Nanyang
The Lure of the Southern Ocean
to Lands of Opportunity & Danger
By Khoo Kheng-Hor
December 2007
Pelanduk Publications
Distributed By Coronet Books 
ISBN: 9789679789485
462 pages, Illustrated, 5 1/4 x 7 1/2"
$29.50 Paper Original
After two acclaimed novels, Taikor (nominated for the 2006 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award) and Mamasan, Malaysian storyteller Khoo Kheng-Hor now brings you this epic novel, Nanyang.
Today, many people around the world have heard of Malaysia and Singapore. But not many really knew that these two nations were once known as Nanyang, literally meaning the "Southern Ocean", a name given by the early Chinese migrants who flocked to this part of the world to escape from war, poverty, hunger, and famine, and to seek their fortune.
In this absorbing historical saga, Khoo weaves an engaging tale linking the multi-racial peoples who inhabit the two countries: the orang asli (the aborigines), the people from various parts of Southeast Asia collectively known as the Malays, the Chinese (migrants and Straits-born Peranakan), the Indians, and of course, the Eurasians, descendants of inter-marriages of the natives and the Europeans, such as the early Portuguese who came to colonize the wealthy Malacca Sultanate, before being chased out by the Dutch, who in turn were outmaneuvered by the British, who thereafter systemmatically colonized the land to be known as British Malaya and the Crown Colony of Singapore until they too were driven out by the invading Japanese.
Here is the fascinating story of their relationships, as seen through the lives of four generations as they toiled and struggled for wealth and power, fought for their beliefs and freedom, and felt their hopes and dreams for their future and those of their offsprings, as Nanyang became two separate fledging nations.
