Love Currypuffs

I'm not used to writing book reviews.

This is an exception because, well, since I bought the last copy of this particular book at the book fair, and the author good-naturedly humored my request to include the word 'amoi' in his autograph, I figured I have nothing to lose by writing a review for this rom-com (romantic comedy) novel.

Warning: This review contain spoilers...

The good

"Ibu, kenapa ibu gelak sorang-sorang?" - Huzaifah, upon noticing me laughing out loud as I read the novel.

This book can make you wet your pants laughing.

Or at least it can make others wonder "what is so funny?"  by looking at you grinning in amusement as you read it.

It's filled with remarks that may sound normal when they appear in conversations in kopitiam or Facebook, but really funny when they appear in a novel. Daily stuff that makes one go, "oh, that is SO true!".

Like the commentary on traffic jams and drivers in KL - the rude ones, the obedient one and the over-the-top obedient ones that annoy others behind them.

Or the commentary on Hindi film plot.

Or on how Malay dramas are filled with 'coincidences'.

This is easy reading stuff - the words easy to read, the plot easy to understand, the characters easy to connect and identify with. Even the cover itself is easy on the eyes. Very creative indeed!

Ali, a photographer at a political newspaper/horror magazine publication company, fell for Sarah, an editor in a more establihed publishing company where Ali's housemate is working. Sarah graduated from Al-Azhar University but chose not to become an ustazah as she believes that dakwah could be conveyed through other mediums, including comics. 

Ali in his bid to woo Sarah and Sarah's dad approval, lied that he too graduated from Al-Azhar.

As the story progresses, 'lying' becomes the central theme to this novel - how it leads to conflicts and how Ali tries to redeem himself by trying to 'correct' stuff.  

I like how despite Ali's several attempts to be a hero, it is Sarah who kicks a**es in the story. Go Girl Power! Woo hoo!

Not only is she good in silat, she is also an activist, willing to go the extra mile to promote Malaysian comics with an Islamic breath to the public who are more familiar with Japanese manga.

I like the fact that Ali is willing to go the extra mile to learn making "karipap paling sedap di Mesir dan di Malaysia" from Pak Shakir to win back Sarah.

The heroin kicks a**es, and the hero cooks. Cool!

I also like the fact that the writer inserts Islamic messages here and there without sounding too much like a preacher. Simple words that go straight to the heart, like,

"Nah, kalaulah putus cinta itu buat orang berduka, mengapa acap kali kita memutuskan cinta tuhan pada kita? Kenapa kita membiarkan tuhan duka, kerana kita tidak mencintainya lagi?" 

The not-so-good 

Several spelling/editorial errors here and there. 

Datuk Razali Bunari became Datuk Ghazali Bunari on page 28.

Datuk Mukhzanuddin was once written as Datuk Razali Mokhzanuddin on page 16. 

Ali met Sarah in Taman Tasik Titiwangsa but was described as coming back from Taman Tasik Perdana on page 60. 

Elementary stuff, I know, but I expect only the best from PTS books.

Although still 'bearable', there are many 'inside' jokes (among the Sindiket Sol-jah & co) and sometimes, satires that the readers could not understand. Maybe the writer could improve on this in later publication.
And the writer 'misuses' the usage of the phrase "masya Allah", another elementary mistake that would not be made by a "novel Islami" writer.

"Masya Allah" means "as Allah may wish".

In Malaysia, many 'misuse' this phrase, saying it when they are angry, upset or surprised in not-so-good way. Whereas we are supposed to say "Masya Allah" when we see something nice or something we like or when we praise someone, giving recognition that all good things come from Allah. maybe you could try asking friends who study in the Middle East for further explanation

All in all

I like.
Not something I would recommend to my Mak, but I would gladly loan it to those who long for easy reading stuff.

Fluff, but not chaff.

Corat-coret Pesta Buku: Trivia KLIBF 2010

1. "Saya pun ada kawan nama Huzaifah. Panggil Ujai juga" - Faisal Tehrani

2. "Bila-bila nak beli buku PTS, cakap je. Boleh dapat 20% diskaun. Bila-bila pun." - Azzyzul, Senior Exec at PTS
We saw each other as I was done with shopping at PTS booth, both took a second look at each other and both wondered the same thing at the same time - "kita pernah jumpa, tapi kat mana ye?".
School? No...
University? No...
Work? No...
It finally hit us that we were in Sarawak together last December. He's part of Dr Jamal's team, of which, hubby was also a member. Duh - why did it take us so long to recall? must be the old age


3. "Ini dah kena banned ni, dah jadi bahan sejarah..." Zunar, as he promoted "Gedung Kartun".

