The Weight of Our Sky
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- CHF 11.00
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- CHF 11.00
Beschreibung des Verlags
A music loving teen with OCD does everything she can to find her way back to her mother during the historic race riots in 1969 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in this heart-pounding literary debut.
Melati Ahmad looks like your typical movie-going, Beatles-obsessed sixteen-year-old. Unlike most other sixteen-year-olds though, Mel also believes that she harbors a djinn inside her, one who threatens her with horrific images of her mother’s death unless she adheres to an elaborate ritual of counting and tapping to keep him satisfied.
A trip to the movies after school turns into a nightmare when the city erupts into violent race riots between the Chinese and the Malay. When gangsters come into the theater and hold movie-goers hostage, Mel, a Malay, is saved by a Chinese woman, but has to leave her best friend behind to die.
On their journey through town, Mel sees for herself the devastation caused by the riots. In her village, a neighbor tells her that her mother, a nurse, was called in to help with the many bodies piling up at the hospital. Mel must survive on her own, with the help of a few kind strangers, until she finds her mother. But the djinn in her mind threatens her ability to cope.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this intense historical drama set against the May 1969 race riots in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a 16-year-old Malay who suffers from severe OCD fights for survival while searching for her mother. Melati Ahmad sees her OCD as a tragedy-invoking djinn that can only be appeased through counting and tapping rituals; if she doesn't complete them, Melati fears, her mother will die a terrible death. The riots break out while she's at the movies one afternoon, and Melati is saved and sheltered by a compassionate Chinese family, but she constantly imagines the worst for her mother while waiting for the chance to return home. Melati experiences acts of brutal cruelty and everyday heroism her best friend is taken away by an execution squad, new acquaintances risk their lives to offer her aid. While Melati's condition, exacerbated by the stress of her experiences, pushes her to her breaking point, her determination to reunite with her mother and help others in need gives her the inner strength to persist. This stunning debut from Malaysian author Alkaf filters Melati's sympathetic internal narrative through a mental illness barely understood and poorly treated for the era, and the setting and secondary characters convey a visceral, nerve-wracking moment in time. This isn't an easy story by far; an author's note warns of "graphic violence, death, racism, OCD, and anxiety triggers" but their inclusion makes it no less essential, no less unforgettable. Ages 12 up.)
