The Adventurous Streak - Revised

'The Adventurous Streak' by Yik Kwei

This short novel, Yik Kwei's first, gives an extremely interesting insight into the way of life of the Straits Chinese people in Malaysia, otherwise known as the Perakanan culture. Drawing on the author's first-hand knowledge, it revolves around three different generations of the same family, who experience the ups and downs of conflict and rivalry, respect for tradition and the desire to break away from it. Throughout all this, many of the characters exhibit an "adventurous streak", something which binds their lives together, much as the different strands of the book are bound together by the title.

We are then drawn into the story of how Pak as a young man rebelled against his father by running away and founding a new life for himself 200 miles from his home-town. Many years later, he himself is rebelled against by some of his children.

Many intricate and fascinating aspects of Perakanan culture are described in the book, from the Tea Ceremony to a vivid picture of how some Straits Chinese survived the Japanese Occupation by melting into the backwaters of forgotten villages.

Hopefully, Yik Kwei will write more about this disappearing world since fiction is paradoxically often the best way of illustrating the truth.

Peter Cluer
Ex-Head of English
Sir William Romney's School,
Tetbury, Glos, UK.