Tash for Cash

Good, can now link to Elizabeth Wong's interview with Tash Aw in the Off The Edge supplement of The Edge. The whole piece is well worth reading.



Found interesting what the author had to say about "the formulaic writing produced by some Asian writers who exoticize their homelands". This, of course, has to be at the centre of any debate about what Malaysian writing is or should be:

“There is an appetite for stories of people eating green mangoes and samosas,” notes Aw, all “misty covers” and “Oriental Babe”.

“Kuala Lumpur is no different from any European city; we work, we have friends, we watch the same television programmes,” he rolls on with the reality check. “When we sit down for a char keow teow, it’s quite normal. We don’t think about it. It’s more important what we’re feeling when we’re eating our food. What differentiates us is what’s inside.”

Quite.

Also worth noting is his advice to "budding local scribes":

"My advice always seems to consist of a huge set of cautions, but unfortunately they’re essential: remember that professional writing is a bloody hard business. It really is 80% blood sweat and tears, even after you have been published. You are never going to be as rich as an investment banker; most of the time, you’ll be worse off than a primary school teacher. It is neurotic, insecure and unstable. Never be deluded by the supposed glamour and hype that surrounds authors – that’s just a thin veneer of marketing. Do it because you are absolutely dedicated to words, to storytelling and the use of language and imagination, and because you just can’t live without it; never think about the money or the fame because they may never come. I know so many writers who love the idea of being a writer more than the actual graft of writing – you have to wonder if they’re ever going to make it. Once you’re convinced that writing is your vocation, you have to keep going, even when it seems impossible - which is often! And then you have to keep going some more. Be absolutely disciplined: treat writing as any other job. Read as widely as possible, and try to develop a critical awareness of your own work as well as of others’. Trust your instincts and be bold. Take risks in your writing and persevere even if others tell you it’s impossible, though do remember that there’s a very fine line between self-belief and self-delusion. If you can do all of this you will be rewarded with a career which is more satisfying than any other. You may never be very rich but you will have a career which is rich and varied, which may even change lives."