits together in the most entertaining and satisfying way. What I loved most are the characters and the joy and energy with which their personalities are portrayed – including the respectful handling of queerness. When the story found its natural conclusion, it left me wanting for more. The setting is influenced by mythic China and wuxia, but also by the Malayan Emergency, a guerilla war in the late 1940s and 50s against the colonial British rule of Malaya. Just from reading the book I wouldn‘t have known, to be honest, since I know nothing about the history of Malaysia. But the novella made me wonder what the historical inspirations were; and Cho‘s website provided this snippet of information. (Thanks!) While I couldn’t have put a name to it, again due to me ignorance, at least I wasn’t fully surprised by the variant English spoken by the characters. It is Malaysian English, probably in its colloquial form of Manglish, so if the grammar feels wrong to you, congratulations: You’re learning a new language! That said, there are no difficulties for readers used only to British or American English. I never had a problem understanding it, while I guess I would have understood much less if the text had used the full range of Malaysian English. So no worries: Without knowledge of Malaysia, wuxia, or Manglish, The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water is still easy to enjoy. And enjoy it you will! zencho.org/books/the-order-of-the-pure-moon-reflected-in-water/
