The Accidental Malay Audiobook By Karina Robles Bahrin cover art

The Accidental Malay

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection of titles.
Yours as long as you’re a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for $8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Accidental Malay

By: Karina Robles Bahrin
Narrated by: Vera Chok
Try Standard free

$8.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $13.01

Buy for $13.01

Winner of the Epigram Books Fiction Prize
‘Slick, sharp . . . a joy to read’ - Tash Aw, author of Five Star Billionaire

Jasmine Leong is the heiress apparent to Phoenix, her family’s billion-ringgit company known especially for its pork snacks. When her grandmother, the great Madame Leong, unexpectedly passes away, Jasmine discovers she is actually a Malay Muslim and this newfound identity threatens to upend her life and ambitions.

Finding herself at the centre of a political controversy, and caught between two men who love her, Karina Robles Bahrin's The Accidental Malay examines the human cost of a country’s racial policies and paints a portrait of a woman unwilling to accept the fate history has designated for her.

'A novel both generous and scathing; both honest and nuanced; both grounded in human emotion and engaged with history and politics' - Preeta Samarasan, author of Evening Is the Whole Day

 Women's Fiction World Literature Genre Fiction Political Contemporary

Critic reviews

A sharply observed, elegantly crafted culture-clash state-of-the-nation drama that is not only witty but heartfelt. (Epigram Book Fiction Prize Judges)
Desire, religion and politics collide in this delicious debut . . . Slick, sharp and full of the frustrations and joys of modern urban Malaysia (Tash Aw, author of We, The Survivors)
A deeply nuanced study in the sometimes suffocating intertwining of race and religion for Malay-Muslims. (Suffian Hakim, author of Harris bin Potter and the Stoned Philosopher )
A novel both generous and scathing . . . a fast-paced, character-driven, furious and yet somehow joyful exploration of Malay ethnoreligious supremacy (Preeta Samarasan, author of Evening is the Whole Day )
Braving the intersections and contradictions of race, class and gender, one woman’s private campaign for self- definition becomes a search for love amidst corporate manoeuvrings, familial pressures and the challenging complexities of her country’s cultural politics. (Cyril Wong, author of This Side of Heaven )
Stylish, trenchant, yet brimming with heart, The Accidental Malay captures the complexities of contemporary Malaysia with wit and grace (Kirstin Chen, New York Times bestselling author of Counterfeit)
All stars
Most relevant
The story is contemporary and relevant to a modern lady’s life who has to navigate cultural, historical and religious landscape of Malaysian society. Being raised as Chinese Malay and confronted with the discovery of muslim Malay father the main character is walking us through the business and cultural and relational implications. While her and her muslim boy friend were equal while studying in the UK once back in Malaysia it was no longer the case. The story is complex and the author does a good job navigating a weaving the different threads together in one engaging narrative. Gives a good glimpse and understanding into the business and cultural environment of Malaysia. Would definitely recommend!

Gives good insight into Malay and Chinese culture and history of Malaysia

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.