Description

Winner of the Epigram Books Fiction Prize
‘Slick, sharp . . . a joy to read’ – Tash Aw, author of Five Star Billionaire

Jasmine Leong is the heiress apparent to Phoenix, her family’s billion-ringgit company known especially for its pork snacks. When her grandmother, the great Madame Leong, unexpectedly passes away, Jasmine discovers she is actually a Malay Muslim and this newfound identity threatens to upend her life and ambitions.

Finding herself at the centre of a political controversy, and caught between two men who love her, Karina Robles Bahrin’s The Accidental Malay examines the human cost of a country’s racial policies and paints a portrait of a woman unwilling to accept the fate history has designated for her.

‘A novel both generous and scathing; both honest and nuanced; both grounded in human emotion and engaged with history and politics’ – Preeta Samarasan, author of Evening Is the Whole Day

Publisher Review

A sharply observed, elegantly crafted culture-clash state-of-the-nation drama that is not only witty but heartfelt. — Epigram Book Fiction Prize Judges Desire, religion and politics collide in this delicious debut . . . Slick, sharp and full of the frustrations and joys of modern urban Malaysia — Tash Aw, author of We, The Survivors A deeply nuanced study in the sometimes suffocating intertwining of race and religion for Malay-Muslims. — Suffian Hakim, author of Harris bin Potter and the Stoned Philosopher A novel both generous and scathing . . . a fast-paced, character-driven, furious and yet somehow joyful exploration of Malay ethnoreligious supremacy — Preeta Samarasan, author of Evening is the Whole Day Braving the intersections and contradictions of race, class and gender, one woman’s private campaign for self- definition becomes a search for love amidst corporate manoeuvrings, familial pressures and the challenging complexities of her country’s cultural politics. — Cyril Wong, author of This Side of Heaven Stylish, trenchant, yet brimming with heart, The Accidental Malay captures the complexities of contemporary Malaysia with wit and grace — Kirstin Chen, New York Times bestselling author of Counterfeit