Writing a New Society

Writing a New Society Synopsis

Recent social and political upheaval in Malaysia has taken many analysts by surprise, but the stresses and fissures in Malay society have been vividly described in Malay novels since the early 1960s. This exploration of the novel in Malay examines the relationship between social change and literary practice. It traces the emergence of the genre from the 1920s and, drawing on 26 of Malaysia's best-known novels, argues that the form was developed as a vehicle for transforming Malay ideas about themselves and their society.