Legacy traces the fortunes of a Malayan family from the 1870s to the end of the Emergency. in the acknowledgements, the author explains that much of it draws on his family history, and indeed much of it feels like a guided walk through three generations' worth of Malayan history in the company of a handful of participants. It unfolds in short chapters separated by substantial time lapses, sometimes amounting to several years. As a result, most chapters carry a substantial burden of exposition, and there's a lot of what's known in science-fiction circles as 'As you know, Bob' dialogue. in this case, that's not actually a drawback. On the contrary, ignorant as I am about Malayan/Malaysian culture and history, I found I was being painlessly educated about the changing relationships of Malays, Chinese, English on the peninsula and being invited to engage with an unfamiliar, relatively benign perspective on English colonialism. And on top of that, there were all the pleasures of the family saga, with an occasional nod to Somerset Maugham from the other side of the cultural divide. ( )

The plot is set in motion by the killing of British resident J.W Birch, and his pocket watch falling into the hands of Mastura, a member of the Perak royal family, who vows to return it to the rightful owners. It follows Mastura and her descendants through 80 tumultuous years of Malaysian history, culminating in Independence.

One of the great pleasures of the book is the way it brings alive real historical characters and pivotal scenes from Malaysia's past - here's Birch marooned on a sandbank in the Perak River, here's Swettenham at Carcosa, here's a meeting about the drainage problems of Kampong Baru. The novel is meticulously researched and he quite effortlessly opens a door and lets you slip back in time. I learned such a lot and am deeply grateful.

But it is no stuffy historical tome, and there is plenty of dramatic incident to keep the plot rolling nicely. There's also a very pleasing old school correctness about the prose - the author cared deeply about his craft and for the English language. (Incidentally, was also an educationalist and wrote the 322 Communicative English language syllabus that was used in all secondary schools.)

If there is a problem with the book it is that the plot is rather tugged along, because of the authors desire to cover all significant historical events. My own feeling is that it really should have been published as two books and more time and space given to fleshing out the characters. "Pare back, and deepen" is what I would have said to Shahriza if I'd been sitting on the other side of the editor's desk. Sometimes too the book doesn't wear its historical didacticism very well - there are substantial chunks of background at the beginnings of each chapter which are a bit indigestible.

But I do think that this is one of the most important locally written books of the past few years, and I hope that in the long term it wins the recognition that it deserves.

You can find an extract here http://www.viweb.freehosting.net/vilit_Shahriza.htm and a much better review than mine http://amirmu.blogspot.com/2008/08/birth-of-nation.html ( )