My Copy of Trois autres Malaisie has arrived!

 

My copy of Trois autres Malaisie  has arrived!  The whole process, from the initial contact by Editions GOPE to explore the possibility of translating Lovers andStrangers Revisited into French to my receiving this copy took about one year. 

Although the cover is the same, it’s not—it’s better (though it's not as sharp in jpeg, above).  But holding the books side by side, you'll see (and feel) the difference.  The cover is now glossy, which makes the colors appear more alive and the woman more real; her exposed eye seems even more mysterious.  The cover type is also bolder and stands out, though my name is smaller (on the spine, too).  The thickness is about the same, even though there are three less stories; the height is shorter.  Inside, other than the obvious language difference, you'll  notice another big difference.  There are ten illustrations from different artists and a hibiscus is used as a colophon (to denote breaks such as major scene changes). 

Also, in back, Editions GOPE, has added illustrations and a synopsis of several of their books, including Trois autres Thailande and Le Monde de Suzie Wong, the French translation of Richard Mason’s The World of Suzie Wong.  This is good; it means that in future books and in new editions of past books, Trois autres Malaisie will be added, too. There is also Trois autres Malaisie translator, Jerome Bouchaud’s Malaisie: Modernite et traditions en Asia du Sud-Est.

The stories are regrouped into three sections: The Malays, The Chinese, The Indian.  Since the majority of the characters in “Neighbors” are Chinese it’s placed at the beginning of the Chinese section.  Here is the table of contents (I added in the original titles—some I could guess at, most I could not)  

LA MALAISE…

Mat Salleh (Mat Salleh)

Les pierres saintes (Smooth Stones)

Le regard (The Stare)

Les vendredis (On Fridays)

Hari raya (Home for Hari Raya)

Symetrie (Symmetry)

Naufrage ( Only in Malaysia)

LA CHINOISE…

Les voisins (Neighbors)

A l’hotel de la gare (The Station Hotel)

Le guetteur (The Watcher)

Les amants anonymes (Lovers and Strangers)

ET L’INDIENNE…

Le futur avocat (The Future Barrister)

La chambre de grande soeur (Sister’s Room)

Teh-o a Kuala Lumpur (Teh-o in K.L.)

*Update, the 20th anniversary of Lovers and Strangers Revisited, my collection of short stories set in Malaysia

**Update: Book orders for Trois autres Malaisie.   E-book orders.  Or recommend it to your friends, especially those who would like to know more about Malaysia or have an interest in Southeast Asia.

  

Here's a link to the intro and excerpts, and to four reviews of Trois Autres Malaisie in eurasie.net, Malaisie.org, easyvoyage.com, and Petit Futé mag.

***Here’s an update to the French blog about Trois autres Malaisie and my meeting the French translator Jerome Bouchaud in Kuching, and my involvement in a French documentary for Arte (June 2017) on The Sensual Malaysia of Somerset Maugham.