4 "...saya syak, 1 sehingga 2% pembelian buku oleh masyarakat Malaysia adalah kerana faktor 'membeli kerana hendak memberi sokongan moral kepada kawan-kawan" - Sinaganaga
Hmm, I bought "Pulut Sakura Serunding Kasih" because it's written by Kak Lela, a long-distance friend in Japan.
I also bought "Life is an Open Secret - You, Me and We" in support of my senior in school.
And Ustaz Hasrizal Jamil used to be in my school too even if it was only for a week or two
And Zakaria Sungib is related to Mak.
And Shopuan Anuar Ahmad is my Pak Chik.
And Nisah Haron used to be in the same class with hubby in high school. but I've started reading her writing long before I married my husband, when I was still in high school
Hmm, Sinaganaga could be right, after all...

5. "Akak masih macam dulu. Tak banyak berubah!" is that because of 'awet muda' or because I looked older than my age when I was younger? - met up with many juniors - from school, UK, and even Nihon days... Sorry, I know I can be bad with recalling names, but thank you for "masih sudi menegur akak ni.."

6. I won both small gift (notebook and pen) and goodie bag at ITNM booth during their "Siapa Cepat Dia Dapat" quiz.
Was the first person to respond to the invitation to participate in the quiz. It took some times to get a group of people to join the quiz, so I managed to read through the ITNM catalogue and pamphlet before most other join in. Huzaifah even took the liberty of playing with his newly purchased wooden puzzles there, on the floor in front of the small platform in ITNM booth. Was the first to get the 'small gift', and the 7th to get the much more coveted goodie bag - consisting a translated book, a notebook & a pen. I was hoping to get a translated novel, but ended up with a book on managing professionals at school. Never mind, I still enjoy getting free gifts. Ha ha.

7. Turned out many of my favorite writers - including Prof. Mohd Kamil Ibrahim, Ustaz Hasrizal, Ustaz Pahrol Juoi, Abdul Latip Talib, Sinaganaga - were there on the last two days but I didn't get the chance to meet up with them, hmm alahai... But it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to note that more people are paying attention to "book celebrity" as it could be an indicator that more people are reading worthy stuff rather than just entertainment magazines the likes of URTV...
That's progress.
Indeed.

Corat-coret Pesta Buku: Panas

Don't ask me what crazy notions I had that led to having a date with my not-yet-5-year-old son, Huzaifah to the KL International Book Fair. I thought of the trip as a reward for him - since he has shown more signs of being a responsible brother notwithstanding all the fumble-tumble sessions with Humaidi since he started kindie. At home, as I got him ready for our 'date', it seemed like a good idea. He was in good mood, all smiling, chattering excitedly.

But turned out, it might not be that great of an idea after all...

1. It was extremely hot on that Saturday.
Traffic from Putrajaya to KL was rather smooth, but the queue for parking space in Hentian Putra terminal was exteremely long - it took longer to park than to drive from Putrajaya to KL. Not something that one would welcome under the scorching sun. Especially since Huzaifah kept 'meratib', "Ibu, nak pergi pesta buku", "Ibu, jom pergi pesta buku", "Ibu, cepatlah pergi pesta buku," to which I had to patiently response, "Nanti lepas parking kereta, kita pergilah." Again and again and again...

2. It was extremely crowded that Saturday.
In fact - PWTC was more crowded on Saturday than on Sunday, when I made my solo trip. Or at least, it certainly felt that way. I know, it's only to be expected - what with the lure of good discounts, great bargains, meet-the-fan sessions, various performances (no, not by pop artists - more towards literature/books/comics related stuff) and all.

3. Over-zealous Grolier and (other similar companies) promoters who simply don't understand the word 'no' could really spoil one's moods.
They resort to whatever tactics possible to make sure your child stop at their booth and the parents had no choice but to sit down too. It's just bad luck that I have a five-year-old-son who could not resist normal-shaped mouth-blown balloon, what more bright, shiny, floating balloons of various shapes and designs. And more bad luck that Huzaifah is a fan of Mickey and his friends, making him an even more easy 'prey'. Arghhh!!!

