Coitus Interruptus and Other Stories by Malachi Edwin Vethamani

Coitus Interruptus and Other Stories Reviews

• 
  Ooi Ghee Leng

  3.5. It does have some punch but they are being pulled back. I would love it to be more raw.
• 
  Kataklicik

  I dunno. I don't do too well with short stories, they're almost always too short for any sort of proper plot and just as the story arc begins, it ends. You know..?
  
  These weren't too badly written (the author is, after all, a Professor of English) but it lacks swag. Asian writers usually have a starkness or a bleakness to their writing, but not Vethamani. Some tend to be verbose, with heady, pretty prose that sways the reader. Not the case here either. In fact, these stories were written with language as though for secondary-school consumption, but the contents of which are definitely rated higher than that.
  
  I'd have given this 2 stars if not for the subject matter. For that, I've tacked on another star. Bravo for attempting to delve into taboos here in Malaysia, taboos that exist even now as science and technology prods us headlong with the speed of light into a more dynamic world. Cultures and norms, it would seem, have trudged along quite slowly with no concern for modernity. It will be some time, if at all, before Malaysia becomes comfortable with issues concerning sex, lgbtq or otherwise.
  
  Like I said, I don't do well with short stories (poems are a whole 'nother allergy). Perhaps, Malachi Edwin Vethamani, it's time for a full-fledged novel? :)
• 
  Ismim Putera

  2 stars. This is a very interesting short story collection, whereby, in my humble opinion, the main theme is sexuality, alongside with other trivial issues such as filial piety, religion etc. I only enjoyed "The Kiss" & "Best Men's Kiss". "Coitus interruptus" & "The Interloper" do have interesting plot arcs but the stories did not develop anywhere further. The rest of the stories are just fine.
• 
  Losh

  Vethamani explores sexuality, race and identity with so much ease in this jam-packed collection of stories. Light and easy read with so many layers to unpeel, it is representation at its finest.
• 
  Arthur

  Enjoyable stories!
  Do read it!