A Mosque in the Jungle by Othman Wok
Format: 240 pages, Paperback edited by Ng Yi-Sheng
Audiobook by Storytel narrated by Mathilda D'silva
Published: May 1, 2021 by Epigram Books
Language: English
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
★★★★☆

Blurb:

Othman Wok left an indelible mark on Singaporean politics and society, and was “steadfast and unwavering in believing in a multiracial, multi-religious, meritocratic Singapore” (in the words of PM Lee Hsien Loong). In addition, he pioneered the writing of ghost stories and horror fiction in Malay while working as a young reporter in the 1950s. These stories made him a household name in the Malay-speaking world, years before his political career took off. In fact, these tales were arguably the first examples of horror fiction in either Singapore or Malaysia, in any language.

A Mosque in the Jungle assembles two dozen of the best stories from his three fiction collections in English: Malayan Horror (1991), The Disused Well (1995) and Unseen Occupants (2006). Curated by award-winning poet and fictionist Ng Yi-Sheng, this book provides an entry point into Othman’s fiction, and a window into the work of a “literary genius” (Farouk A. Peru, Malay Mail Online).

Trigger warning: explicit description of blood, mutilation, and animal abuse.
Peringatan: deskripsi eksplisit darah, mutilasi, dan kekerasan pada hewan.

Review:

I've made a thread about this in twitter.
https://twitter.com/mahdiyanti/status...

Fiuh, akhirnya selesai juga aku membaca-dengar buku ini. Isinya kumpulan cerita yang nggak kuduga ternyata sangat banyak. Awalnya aku hanya menduga, ah, mungkin sekitar 12-13 cerita. Itu pun sebetulnya sudah cukup banyak. Tapi, coba tebak, ada berapa cerita di dalamnya? Limabelas? Salah! Buku ini isinya dua puluh tiga cerita! DUA PULUH TIGA!

Banyak banget, kan?

Saking banyaknya, aku merasa kok nggak selesai-selesai bacanya (dengernya). Malah pas kupikir udah selesai, ternyata masih ada 2 lagi! Luar biasa. Untungnya aku membuat sedikit ulasan di Twitter, biar nggak lupa isinya.

Dari keduapuluh-tiga ceritanya, aku menyukai The Sound in The Wall, The Anklets, The Eyes of Mak Long Lemah, The Mystery of the SS Juita, dan Her Dead Husband Hasn't Left Yet, yang kuberi bintang 4. Sayangnya nggak ada yang bisa sampai bintang 5, mungkin karena aku merasa ceritanya familiar. Walaupun ada plot twist, kejutannya tidak terlalu mengejutkan dan lumayan bisa ditebak. Tapi dari semua yang kusebutkan ini, aku paling menyukai The Mystery of the SS Juita dan Her Dead Husband Hasn't Left Yet. Keduanya cukup memberikan kesan seram dan akhir menggantung yang cukup membuat bertanya-tanya walaupun sebetulnya jawabannya bisa ditebak.

Ada satu lagi yang kuberi bintang 4, yaitu The Mad Artist karena plot twist yang cukup mengejutkan, tapi membuatku terguncang karena agak sadis. Aku tidak menyukai hal-hal yang terlalu sadis, apalagi kalau ternyata aku tidak menduganya sama sekali, jadi aku tidak memasukkannya dalam kelompok di atas. Kalau dikurangi bintangnya, kayaknya nggak bisa juga sih, karena plot twist-nya lumayan nendang.

Untuk kelompok cerita horor-romantis, yang paling kusukai adalah The Sound in The Wall, yang kuberi bintang 4. Lainnya kuberi bintang 3, seperti Under The Banyan Tree, Witri's Vengeance, Sweet Suriati, dan Tengku Ripin's Wife. Tapi dari horor-romantis bintang 3 ini, aku paling suka Under The Banyan Tree, karena bittersweet dan heart-wrenching. Dengerinnya malah bikin sedih dan terharu, bukan takut. Aku juga suka dengan formula ceritanya.

Sedangkan sisanya, rata-rata kuberi bintang 3, karena ceritanya cukup familiar, legenda dan mitosnya juga cukup umum, seperti A Mosque in the Jungle (yang jadi judul buku ini), Dollah Returns, Si Hitam's Curse, Among the Gravestones, Who Shot Sergeant Ito?, Visitor from the Coffin, The Golden Lantern, The Skulls of Kuala Banat, Monster Catch, Hidir's Trial, dan Mermaid's Tears. Untuk Si Hitam's Curse ini ada sedikit trigger warning tentang animal abuse, terutama mitos kucing hitam bawa sial yang legendaris. Bikin kesel dan sedih.

Lalu untuk Visitor from the Coffin, aku merasa agak aneh karena si terduga arwah adalah keturunan Cina, sedangkan dalam adat Cina, bukannya mayat itu dibakar dan abunya dimasukkan dalam guci? Sedangkan judul ceritanya memasukkan kata 'coffin' yang berarti peti mati. Rasanya tidak sesuai dengan karakter yang diceritakan. Di antara bintang 3 yang kusebutkan ini, aku paling menyukai Visitor from the Coffin karena kesan sedihnya, walaupun ada kejanggalan plot, sedangkan yang paling seram adalah Among the Gravestones, karena sedikit close to home. Kalau penasaran, bisa dibaca di blog pribadiku di sini.

Secara keseluruhan, bintang 4. Ada kemungkinan kudengerin ulang tapi cuma untuk cerita-cerita favorit. Oiya! Aku juga sangat suka dengan pembacaan narasinya! Logat Singlish yang kental pada bagian dialognya cocok banget! Tapi untungnya bagian ceritanya nggak pakai Singlish, jadi bisa dengan cepat dipahami.

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Tentang Penulis

Othman Wok was Singapore's first Minister for Social Affairs, serving from October 1963 to June 1977. He was also Singapore's ambassador to Indonesia and served on the boards of the Singapore Tourism Board and Sentosa Development Corporation. For his political, economic and social contributions to the nation-building of Singapore, he was awarded the Order of Nila Utama (2nd Class) in 1983 by President Devan Nair.

After retiring from politics in 1981, Othman was able to devote more time to writing, and became a regular writer of horror tales for a Malaysian weekend newspaper, Mingguan Malaysia. He published his biography, Never in My Wildest Dreams, in 2000, a project he agreed to in 1994 at the suggestion of his daughter, Lily. Othman also began compiling the short stories that he had written for various newspapers and magazines over the years. Some of his short story collections include Malayan Horror: Macabre Tales from Singapore and Malaya (1991), Kisah-kisah Seram dan Misteri (1995) and Unseen Occupants and Other Chilling Tales (2006).

Othman passed away on 17 April 2017 at the age of 92.

Tentang Editor

Ng Yi-Sheng is a poet, fictionist, playwright, journalist and activist. He was awarded the Singapore Literature Prize for his debut poetry collection, last boy (2006). His other publications include a spiritual sequel to that work, called A Book of Hims (2017); a compilation of his best spoken-word pieces, Loud Poems for a Very Obliging Audience (2016); the bestselling non-fiction book, SQ21: Singapore Queers in the 21st Century (2006); and a novelisation of the Singapore gangster movie, Eating Air (2008). He also co-edited GASPP: A Gay Anthology of Singapore Poetry and Prose (2010) and Eastern Heathens: An Anthology of Subverted Asian Folklore (2013). He recently completed his MA in creative writing at the University of East Anglia and is currently pursuing his PhD at Nanyang Technological University. Lion City is his first fiction collection, published in 2018 by Epigram Books.