4. There were moments when I felt my own tempers rising...
When Huzaifah said he wanted a Thomas (the Tank Engine) book, he really insisted on finding it, never mind that we had already gotten so many other books for him. We searched for it high and low, but could not find even a single Thomas book. At one stall, he saw the advertisement for a set of Thomas books at the back of an old copy of a British magazine.
"Ibu, ini buku Thomas!" he hurled the magazine at me excitedly.
"Ini bukan buku Thomas, ini iklan saja," I took the magazine and put it back in the box marked 3-for-RM10.
"Ujai nak buku Thomas! Ujai nak buku Thomas!," he grabbed the magazine back.
"Okay, okay, let's look for Thomas book, but this is not a Thomas book, so let's put it back in the box."
He grabbed it again.
I grabbed the magazine one final time, put it back in the box, and dragged him away from the stall.
"Over there, we might find a Thomas book over there, come on, let's go..."
But Huzaifah had already started throwing tantrums.
Wailing, shrieking, almost biting my hand, he struggled to get away from me.
I held his hand tighly and kept walking. Embarrassed but grimly ignored the stares thrown our way by passers-by.
Once or twice another parent would try to calm Huzaifah down too, but to no avail.
I picked him up, put his slippers in one of the plastic bags (the slippers were already thrown on the floor and a woman picked them up and passed them over to me, who was grateful for the help) and carried him as I ascended the escalator to the next floor.
I walked all over the exhibition hall, while carrying him and it was not until he grew confused by all the different booths on the different levels when I dared to put him back on the ground, and he stayed close to me voluntarily.

5. And then, there was the scalding hot tea...
Before we moved on to the exhibition hall across the river, Huzaifah asked for some food and drinks. All the walking and browsing not to mention the shrieking and struggling must had made him hungry. We went queueing for some juice and sandwich (for him) and mineral water (for me). All the make-shift cafes were operated by staff from Riverside Restaurant (if I'm not mistaken), so the price was a bit high. Which is rather disappointing - I would have thought the owner of PWTC could rise to the occasion and open up opportunities for small entrepreneurs to set up F&B stalls during KLIBF, you know, in line with the 1 Malaysia tagline - "people first". If you want to put the people first, (and we all know that the visitors to KLIBF are not sought after by lobbyist unlike visitors during a certain party's General Assembly season and hence could afford the high F&B prices) then the people should be given the choice to buy cheaper F&B from a few competiting providers. Not 'forced' to buy from a single provider that offer food at high price. Overheard were complaints and grumbles on "mahalnya makanan kat sini...", especially from those who looked like they have travelled far to come to the book fair (not locals of Klang Valley who are used to simiar prices at restaurants they frequent) RM3 for nasi lemak kosong or a glass of teh tarik, RM5 for diluted orange juice, RM6 for a plate of cold nasi goreng (which remind me of those selling for RM1.50 at pasar malam). Yes, food was rather expensive...

Anyway, I digressed.
After Huzaifah finished his cheese sandwiches and juice, he asked for more juice. I queued up to get another glass of juice.
Suddenly "PRAANNNGGG!"
One tea pot on the electric tea pot warmer containing teh tarik exploded, shattered to smithereens.
Part of the scalding hot tea spilled over to the customers in line, including yours truly.
I checked on Huzaifah who was standing right next to me and was horrified to see his t-shirt smeared with a large splotch of teh tarik.
I went down, to further inspect if any debris from the broken pot hit him, but alhamdulillah none did. But Huzaifah rubbed on his chest like he was in pain, just like I rubbed on my left hand where part of the hot water spilled.

I remember reading that a cup of hot liquid spilled over a toddler is equivalent to a bucket of hot water being spilled over an adult. Granted, Huzaifah is no longer a toddler, but the pain must be greater for him, the large stain bearing witness that at least a quarter of a cup of hot tea spilled over him.

Not one word of apology was uttered by the girl behind the counter.
Not one word of apology was uttered by the girl who cleaned up the mess in front of the counter, as she picked up the shattered pieces of the tea pot, a mug and all.
Nobody checked on the customer to see if everybody was all right.
Nobody apologized.
No one.

I was so mad that when I paid for Huzaifah's juice, I lashed out at the cashier, "Adik, tadi masa teko pecah, teh panas tu terkena anak akak. Habis basah baju dia. Ni, tengok ni...(pointing at the large darkened splotch) Tapi, tak ada seorang pun minta maaf..."
The cashier was flabbergasted.
"Akak pun terkena air panas juga. Tengok ni tangan akak..." I showed her the back of my left palm which had turned all red due to the hot tea spill.
"Akak tak kisah bayar makanan kat sini mahal, tapi customer jagalah betul-betul... Mana manager kalau nak komplen? Siapa pun tak minta maaf. Tak ada seorang pun minta maaf masa tu. Macam mana ni?"
I knew people were staring.
Peduli!

