What makes us human
These stories about faith, fate and loss make for some compelling reading despite the uneven writing.
A ROBOT becomes a Muslim in “Act Of Faith”, the first story in Fadzlishah Johanabas’ collection Faith And The Machine.
“What’s wrong with a Muslim android?” Nothing at all. The premise is an exciting and promising one, and I think it’s a brilliant idea, full of promise, not least offering the writer ( and reader) the chance to explore and consider the meaning of faith, and religious expression, and freedom.
Unfortunately, Fadzlishah does not examine the whys and wherefores of the artificial intelligence, Salehuddin’s belief. The android itself does not question it. Indeed, religion is not something most Malaysians discuss. We may declare our faith, but we don’t question it, at least not openly.
“Why?” is never the question, much less “How can...?” “Belief in God” is the first of our five National Principles ( the Rukun Negara), and it’s presence on the list signals how much religion is taken for granted, how little choice we have in the matter. ( I’ve often wondered if being an atheist disqualifies one from being Malaysian.) Therefore, Salehuddin’s unquestioning acceptance of a faith thrust upon him might simply reflect our reality: Much like a human child, the robot merely receives and obediently practises what it has been taught. As a character in the story says, “Free will is nothing ...”.
Despite not delivering what I felt it could have, “Act Of Faith” remains my favourite story in this collection. I like the pared- down writing, the interaction between the characters, and especially their conversations, in particular their philosophical musings. As mentioned above, the premise is outstanding and original. I suppose a sequel, which looks at Salehuddin’s continuing journey as a Muslim android, is too much to hope for, Fadzlishah?
In fact, the title of this collection, Faith And The Machine, presents a myriad possibilities. The author identifies the “machine” as hope, but it could be interpreted in a variety of ways. My reading of the stories makes me think of the machine as fate. As Fadzlishah states in his introduction, his stories are about faith. I would like to add that they
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are also about loss and fate, and how they can either be one’s master or be mastered.
These three themes – faith, fate, and loss – serve to bind Faith And The Machine’s 14 stories together, but they are not enough to make the selection a totally cohesive one. While the collection’s mix of genres jars a little, it’s not so much the jump from sci- fi to horror to medical drama that grates, but the unevenness in the quality of the author’s writing.
Stories like “Fountain Of Youth”, “Secrets”, “Shifting Tides”, “Mother” and “Hospitality Of A Goddess” are under- developed and unoriginal, even trite. They read like juvenilia, especially compared with the longer pieces that properly showcase Fadzlishah’s strengths.
In my opinion, the author is most successful when he is given the space ( and word count) to explore human relationships and emotions. He does this best in his stories that have hospital settings, like “Equatorial Snow”, “In Memoriam”, “The Cure”, “A Long Sigh Goodnight”, and “Picking Up The Pieces”. These stories have a powerful ring of truth to them, probably because Fadzlishah’s background is in medicine; but what makes them especially enjoyable is that, in addition to how vividly the medical settings and procedures are described, the intense emotions that are inevitably felt in these situations are keenly and clearly portrayed.
Some might feel that the anguish and desperation depicted makes for too much melodrama, but anyone who has been in the position of watching while a loved one fights for his life will recognise Fadzlishah’s unflinchingly honest yet sensitive portrayal of grief, and the terror, mess, and madness that come with it.
I also like “Kuda Kepang” ( inspired by the legend of Puteri Gunung Ledang), the pontianak story “Blood Debt”, and “Visions”, about a woman cursed with the ability to see ghosts. All three recall the wonder and thrill of watching old Malay mythology- based and horror movies on the telly, and suggest that Fadzlishah should write more stories that deal with Malaysian myths, as well as Malay spirits and ghouls. His storytelling abilities shine in these three stories, and kept me turning the pages and wanting more.
Although I would have, given a chance, curated quite a different collection of the author’s work, and although I will not be revisiting some of the pieces featured in this collection, I do feel that this is a book that Fadzlishah can be proud of.
The bottom line is that all 14 stories examine, some more fully than others, what it is to be human and that is always what makes a book compelling, to me and to many readers.
3.
9.
by yasmin Mogahed