Review: Thoughts of a Caged Bird by Sarah Krishnan
Title: Thoughts of a Caged Bird
Author : Sarah Krishnan
Publisher : Notion Press
Genre: Fiction, short stories
Format: Paperback, 36 pages
Price: RM15
Released:17 April 2018
Reviewer: Leon Wing
At thirty-six pages, this collection of flash fiction is slim, comprising ten pieces. Here is a run-through of the stories, to give you an inkling of the kind of fiction to expect.
“A Rainy Miracle” tells its story within a short timeline: in the morning, on a rainy day. The character is mulling over her relationship with men, especially one that got away. Even if she is not named, you guess that she could be American by the expressions she uses, like “shucks”. Also, the setting is “gloomy and cold”, so she is not in hot and humid Malaysia.
In the second story, “Friend”, even with a pastor, you are certain you are not in some church around Jalan Brickfields. This is compounded by such names as Derek and Dom. But one could be wrong, and they happen to be Malaysian Christians. The tale here has Dom going in and out of realities.
In “Josephine is Anna”, “blonde hair” and “blue eyes” give it away that we are not in the land of the nasi lemak. Nevertheless, the characters enact a tale of loss and acceptance.
The story “Journeys of Life” is set in Greece. How does someone on holiday, dissembling under another name for the sake of anonymity, concentrate on her book and keep from being drawn to a good looking man who accosts her? By refusing his invitation. But at what costs?
“Living in the Moment” is just it, the premise as the title implies. A naive girl gets invited out to a bistro, where the menu comprises merely drinks and nothing else. One feels the ending is precipitately cut off, when you want to know what will happen to her at the end of the night.
In “Lucky Charm”, magic prevails, and introvert Kat meets her equal at her door. In “Periwinkle”, there is more magic when the narrator hears music and finds a forest appearing before her.
The last three stories touch on the theme of mistreatment. In “Punishment”, we see how someone who was mistreated in the past would do the same to another person. In “Scissors on Skin”, a girl feels guilty even after her mistreatment, leading her to self-harm. In “Your Happiness is Mine”, we see a stalker who does not understand why she was loved. So, she mistreated the person she is stalking.
The writing is competent, in so far as grammar. Sarah Krishnan has potential to be a good fiction writer if she can refrain from expressions like “literally screaming”, “weird howling noise”, “weird surgical room”, “dazzling smile”, and “legs felt like jelly”. Also, a few characters have “golden hair”. The rationale for this could be the writer believes Malaysians would rather read about westerners. With some help from an editor, she might polish her writing and not rely on set and facile phrases but attempt more original constructions. Let’s hope, for her next book, she might consider putting in some Malaysian characters. If she is not convinced, perhaps a recent short story collection about mutton and marriages from a Malaysian writer might show her that local stories can sell.
Even if each story in this book averages around three to five pages, at RM 15, the book is a good buy, if you want to get a quick read, and support Malaysian fiction.
Sarah Krishnan is an introvert with a passion for writing as she expresses her deep desires and personal experiences through her stories. She adores tea and rain as much as she loves chocolates. With these three ingredients, she can concoct any story that she wants. When she’s not writing, she’s a bathroom singer, a teacher and an avid reader of fiction.
