Book review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Book review - Essay Example Amongst his collection of short stories, Blood and Tears stands out from amongst the rest because of its literary values and the ideas presented within. In the introduction to these stories, Ali (1984) compares Mas to other Malaysian writers and says that, â€Å"The few short stories which he has contributed have greater literary value than the more prolific output of many other writers. For this reason alone Keris has earned a special place and is to be regarded as the leading figure in the new literature (Ali, 1984, Pg. 8)†. If anything at all, Blood and Tears establishes that quality is indeed more important than quantity. While examining the stories, it becomes clear to us that the historical and cultural influences of the Malaysian past figure prominently in the works of Mas. Like many other nations in south Asia, Malaysia has a history of colonization as well as rule by foreigners on local soil and the after affects of colonization remain with the people even after many decades have passed. The struggle between the Japanese and the British over Malaysia during the Second World War gave birth to the country but also create social and cultural dichotomies which still linger as a part of the social structure of the country. Mas was certainly an influential writer and had a close group of fellow writers that sought to bring about changes in Malaysian society by creating awareness through literature. Speaking about these likeminded writers as well as himself as a writer, Mas says that: â€Å"We criticized societal backwardness and those whom we regard as the instruments responsible for the birth of such backwardness. We criticized colonialism and its instruments, that is, the elite class, those whose consciousness have been frozen by the influence of feudalism and myths, and superstition that has been enmeshed with religion (Wikipedia, 2007, Pg. 1)†. Such leanings