Novel · A way to begin
Iakah Salmah?
Not translated into English
Synopsis
Is it Salmah? In Penang, in the twenties, Salmah, a young woman educated at a Western school but who has remained faithful to Islam, embodies the modern woman. Her education and freedom raise questions for a society attached to its customs. Through her and the families around her, the novel brings up for debate the causes of the backwardness of Malay society, sets rigid tradition against ideas of progress and argues that women should be educated and gain their freedom.
Context
It is its author's second novel, after a first book published in 1927; some studies date it to 1929. It is regarded as the first Malay novel set in a local setting. Written in Penang, it belongs to the reform movement of the twenties, which saw education as the key to the progress of the Malays. The Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, the national language institute, reissued it in 2016.
Who it is for
A novel in Malay, of nearly four hundred pages in its reissue, important above all for the history of the Malay novel; it does not exist in French.
Prizes and reception
A milestone in Malay literary history, which scholarship links to the reform movement; it remains available in its 2016 reissue.
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