A Spoonful of Malaysian Magic: An Anthology

This beautiful book is an anthology of 12 fantasy short stories written by 12 different authors set in Malaysia or that weave in Malaysian folktales or retellings of Malaysian myths.

The cove attracted me most to this book and the short stories did not disappoint me. Each story weaved its own magic and fantasy around me that I finished the majority of the book in one sitting (the first story was hard for me to get into). I loved so many of these that it's hard to pick my favorite from the book -- but Visitor in the Night by Zufar Zeid pulled at my heartstrings and made me feel so many emotions. I loved these stories so much!

I hadn't read a lot of Malaysian fantasy stories or Malaysian stories in general. After reading this anthology, I see so much how multicultural the country is and hope that more Malaysian stories get published in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Teaspoon Publishing for letting me have an ARC of this book for an honest review!

Oh my goodness this was an unexpected treat to read!

This anthology series leans heavily on horror fantasy themes, using highly descriptive language and emotional scenes to portray strong stories with new and distinct messages.

Twelve stories are included in this anthology series. I didn’t know much about Malaysian folklore before reading this book, and while I still don’t completely understand some of the myths, I truly enjoyed reading this book and found it to be incredibly refreshing and enjoyable.

If you’re into heavy fantasy themes, this is the book for you.

"What better way to seek comfort than in a fairy tale?" Quite a question posed in this little book.

This is an anthology of very different stories and they come together in what becomes a generally good book.

I will say some of the stories were not as strong as others. There were definitely two that stood out as something the authors wanted to make bigger but had to constrain for the sake of a 'short' story.

There were some that really got me, either because I loved them or they broke my heart, like Visitor in the Night by Zufar Zeid. The Fiery Tale of Embun and The Prince by Julia Alba was a lovely story about family, found family and acceptance. And I absolutely loved Moonlight City of the Hidden Ones by Joni Chng and The Dahlia of Hutan Kilat by Hamizah Adzmi. Those secret touches of magic in an otherwise day-to-day world is something we could all do with more of. And I just really liked the old man in The Rivers and Lakes by Collin Yeoh. That could absolutely be a longer story or some novella of the man's experiences and learning.

There was one bit in the The Fiery Tale of Embun and The Prince that made me raise an eyebrow. There the narrator tells us the demons looked similar to humans, then lists all the ways they absolutely didn't. But that was a small thing in an otherwise enjoyable short story.

I don't think every book needs to be the best thing ever since sliced bread and buy it for all your friends. Like I said, there were a couple of stories that didn't click with me the same as the ones I mentioned here and only two I would say I didn't enjoy really. But the book as a whole is good, it's enjoyable, it's light in places and it is so rich with myths you can't help but hope there will be more Malaysian magic in the world to follow it up.

A Spoonful of Malaysian Magic is, in my belief, intended to be a taste of Malaysian fiction inspired by the country's multicultural folklore and history but is not meant to be a capstone of contemporary Malaysian speculative fic. In other words: for new readers unfamiliar with Malaysia and her patchwork blanket of stories, this anthology gets the ball rolling.

With the range of stories it contains—from supernatural fantasy pulling from traditional Malay folklore, to dystopian homages to Chinese wuxia dramas reminiscent of imported Hong Kong dramas from the 70s to 00s, to Indian slice-of-life magic realism, to (and my initial surprise) the odd one Japanese and few Western-influenced short stories, to contemporary speculative fiction set in KL, and more—and the homages to the country's biodiversity and geography, it is a nice starter pack of fiction that can initiate the unfamiliar to the richness of Malaysia. My favourite stories in this collection are Visitor in the Night, Moonlight City of the Hidden Ones, Remembering How to Cook, The Rivers and Lakes, and The Fiery Tale of Embun and The Prince.

