'Objects Of Desire', a Mahua-to-English short story collection, kicks off PEN Malaysia's series celebrating Malaysia’s literary diversity and the vital role of translation in bridging cultures. Photo: PEN Malaysia.
Malaysia's rich linguistic diversity has inspired PEN Malaysia to launch Connections, a book series that introduces readers to local literary works originally written in different languages.
The first title in the series, Objects Of Desire, features 10 Mahua stories that range from the surreal to the grounded, offering readers a glimpse into the preoccupations and concerns of some of the most talented contemporary writers in this field.
Mahua refers to Malaysian fiction in Chinese. The upcoming book features recent mahua short stories, translated into English for the first time.
Editor Lee Hao Jie says the anthology took 10 months to compile, though story selection was fairly quick.
“We wanted to showcase a diverse range of themes, while featuring as many writers as possible, so we have stories from established Mahua writers like Lee Tian Poh and Chan Yeong Siew, as well as King Ban Hui and NiuYou XiaoSheng, who are award-winning authors," says Lee.
Releasing April 26, 'Objects Of Desire' presents 10 recent mahua short stories in English for the first time, with cover art by Fahmi Mustaffa. Photo: PEN Malaysia
“The collection also includes emerging writers, such as Veda, Yeow Jun Heng, Tew Pak Ching, Choh Chin Fei, Lee Sieng Liong, and leemuzmuz, most of whom have been actively contributing to local and Taiwanese newspaper supplements,” he adds.
What’s fascinating about the book is that there are 10 translators – one for each story. The translators include Dano Chow, Yee Heng Yeh, Lai Suk Yin, Brandon Choo, Foo Sek Han, Ooi Yining, Michelle Yoon, Delilah Ho, Chang Zhui Ning and Allie Xiang Haiyin.
“The decision to have a different translator for each story is a distinctive feature of the Connections series – it was a bit of a challenge, as we had to navigate 10 distinct translation styles. However, the approach made the editing stage more time-efficient," says Lee.
“Beyond the challenge of finding direct equivalents between Mandarin and English, we also encountered cultural nuances and structural differences that required multiple rounds of revisions,” he adds.
'We wanted to showcase a diverse range of themes, while featuring as many writers as possible,' says Lee Hao Jie, the editor of 'Objects Of Desire'. Photo: LEE HAO JIE
Lee highlights the importance of translated literature in multicultural Malaysia, noting that 128 Mahua works were published in 2024.
“But how many of them actually reached Malay and Anglophone readers? Mahua writers have much more to express in their works. Their focus has expanded beyond the lack of representation in mainstream literature and social life, especially after nearly 70 years of national independence.
“The stories selected no longer deal with the big historical events, but show a shift into the personal, with themes such as class, gender and sexuality,” concludes Lee.
PEN Malaysia, a non-profit founded in 2023 and affiliated with PEN International, promotes literature, defends free expression, supports members' welfare, and fosters literary activities.
Objects Of Desire, distributed by Buku Fixi, will be launched on April 26 and is currently open for pre-orders.
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