As we near Malaysia Day on September 16, our thoughts turn to the history of our country, now 64 years old. Or rather, to the many histories, of families who were born and bred here, or who came from elsewhere and made a life for themselves here, of families disrupted by war or brought together by other circumstances. Some of these stories have made their way into books as Malaysian authors mine their own personal histories to tell stories that not only resonate with Malaysians but those around the world. Tan Twan Eng, Tash Aw and Preta Samarasen are just three of them but there are certainly as many authors as there are stories. In this episode, Marina talks to Viji Krishnamoorthy about Malaysian family stories and what they can teach us about our nation today. Mentioned this epsiode: R. K. Narayan - Malgudi Days Elif Shafak - The Island of Missing Trees Catherine Menon - Fragile Monsters Mohsin Hamid Khaled Hosseini Rohinton Mistry John Steinbeck Négar Djavadi - Disoriental Elena Ferrante Additional suggestions from Viji: Sarah Moss - The Tidal Zone; Signs for Lost Children Matt Haig - How To Stop Time; The Midnight Library Max Porter - Grief is the Thing with Feathers; Lanny For more information about us, visit zafigo.com/busy-reading-books