For my own sake, and any others that this review might help, I want to share my musings about the inclusion of Japanese and Western-influenced short stories here. As I mentioned, I was initially surprised at their inclusion as they're not the first things I associate with (modern) Malaysia and her stories. However, when you consider the country's history and the multiple occasions it was occupied by foreign forces between the 16th and 20th centuries, I say: understandable. Colonisation has permanent consequences that can stain and change a country (for better or worse), many of which have lasting effects still seen today. Folklore breathes with the inhabitants and carriers of stories in a given place. History noted the presence of the Portuguese, Dutch, British and Japanese in Malaysia. These are facts that cannot be erased. Hence, upon reading the first page of those shorts in this collection, I was surprised, but then not.

For those who know of Malaysia and/or hail from her land, this anthology is like coming home. For those that are new: welcome.

Thanks to Netgalley and Teaspoon Publishing for providing me with the e-ARC/DRC in exchange for an honest review.

A Spoonful of Malaysian Magic, edited by Anna Tan, is a delightful anthology of short stories by Malaysian authors and featuring the legends and tales of Malaysia as elements of those stories. A handful of the stories are also themed around cooking and food, and others around family, though not all share these themes.

The stories in this anthology were wonderful, but a few stood out especially for me. “Visitor in the Night” by Zufar Zeid includes a forgotten goddess and the gorgeous stories she recounts. Rowan C’s “Taxation” depicts a fantasy-style society in which monthly taxes to the central government are a significant plot point, while also showing a family unit comprising four adults in two couples and the children of one couple (which I really love as a version of a family not seen as much in Western fiction). Sharmila Ganesan’s “Remembering How to Cook” is a beautiful tale of magical food and memory and family. “Up in Flames” by Stuart Danker is a cute twist on dreams and prophecy as they intersect in a young person who wants to be a wizard no matter what. Finally, “The Fiery Tale of Embun and the Prince” by Julia Alba, about an orphan girl and the prince who saved her, combines beautiful prose and a powerful message about expectations and normalcy.

Though I haven’t mentioned all of the stories in this anthology, every one of them is equal parts exciting and moving. If you’re wanting to expand your reading horizons into a culture you may know little about, A Spoonful of Malaysian Magic is a fantastic starting point!

The publisher provided me with an advance copy of this anthology for review consideration.

I truly enjoyed this little book of small tales. It was stepping into a whole new world of different adventures, lore and myth. Some stories were easy to gobble up and fall in love with; others were harder to get through. Two of my favorites were about the food magic and the last one about a dragon and a huntress. There is no spice, just light romance. I would recommend this book to those looking for fantasy outside of the usual tropes and flair of what’s out there right now.

Thank you Netgalley and Teaspoon Publishing for this wonderful read.

I loved reading this. I found it really powerful and enjoyed learning more about Malaysian cultures and beliefs through these short stories about magic. I recommend picking up this book.

This anthology is a lovely showcase to the SFF reading crowd of the rich and non-homogenous flavours of Malaysian mythology: it definitely gets the point across that this diversity of voices is Malaysia’s strength. My introduction to Malaysian myths and folklore was Zen Cho, but I was happy to read and learn more since then, I feel this book would be good both as a primer for newcomers to this flavour of SFF and those with an established interest in it already. I personally can’t wait to add this book to my collection once it comes out.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the arc.

While anthologies are always a mixed bag, I found the majority of these stories engaging and well-crafted, and I especially appreciated that they introduced readers to the amazing cultural diversity of Malaysia - I really learned a lot by quickly googling lots of words for locations, foods, mythological creatures, etc, which totally enhanced the experience.

Of course, like most anthologies, some stories were clearly stronger than others, and I found the ordering of the stories to be a little confusing at times. The anthology throws you in with a story that's very heavily steeped in lore to the point of being difficult to follow, which is perhaps not the easiest entry point; I would have been more equipped to enjoy it after having warmed up with some of the more accessible stories. Additionally, the last two stories (while both enjoyable), could be described with the basic plot of a girl falling in love with a dragon boy. Perhaps those two could have been separated a little.

Still, that's mostly just nitpicking. I really enjoyed this anthology and am glad I got the chance to read it!