LANGKAWI – Karina Robles Bahrin moved from bustling Kuala Lumpur to the resort island in Langkawi in 2011, thinking that with more control of her time, she would, at last, have time to work on a novel.
Instead, she found herself busier than before. Setting up her business and running La Pari-Pari left her with less time to pursue her dream of writing a novel.
However, the opportunity came when the first lockdown happened and she found herself with absolutely nothing to do.
“We had no guests at the hotel and we were eating whatever stock we had from the restaurant's fridge so it would not spoil. It was then that I found that I had run out of excuses not to write the novel.
“I told myself, if I cannot do it now, then I’ll never be able to do it,” she told The Vibes.
Therefore, she started writing, weaving with it fragments of text she penned down more than a decade earlier to create the story she had always wanted to write. She also took an online course on novel writing to keep herself on track.
The Accidental Malay is about Jasmine Leong, a workaholic who aims to be the next chief executive of a bak kwa company owned by her wealthy family. However, her desires become blurry as she starts to question her identity when she discovers she is actually Malay on her mother’s side.
Karina’s book looks at how Malaysia’s racial policies impact a woman unwilling to accept the fate that history has designated her. It took her only four months to complete the first draft of her manuscript. She then took two months off away from the novel before she started editing.
By the end of 2020, the story was almost set. However, as the deadline for submission drew near, Malaysia came under another lockdown. Afraid that she could not submit her manuscript on time, she contacted Epigram to let them know it may be late.
Though they were lenient during the time of Covid-19, Karina also had some trouble looking for a printer in Langkawi to print the hundreds of pages before couriering it to Singapore.
It was received by Epigram in the nick of time. And a good thing, too – because Karina emerged the winner of the Epigram Books Fiction Prize 2022, besting three other finalists from Singapore for the RM77,777.50 (SG$25,000) in prize money.
Now with tourism in full swing and Langkawi’s borders open to the world, Karina is back on her feet, hosting guests at her hotel and restaurant.
The Accidental Malay will be published by Epigram and will be available at all major bookstores starting July this year. It will also be on sale at major online stores. – The Vibes, January 26, 2022