"Sorry kak. Sorry... Minta maaf..."
The cashier found her voice again.
I saw a well-dressed man emerged from the 'kitchen' and immediately turned my attention to him. Told him what happened and asked him, "Macam mana bila jadi macam tu, tak ada siapa pun yang minta maaf?"
Aren't the staff well-trained to react and response by putting the customers first above all else?
The tea pot might have exploded on its own, an honest-to-goodness accident, but its content had spilled over to some customers - so, can't the staff at least say sorry to the customers?
What is so difficult about that?

If such incident had happened in Japan, the girl behind the counter would immediately said sorry, "Moshi wake arimasen".
And the girl who cleaned up after the mess would also apologized.
Profusely.
Repeatedly.
And they would in fact checked on the customer's safety.
And those who would've gotten even a single spill of the hot tea would be compensated - maybe by an offer of free food or drinks or even more.
Customers always come first.

Yes, I have left Japan 18 months ago, but sometimes, it's incidents like this that made me wish I'm back in Japan...
Duh!

Corat-coret Pesta Buku: Meet-the-writers session

I went to the KL International Book Fair 2010 twice - on Saturday, March 27 for a mother-son date with Huzaifah and then made a solo trip on the last day of the fair.

Alhamdulillah, managed to meet some writers while I was there.

1. Zakaria Sungib
I've been a big fan of Chicken Soup for the Soul series. So, when I heard passed by Galeri Ilmu's stall and heard the promotion about a new "100 kisah kehidupan", I grabbed a copy of "Secubit Halwa Penawar Jiwa". A quick glance through the book confirmed my hunch that, like Chicken Soup of the Soul, it's a collection of stories by ordinary people, but with an Islamic breath.

I asked for an autograph by the writer. Zakaria Sungib may not be as well known as Ustaz Hasrizal or Pahrol Mohd Juoi, (I also bought books by both of them) but he's a distant relative of mine, on Mak's side. He didn't recognize me when he asked me for my name before signing the book. I didn't actually expect him to anyway, since our meeting was very brief - he and his family were about to leave Mak's place when my family and I arrived in Kampung Tunku during Raya. Upon noticing the many kids (almost 10?), I asked Mak if she had given them any 'duit raya', and Mak replied that she had ran out of small changes, so I offered to give them some. Rushed upstairs to get the duit raya but by the time I alighted the stairs, the MPV they were in had already went out of Mak's gate. I had to run and knocked on it to make them stop. "Ni, ada duit raya sikit..." I smilingly handed over the green packet to one of his girls.
I remember that vividly because it is very rare for me (or anybody else, I think) to chase after someone to hand over some 'duit raya'. Usually, it's the kids who wouldn't leave the house until after they were given some 'duit raya', kan?

Anyway, I digressed. When I thanked Zakaria for the autograph, I mentioned Mak's name and his face immediately lighted up. Murmured something about reading Mak's blog and that he would like to discuss it further with Mak. Hah - and Mak didn't know that he, an editor for a publication company, actually reads Mak's blog and probably sees a future blook out of Mak's entries so far...

2. Sis Zabrina a.k.a Zabrina A. Bakar
When "Life is an Open Secret" was first published, I was still in Tokyo and asked Kit to get one for me. She bought two - one as a gift for me, another for herself and asked me to inform her of more such books should I come across them. Kit loves it. I do too, to my delight, since at first I only wanted to have a copy of the first book because I know Sis Zabrina (or Kak Bina as we, her juniors in school call her) personally.

I knew that she already had a meet-the-fans session during KLIBF 2010 earlier, on March 21 , and I was not aware that she was going to have a second similar session on March 27. So I was pleasantly suprised to see her at Pustaka Yamien's stall. Went to her booth. She took a look at me and confirmed that she knows me, but could not recall from where or which era of her life...

"I'm your junior from Smap Labu lah" and I told her my name.
"Oh ya!! Now, I remember... Masya Allah, when did you grow to be so tall?"
"Alah Kak Bina, I've been this tall since I was 18 - but you've last seen me when I was 14, so I supposed I had grown since then..." (both vertically and horizontally, but I digressed)

The first meeting was kept short because Huzaifah was agitated, and I had to follow after him in his quest to find "Thomas" (the Tank Engine) book. I returned to see her with a calmed down Huzaifah who by then had already gotten a sword-shaped balloon courtesy of Grolier.

Chatted for a while hah, who would have thought that I would end up having someone from her batch as my SIL and bought her second book, "Life is an Open Secret - You, Me and We" and asked for her autograph.

