Tash Dash

Ever mindful of the fate of the critic in The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish episode in David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, after my review of The Harmony Silk Factory in last Sunday's Starmag, I had resolved to go along to the events featuring Tash Aw today, and to keep a lowish profile. (I'm tall to keep a really low profile.)

No such luck.

Oon Yeoh was supposed to run the Writer's Circle meeting at MPH this morning, but he's still in pain after his knee operation, and I was asked to take over.

"Fair enough," I said to Oon and to MPH.

So I'll be introducing the author and kicking off the questions this morning.

Then, my friends at Starmag called up. "We'd like you to do a piece on Tash. Can you follow him around to all his engagements today and write about it?"

Of course.

The MPH Writer's circle, the signing at 3p.m. at MPH Midvalley Megahell, the reading 6.30-8.30 at Silverfish. All fine.

Then Raman e-mailed. "Can you make sure that Tash gets safely from Megamall to Silverfish?"

I think poor Tash is going to be totally fed up with me by the end of the day.

And if he wants to do in the critic, he's got lots of opportunities.

Criticide. Not in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Yet.