When I was in my undergraduate years, a friend recommended me a book titled SAGA, a Malay novel written by A.Talib Hassan (if I’m not mistaken).
In summary, the book was about three good friends, Rahmat, Hisham and Munirah. They had just graduated from their university and decided to go to Rahmat’s village in an attempt to help in the development of the village. Rahmat’s village was depicted as somewhat remote and still very traditional. Their plan was to develop the economy of the village and help the youngsters of the village to be more skillful and competitive in the modern world.
The book appealed to me because it was about society instead of personal challenges. The book was different from most Malay novels that I had read which were very melancholic and somewhat depressing. SAGA provided a different point of view on Malay challenges. It gave me an insight about political, economic and social challenges for the Malays in a wider context. I had never before then, encountered well written stories using young people language to describe Malay patriotism.
In my opinion, the writer’s language was not too complex but very realistic for adolescent readers like me at that time. Although the issues were quite heavy, the author managed to convey his messages simply yet powerfully. His plot was rich with details and enough sub plots to point out the issues and thus delivering or promoting his ideas and concepts successfully. Perhaps that was why it could be easily understood by young modern readers like I did at that time.
Even though the issues and plot may be viewed as heavy by some, I feel that the author’s language helped to moderate the seriousness of the story. The author also avoided using sad intonation or overly poignant language to describe sad events. Overall, the author’s language seems optimistic to me. Although there were many challenges portrayed in the story, the characters developed positively throughout the story.
In general, the book was engaging and beautifully written, using simple language yet conveying powerful messages, as well as delivering heavy issues but being realistic at the same time.
In summary, the book was about three good friends, Rahmat, Hisham and Munirah. They had just graduated from their university and decided to go to Rahmat’s village in an attempt to help in the development of the village. Rahmat’s village was depicted as somewhat remote and still very traditional. Their plan was to develop the economy of the village and help the youngsters of the village to be more skillful and competitive in the modern world.
The book appealed to me because it was about society instead of personal challenges. The book was different from most Malay novels that I had read which were very melancholic and somewhat depressing. SAGA provided a different point of view on Malay challenges. It gave me an insight about political, economic and social challenges for the Malays in a wider context. I had never before then, encountered well written stories using young people language to describe Malay patriotism.
In my opinion, the writer’s language was not too complex but very realistic for adolescent readers like me at that time. Although the issues were quite heavy, the author managed to convey his messages simply yet powerfully. His plot was rich with details and enough sub plots to point out the issues and thus delivering or promoting his ideas and concepts successfully. Perhaps that was why it could be easily understood by young modern readers like I did at that time.
Even though the issues and plot may be viewed as heavy by some, I feel that the author’s language helped to moderate the seriousness of the story. The author also avoided using sad intonation or overly poignant language to describe sad events. Overall, the author’s language seems optimistic to me. Although there were many challenges portrayed in the story, the characters developed positively throughout the story.
In general, the book was engaging and beautifully written, using simple language yet conveying powerful messages, as well as delivering heavy issues but being realistic at the same time.
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