[On May 10, 2021 Strange Horizons officially expressed its political support for Palestinian solidarity. The views of Tangent Online reviewers are not necessarily those of Strange Horizons. Fiction critiqued at Tangent Online is, as much as is humanly possible, without prejudice and based solely on artistic merit.]

Strange Horizons, April 25, 2022

“You, or Dissociation as a Survival Tool in Pursuit of Finding a Mental Haven of Sanity and Companionship” by Diana Barbarena-Jonas (translated by the author)

“Panorama People” by Azrin Fauzi (translated by Ali Aiman Mazwin)

Reviewed by Seraph

“You, or Dissociation as a Survival Tool in Pursuit of Finding a Mental Haven of Sanity and Companionship” by Diana Barbarena-Jonas

I cannot imagine that a story of this nature was intended to be easy or comfortable reading, and it certainly is neither of the two. No name is given to the narrator nor to the child until the very end, at which point the names expressed are Ona and Bel, respectively. I phrase it this way because it is almost as if until the end the names are not of value, as if the identities were incomplete or too damaged to bear the names. The torturous path through the narration for once seems to deserve the content warnings assessed, and make no mistake, it is quite torturous. No time frame was described that I could notice, nor location beyond that it is remote and that there is disease and pollution in the environment. The story follows the experience of the mother and child though the voice of the former, and fluctuates between standard narration and what I can only describe as a panicked stream of consciousness that forces you to stop and puzzle out the actual words being used. This is not a story that is meant to entertain, but to convey… but just what it is meant to convey I am unsure of. I have no doubt of the meaningfulness of the content, it screams out to be heard and understood, and I respect that deeply. I simply can’t begin to know who to recommend it to beyond someone trying to study the psychology involved.

“Panorama People” by Azrin Fauzi

The story is told through the eyes (and camera lens) of three distinct voices: Noor, Indra, and Osbert Teo. Much of the writing is from their different perspectives, but it is highly descriptive and spends much time inside their minds. The setting is of the island of Penang, in Malaysia. The timeline isn’t directly specified but the mention of silent motion pictures in black and white puts it right around the early decades of the twentieth century. So much of the narration here draws a stark contrast between the innate natural beauty of the land and the ugly refuse (pink dust) of the corporations that now occupy it. Even the way the voices are referred to, as Persons I, II, and III, respectively… it draws a contrast between this detached and almost disaffected view of the ruination and this passionate love of the beauty beneath it that may or may not still exist. There is a feeling of tragedy and loss within the words, a sense of something beautiful that can never be recovered, only remembered through painting and through film.