Memory and Nation-Building: World War II in Malaysian Literature

Vandana Saxena

Aug 2021 · Routledge

About this ebook

Nations are built by narrating their past. Threads of common memories weave the fabric of the national culture, integrating the heterogenous communities into the idea of a single nation. In multicultural societies, the process is a messy one. Different communities remember the past from perspectives that often clash with each other. Multiple memories of a multicultural nation challenge the idea of a singular national identity and call for multiple forms of belonging.

Memory and Nation-Building explores the contemporary images of World War II in Malaysian literature and the continuing significance of the conflict in the collective memory and nation-building in Malaysia. Given the multicultural nature of the nation, the War memories of Malaysia are multiple and often contradictory. In the contemporary Malaysian literature, these memories embody the search for a historical narrative that would accommodate the cultural and ethnic diversity of the country.

About the author

Dr. Vandana Saxena teaches literature at the Faculty of Arts and Social Science, Universiti Malaya. She has taught in the Universities in India, Malaysia and Vietnam. Her major research interests are South-East Asian culture and literature and Memory Studies. She has published several papers and a book (The Subversive Harry Potter) on aspects of memory like trauma, nostalgia and childhood.