At first glance, this looks like Malaysia’s answer to Melissa Bank’s wickedly funny Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing. But that reference to the underwater inhabitant is about the only thing these two books have in common. Of Fishes & Bicycles marks Winnie Yong’s writing debut, taking an irreverent look at relationships as seen from a truly Malaysian point of view with an extra-large dose of humour.
Yong conceptualized, wrote, illustrated and went on to publish the book herself. Quite an achievement for this 24-year-old ex-copywriter. Prior to Of Fishes & Bicycles, Yong has had several articles published in The Star as well as a local women’s Internet portal called i-asianwomen.com. It took her two weeks to come up with the ideas and storyline for the book, and a further three weeks to finish writing it, according to Yong who found the whole process “a good learning experience”.
At a time when some of us are lamenting the lack of local English literature, this gusty young lady has actually taken the plunge and put in her own hard-earned cash to finance the first print run of 1000 copies of her book. She also does the marketing herself, with a web-site she created, besides contacting aggressively the local media (hence this review!).
Yong says that the characters in the book were inspired by the different facets that we see in ourselves and that no single character is based on anyone she knows. She adds that, while most of the male characters in the book are none too savoury, her intent was not to male-bash, but instead to offer a female point of view of the situation.
When asked about the response to the book so far, she replied that it was still too early to tell as it had only been in the market for about two weeks at the time this article was written. On plans for a second book, she says it will have to be a lot later as she wants to gauge the reaction to this one before starting something new.
Of Fishes & Bicycles is essentially a story about the ups and downs of the dating game and the need to conform to society’s norms, which is this case means that you have to be in a stable relationship by the time you hit your mid-twenties or else there’s something really wrong with you.
The story is set in Kuala Lumpur and revolves around Kimchi who has just been dumped by her boyfriend and is now being pressured by her lovable albeit naggy mother to find a man before she ends up an “old maid”. But finding a suitable boy isn’t Kimchi’s only dilemma. She is also torn between staying in her sales job at a dotcom company and pursuing her life-long dream of becoming a radio DJ.
Well, Kimchi has a support group in the form of best friends Victoria and Shanice. Victoria is the pretty, materialistic one whose goal in life is to marry a wealthy husband and live in the lap of luxury. Shanice, on the other hand, is the cynical man-hater. Jilted at the altar by her fiancé, she has vowed to remain single for the rest of her life.
Along the way, Kimchi meets, and sometimes ends up going out with, a barrage of men that run the gamut from nice to outright jerk. These, coupled with the larger than life characters inside and outside of the offices of allcom.com, Kimchi’s workplace, make perfect fodder for the over-exaggerated scenarios that Yong has devised.
To add some Malaysian flavour to the story, most of the humour is based on local idiosyncrasies like Kimchi’s mother’s obsession with bargaining down to the last sen at the wet market, hanging out at coffee outlets, right down to our habitual lateness when it comes to attending Chinese wedding dinners.
While the idea for this story was commendable, it fell a little short in its execution. The plot tends to take on an Ally McBeal meets Sweet Valley High slant at times. This is especially apparent when Kimchi ends up with the mythical ‘perfect guy’ and also when she receives e-mails from a certain ‘secret admirer’. And the over exaggeration, though amusing at the beginning, starts becoming a little tiresome after the first few chapters. Yong claims that these along with her original one-liners and imaginary self-help books make it a fun read. Unfortunately, too much of a good thing can be harmful to one’s sense of humour!
Of Fishes & Bicycles is best described as icing without the cake. Like a marshmallow, it is fluffy and overtly sweet with little substance to hold it up. Read this only if you’re looking for something that allows you to turn your brain off for the hour or so that it takes to get to the predictable ending.
Of Fishes & Bicycles retails at RM34 per copy and is available at Books Kinokuniya in KLCC as well as all MPH, Times and Popular Bookstore outlets throughout Malaysia.
For more information, visit the official website at http://www.skoobers.com
Winnie Yong will be signing copies of her book at MPH Subanq Parade and MPH Mid Valley in April.
First Published: 19.03.2002 on Kakiseni