Went to Books Actually this afternoon for the express purpose of buying Alfian Sa'at's Malay Sketches only to be told they had no more in stock. Oddly this made me feel quite happy. It's good to think that it's selling well. They had quite a few copies of One Fierce Hour and A History of Amnesia around though, so if you're a poetry fan and live in this Far Place I suggest you buy your copies now - easily the best poetry published here for the last twenty years, I reckon.
I have high expectations of his latest book, by the way. These are based partly on the fact he's a very talented writer. Partly on the fact that taking on the whole notion of Malay identity in such a direct manner suggests he's really got something to say. And most of all on the fact that his three page story featured in the Coast anthology I've been reading lately is easily the best thing in it. Deceptively simple, taut, beautifully modulated, and a great ending.
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