ZI Publications' Double Book Launch

You're invited to a double book launch by ZI Publications :

I, Too, Am Malay - Zaid Ibrahim's bestselling book Saya Pun Melayu has been translated and is now available in English...

&

Velvet & Cinder Blocks - New York native Ioannis Gatsiounis' debut collection of short stories. (Author of Beyond The Veneer: Malaysia ’s Struggle for Dignity and Direction.)

Join us for this rare double book launch event - the event features both Datuk Zaid and Ioannis discussing their respective books, a Q&A session, autograph-signing, photo snapping....and yes, book buying too!

ALL ARE WELCOME. (Limited space/chairs, so do come early...)

Soft drinks and light snacks provided. (There're LOTS of restaurants downstairs for a proper meal afterwards!)

Details

Date: Friday, Oct 16th, 2009

Venue: PJLA, Jaya One, Jalan Universiti, PJ.

Time: 7.30pm

About the Books :

I, Too, Am Malay, is a collection of Zaid Ibrahim's innermost thoughts on values, attitudes and how future politics in Malaysia must be based on that which is positive and unites all ethnic groups. Tackling controversial issues such as Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy), the rule of law, and the role of the monarchy, Zaid speaks candidly but sincerely about the way forward for democracy in this country currently plagued by political crises.

A successful corporate attorney who created the nation's biggest law firm despite his humble origins in a village in Kelantan, Zaid's journey as a lawyer, politician and philanthropist is depicted here--from his resignation as a Minister and his sacking from UMNO, a party of which he had been a member for 23 years, to his analysis of the current Prime Minister's ability to restore the rakyat's confidence in the government.

I, Too, Am Malay, reveals the hopes and dreams of a Malay who sees the future of the Malays in a refreshed democracy that anchors on common sense and a profound understanding of their place in a world far larger than their own.

Velvet & Cinder Blocks - Gatsiounis' début collection of stories captures the spirit of the individual who struggles to define himself in a world where the idea of identity is both concrete and perpetually fleeting, a world where loyalties, friendships and family ties can alter in an instant. A young painter follows a false prophet deep into a desert. A pious rape victim struggles to see past her faith in the aftermath of a tsunami. A Chinese-American’s Chineseness is put to the test in multiracial Malaysia . A young Malay caretaker and his lone guest at a remote guesthouse struggle to find direction and compassion in an era of stark civilisational divides.

With these 10 well imagined and decadently engrossing stories, Gatsiounis offers us a timely, penetrating meditation on intimacy, alienation and triumph in the post-9/11 world.

If you want to attend then you must RSVP info@zipublications.com.my or call 603-78850020.

Here's the map :

Talking the Right Talk

Talks to Fahmi Fadzil on PopTV this week is former Law Minister and author Zaid Ibrahim, whose second book Saya Pun Melayu (I Am Also Malay) is available in bookshops nationwide. (Or should be! MagP reports that the first run of 10,000 copies of the new book sold out within a few days of publication!)


I was supposed to go to the launch the other day but wimped out rather when I heard Anwar Ibrahim and Nik Aziz were going to be there too. (So sorry, Ezra!) I enjoy book launches, but am somewhat allergic to politics. Nevertheless, I like what Datuk Zaid is saying very much, found his previous book to be full of the kind of talk that deserves to be walked, and I hope that he will soon be in a position to bring some effective change to the country.

You can read an extract from the forward of the book here, and I hope that there will soon be an English translation. Amir Muhammad reviews the book here.

The launch is reported by Malaysiakini :