Delicious Hunger

The Malaysian Communist Party’s insurgency is rendered in vivid detail by Fan, a member of the party’s guerrilla forces from 1976 to 1989, in this remarkable collection, his English-language debut. In “Spell,” communist fighters catch a wild boar and try to bring it back to their camp alive so they can make pig blood soup. The heartfelt “Swansong in That Faraway Place” follows a pregnant revolutionary soldier who weighs the potential sacrifice of motherhood against the dreams of the insurgency, which is being fought to ensure a “better tomorrow” for the next generation. The narrator of the title entry reflects on joining the war decades earlier with a childhood friend, who earned the nickname Delicious for his enthusiasm about all the new food they ate in the jungle, such as cassava cake fried in elephant fat. The pair reunite years later and discuss their loss of innocence and the hunger they endured when rations ran low, agreeing that “without hunger, nothing tastes as good.” The revolutionaries’ daily lives come into sharp relief in Fan’s stories, which take on added depth through their exploration of themes of friendship, love, and purpose. Readers will find much to savor in these impassioned and unique tales. (June)