Her autograph include a line that said "Stay cute & cun forever"
"Only for my juniors," she almost winked as she handed the book to me.
"And do poke me on FB, okay, so that we can keep in touch..."
Ha ha ha. Yes, my senior in school can be cute like that...

3. Nazri M Annuar
I first learned about "Karipap-Karipap Cinta" from one of Nisah's entries on KLIBF 2010. Bloghopped to Dunia Vovinska and found myself attracted to sample this particular "karipap". I didn't manage to get any PTS book during my first trip to KLIBF with Huzaifah so I made it up on Sunday. My haul at PTS alone would've totaled up to more than RM200 if not for the 30% discount (I got two "PTS 10 Tahun" woven bags and two gift wrapping papers as gifts for my purchases)

As I browsed through the Novel section of the PTS booth, I saw a copy of "Karipap-Karipap Cinta" so I casually picked it up. Little did I know that it was the last copy available in the booth until I heard the announcement, "Buku "Karipap-Karipap Cinta" yang terakhir telahpun dibeli! Sudah HABIS DIJUAL!" followed by a hullabaloo of clappings and whistling and what-nots. One of the two girls near me who earlier on picked up the novel and put it back on the table asked "Eh, buku tu dah habis ke?," to which a guy in PTS uniform replied, "Dah habis lah. Hah, kan dah menyesal letak balik buku tu...". I grinned at them, mumbling "Sorry ye" to which the girls quickly replied, "Eh, takpe..."

A guy in PTS red uniform came up to me, informing me that the writer was around should I wish to have the book autographed. I nodded, walked up to the writer and asked if it would be okay with him to wait a little while until after I paid for the book(s). He nodded, almost shyly.

Turned out the writer had another 'last copy' with him - so mine was not exactly the 'last copy' of the day, still, I think the hullabaloo is kind of a good promotion for both the book and the writer. A sign of "good job!" to the writer, to keep the writer's spirit up as well as to make others who haven't gotten a copy to wonder what was all the excitement about and might motivate them to get a copy available elsewhere.

That Sunday, I wore a black 'muslimah' t-shirt with red sleeves with a pair of jeans and a matching red tudung. Having learned about Nazri's fondness for 'amoi' from his blog, I teased him about it - which resulted in me getting the word 'amoi' as part of the autograph. One day, should he become a bestseller writer like many believe he would, the book may fetch a high bid for it when it goes for auction on E-bay...

"Nanti dah habis baca, tinggalkanlah komen dekat blog..."
"Insya Allah"
Heh, I might even post an entry on the book itself...

Corat-coret Pesta Buku: Eh! Eh!

Photo taken from here

A bit surprised to see the faces of Huzaifah and I among the pictures posted on this blog this morning. (Please don't mind the shiny oily face - it had been one very long afternoon, taking Huzaifah for a mother-son 'date' at the KL International Book Fair 2010)



But then again, Huzaifah tore the plastic wrapping to two of his new wooden puzzles right there in Ameen Publishing stall while the writer was having his meet-the-readers/autograph session. The photographer even took a picture of Huzaifah playing with the puzzle right there on the floor of Ameen Publishing stall. If you think I am a terrible mother for not discplining him to play with stuff at home - well, I figured having a calm and quiet Huzaifah is a lot better than a shrieking Huzaifah rolling on the floor to protest against me not accomodating his wishes.



Anyway, it was nice finally meeting Faisal Tehrani in person. OK - I was happy to get his autograph, I even got the two newly-bought "Ingin Jadi Nasrallah" t-shirts autographed too. Yes, I am nerdy that way . But he is a favorite writer of mine after all. In fact, I even bought a copy of "Manikam Kalbu" and "Bedar Sukma Bisu" from Ujana Ilmu while I was still in Tokyo, and received them via my parents-in-law when they visited in spring of 2008. (And I can never thank Nisah enough for agreeing to let me postpone making the payment until I was back home months later.)



So yes, while I am way past the adolescent stage of feeling oh-so-excited to meet up with a celebrity writer - it was nice meeting the author whose words I have devoured and enjoyed. Mak observed that Faisal Tehrani blogs like an 'angry young man' - up to some extent his other writing could be interpreted as the voice of an 'angry young man' too. But reading them, one knows that the writer had gone into extensive research and I like that. I really appreciate how some writers put in a lot of homework so they end up writing fictions that are educating, and not merely entertaining.



Hopefully, panjang umur, murah rezeki, we''ll meet again insya Allah...