Mother's Day is around the corner (May 10). I got an award wining author Ainunl Muaiyanah to pick ten novels that depicts motherhood. theSun publishes the story today. Here is the story
Headline: The Maternal Instict
Standfirst To celebrate Mother’s Day this Sunday, a local author shares a selection of local novels that depict motherhood at its best
Full story:
Ainunl Muaiyanah Sulaiman is an award winning novelist and poet. Among her awards are the Hadiah Sastera Perdana Malaysia 2012 for her poem entitled Mimpi Dari Sebuah Lukisan Ilusi, Hadiah Utama Hadiah Sastera Kumpulan Utusan 2013 for her poem Berbagi Puisi, and Hadiah Sastera Perdana Malaysia 2013 for her first novel Sepetang di Kafe Biblioholic.Currently, she is an editor at the Institute of Translation and Books Malaysia. Here, she shares her pick of novels written by fellow local authors that celebrate a mother’s unique love.
1) Surat-Surat Perempuan Johor
Author: Faisal Tehrani
The story is told through letters between two women who discuss everything under the sun –from politics to their family conflicts. One of them decides not to get married to a widower whom she
loves. She is convinced she will not make a good mother and wife because she cannot get pregnant. But the widower’s son finally convinces her to marry his dad. The relationship between
the stepson and the stepmother is well portrayed here.
“The novel is saying that a woman should know herself as a woman first before she becomes a wife and a mother,” Ainunl says.
“Faisal is very good at capturing a woman’s emotions in his book.”
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2) Aci Patmabi
Author: Azmi Iskandar Merican
The story takes place in Penang during the British rule where a woman is trying to prevent her heritage land from being sold to outsiders.However,her world comes tumbling down when her husband cheats on her. The couple then go their separate ways. Her children want to stay with their father instead of with her, and she allows them to follow their heart.
“She is a mother who puts her children’s happiness before her own,” Ainunl says.
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3) Ibu Adalah Pentafsir dan Sungai
Author: Shanon Ahmad
A middle-aged male professor is in a forum where his female students are asking for equal rights. These female students remind him of his early childhood years and his mother. His father likes to spend time in the forest, playing with birds and does not contribute any income to the family. His mother had to work hard to raise him as well as to support his father, never complaining of her difficult life and trying to make the best of her situation.
“The saying, ‘when life gives you lemons, make lemonade’ is the best way to describe the book,” Ainunl says.
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4) Wajah Seorang Perempuan
Author: S Othman Kelantan
Set during the Japanese Occupation, the novel follows the trials of Siti Musalmah, after her husband and children died.
“Losing your children can never be easy for any mother,”
Ainunl opines.
“Yet, she handles the tragedies bravely without losing the will to carry on with her life.”
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5) Rumah Itu Duniaku
Author: Hamzah Hussein
An illegitimate child is forced to work as a maid in her father’s house while her stepmother abuses her. However, she will not leave the house, no matter what happens.
Ainunl has this to say of the book: “The novel is not about motherhood but the lead character who is a like a mother to everyone in the house. The novel is saying that for a woman,
her house is everything.”
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6) Seorang Tua di Kaki Gunung
Author: Azizi Haji Abdullah
An old man wants to build a traditional Malay house. But his son who stays in the city believes it is a ridiculousidea. This leads to a conflict between generations, and a woman is caught
between her husband and her son. In the end, she chooses her husband over her son.
“The emotions of a woman who gets trapped between her role as a wife and a mother is well portrayed here,” Ainunl says.
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7) Setenang Cahaya Hati
Author: Salina Ibrahim
After the death of her husband, a woman is shocked to learn that her husband has a secret second family. She feels betrayed as a wife. But as a mother, she cannot bring herself to hate her stepchild.
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8) Gadisku Wan Adnin
Author: Noor Suraya
An aristocratic grandmother has been raising her granddaughter with an iron fist, and forces her to marry an aristocrat. Things get more interesting when the readers learns that her grandmother is not really an aristocrat herself.
“This is not story about a mother,”Ainunl explains.
“The story focuses more on a grandmother, and every grandmother has a mother’s instincts.”
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9) Mawar Syurga
Author: Fatimah Saidin
Mariam is totally devoted to her husband, despite being the target of his inferiority complex and jealousy. Things get more complicated when she has a child who is deaf. Once again,
she makes the best of the situation and finds ways for her son to adapt to the world around him.
“You will admire Mariam’s strength as a wife and a mother,” says Ainunl.
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10) Boneka Rusia Guido
Author: Wan Nor Azriq
Teenager Chairil Gibran and his mother decide to move to Kuala Lumpur. But the boy soon gets trapped in the political games of Tuan Megat Guido.
“I like the way the author has portrayed the relationship between Chairil and his mother,” says Ainunl.
“It is not a typical relationship. The mother and son share a more open-minded relationship.They are more like friends than mother and son.”
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