The Malaysian writer, Chuah Guat Eng (b. 1943), read English literature
in the 1960s at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur and German literature
at the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich. She then went on to work
for more than two decades in the advertising industry. Her literary career
began in the 1990s. Her debut novel Echoes of Silence (1994) is
the tale, in the guise of a thriller, of the growth of a young woman.
Murder investigations lead the main character to learn to be aware of
her self, her womanhood and love, but also of racial prejudices that erode
human relationships and how past events are reflected in the present.
She also learns to appreciate once more the Asian culture of silence,
which her European education had caused her to forget, and which she initially
rebelled against. The murder mystery itself is a conspiracy of silence
on the part of most of the charecters. In addition to her debut novel,
Guat Eng has retold the folktales of her native land in Tales From
the Baram River (2001), and written a dramatic monologue entitled
Pandora's Box (1996) for International Aids Week. The latter has
been performed in both Kuala Lumpur and in Pakistan (1999). Her poems,
short stories and articles have appeared in several newspapers and periodicals
and on the Internet. A new collection of short stories is due to appear
in the near future. Guat Eng is currently working on her doctor's thesis
on Malaysian literature in English at the National University of Malaysia.
She also runs creative writing workshops at the Actors Studio Academy
in Kuala Lumpur. |