{"product_id":"copy-of-beth-yahp-the-red-pearl-other-stories","title":"Beth Yahp, The Crocodile Fury","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVagabond Press are proud to re-release Beth Yahp's first novel \u003cem\u003eThe Crocodile Fury\u003c\/em\u003e in 2017.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSet in a convent school on a jungle-covered hill on the outskirts of a Southeast Asian city, \u003cem\u003eThe Crocodile Fury\u003c\/em\u003e follows the fortunes of three generations: the grandmother who was a bonded servant when the convent was a rich man's mansion; the mother who works each day in the convent laundry; and the girl who tells the story. Filled with naughty convent girls, a ‘ghostchasing’ grandmother and stories of mysterious sea creatures and a Lizard Boy who grows into a fierce anti-colonial jungle fighter, Yahp’s novel was first published in Australia in 1992. ‘Serpentine and lithe… distinguished by Yahp's mischievous wit and wondrously spirited storytelling’ \u003cem\u003e(The Age),\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eThe Crocodile Fury\u003c\/em\u003e is also ‘a novel of wonders... rich with magic, secrets, dragons, curses, ghosts and most importantly stories’\u003cem\u003e(Australian Book Review\u003c\/em\u003e). It won the Victorian Premier’s Prize for First Fiction and the NSW Ethnic Affairs Commission Award and has been translated into several languages.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Yahp skillfully spins a yarn about her native Malaysia. The tale recounts the lives of three generations of women in a family—the narrator, a cloistered convent school girl; the girl's unlucky mother, who does laundry for the convent; and the girl's grandmother, a servant to the rich man who had lived in the mansion that later became the convent. The grandmother stars in this tale, and shares her expertise on the topic of 'ghostchasing', with her granddaughter: 'Never fit your body into the natural curves and hollows of the earth or rocks or trees for these are the resting places of spirits, who won't appreciate being sat on, or coming back to find you there.' Yahp's lyrical novel blends sensory impressions and superstitious lore. While facts are repeated without moving the plot forward and aspects of the plot go unexplained (why is the girl's bullying school pal so important to the grandmother?), the story vividly and rhythmically evokes a society where Eastern traditions continuously clash with those imposed by the West. Muses the girl about her history, \"The stories we unearth are like the ruined fountains and garden statues we stumble over, showing only their broken pieces, their missing bits.\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'A novel of wonders... rich with magic, secrets, dragons, curses, ghosts and most importantly, stories’ \u003ci\u003eAustralian Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003e'Yahp's storytelling is serpentine and lithe... Stories rise, tease, then slip away, only to resurface later. As the interlocking stories edge forward, together they become a grand narrative front moving to an elaborate choreography... Distinguished by Yahp's mischievous wit and wondrously spirited storytelling of unearthly things.’ \u003ci\u003eThe Age\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003e‘Yahp’s first novel is a knock-out.’ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eSydney Morning Herald\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'A beautiful piece of writing’ \u003ci\u003eThe Australian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003e'A chimera of story spiralling into other stories... blurs the lines between memory and proof, between Gothic Romance and magic realism... Sinewy yet succulent; demanding but rewarding—a book to be relished.’ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan lang=\"EN-US\"\u003eScotland on Sunday\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘This rich, evocative and slowly unravelling tale has much of the flavour and style of Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. If you like them, you’ll love Beth Yahp’s first novel.’ \u003ci\u003eAustralian Women’s Forum\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘I’ve gotten word-drunk on Beth Yahp’s \u003ci\u003eThe Crocodile Fury\u003c\/i\u003e... (Its) offbeat sensibilities and the chewiness of language have a marked affinity with E. Annie Proulx’ \u003ci\u003eSeattle Union Record\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Le projet de Yahp n’est pas d’un historien, mais bien d’un écrivain passionné… L’allégorie, ici, ce sont les spectres, un outil, attesté par toute la littérature fantastique et que l’auteur utilise avec une maîtrise exceptionnelle…cette œuvre considérable et brillamment traduite—(est) une leçon sur l’usage du merveilleux en littérature…’ \u003ci\u003eLe Monde\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Magnifique premier roman… Beth Yahp déroule ce beau récit à la poésie âpre et violente, mêlé d’humour et de noirceur, gorgé d’images, d’odeurs et de murmures.’ \u003ci\u003eLes Inrockuptibles\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBeth Yahp was born in Malaysia and came to Australia in 1984. She has lived in Sydney, Kuala Lumpur and Paris. Her novel \u003cem\u003eThe Crocodile Fury\u003c\/em\u003e won the Victorian Premier’s Prize for First Fiction and the NSW Ethnic Affairs Commission Award in Australia, and was translated and published in several European languages. Beth wrote the libretto for composer Liza Lim’s contemporary opera \u003cem\u003eMoon Spirit Feasting\u003c\/em\u003e, which won the APRA award for Best Classical Composition in 2002. Her short fiction, essays and articles have appeared in Australia, South-east Asia and Europe, and she has edited or co-edited several collections of stories and essays. Beth has taught creative writing for many years, and currently lectures in the Creative Writing program at the University of Sydney. She presented \u003cem\u003eElsewhere,\u003c\/em\u003e a radio program for travellers on ABC Radio National (2010-11) and founded the popular Memoir Club at the Randwick Literary Institute in Sydney. Her hybrid memoir \u003cem\u003eEat First, Talk Later \u003c\/em\u003ewas published by Penguin Random House in 2015.\u003c\/p\u003e\nBeth Yahp, \u003cem\u003eThe Crocodile Fury\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e2017. 416pp. ISBN 978-1-922181-33-6\u003cbr\u003eRelease date: July 15.\n\n\u003ciframe style=\"width:550px;height:350px\" src=\"https:\/\/online.anyflip.com\/wuapt\/upeb\/index.html\" seamless=\"seamless\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e","brand":"Vagabond Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":14399688196,"sku":"","price":30.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0182\/8349\/products\/9781922181336-_Yahp_TCF_front_6.jpg?v=1494829602","url":"https:\/\/vagabondpress.net\/de\/products\/copy-of-beth-yahp-the-red-pearl-other-stories","provider":"Vagabond Press","version":"1.0","type":"link"}