(frnj)
n.
1. A decorative border or edging of hanging threads, cords, or strips, often attached to a separate band.
2. Something that resembles such a border or edging.
3. A marginal, peripheral, or secondary part.
4. Those members of a group or political party holding extreme views: the lunatic fringe.
5. Any of the light or dark bands produced by the diffraction or interference of light.
6. A fringe benefit
Source
the lunatic fringe
DISAPPROVING OR HUMOROUS
people who have very strong opinions that are outside the usual range
Source
The much-awaited parcel finally came last Friday, and I wasted no time in reading up the thirty-odd titles of short stories and poems penned by a group of eight young men in various states of, ahem, lots of things, united by their common passion for writing.
With their unusual tagline (Himpunan suara anak-anak muda dari frinjan - collection of young voices from the fringe) and authors that includes a South Park character, a prolific blogger, a transparent nomad, a landscape architect
and even one who claims to be available in perisa mentega keju, you do not expect them to write in a conservative manner with conservative storylines. Having went to Wilayah Kutu’s pre-launch reading session last March, I knew what to expect, and I am not disappointed in that matter.
At 165 pages, Wilayah Kutu is a moderately fast and entertaining read, made easier by throwing one’s prejudices out of the window. There are tales of political and social satire, of friendships, side-shots at reality TV shows, of love (and not necessarily the boy-meets-girl kind), of death and manic thoughts, of surprise endings. True to its radical theme, the writing styles are but usual and some of the stories are rather disturbing.
With their unusual tagline (Himpunan suara anak-anak muda dari frinjan - collection of young voices from the fringe) and authors that includes a South Park character, a prolific blogger, a transparent nomad, a landscape architect
and even one who claims to be available in perisa mentega keju, you do not expect them to write in a conservative manner with conservative storylines. Having went to Wilayah Kutu’s pre-launch reading session last March, I knew what to expect, and I am not disappointed in that matter.At 165 pages, Wilayah Kutu is a moderately fast and entertaining read, made easier by throwing one’s prejudices out of the window. There are tales of political and social satire, of friendships, side-shots at reality TV shows, of love (and not necessarily the boy-meets-girl kind), of death and manic thoughts, of surprise endings. True to its radical theme, the writing styles are but usual and some of the stories are rather disturbing.
[You have been duly warned. Now according to this, I am not old enough to read it.]
My favorites among others would be these items:
- Tapi Aku Hensem by Ruhayat X
A man can’t vote, but can be voted for.
- Almari by Nizam Zakaria
A delicious twist in reference to the title.
- In Memoriam by Dhojee
There are many ways to remember a friend by.
- Aku Jatuh (Abu Zen collective?)
Of a fallen angel.
- Kamus Hantu by Dhojee
A dictionary that made someone finds more than just the meaning of words.
Rumah Terbuka by Saifullizan Tahir and all six titles by Danny Lim are worthy of a special mention for their approach alone. Rumah Terbuka is written in a haunting second-person narrative, where the only other memorable story with the same style that still vividly sticks in my mind would be Anak-anak Bumi Tercinta by Saharil Hasrin Sanin (in another collection of short stories, Lagi Cerpen-Cerpen Underground, a two-author book with Faisal Tehrani).
Danny Lim’s contributions (20% of the total, if anyone’s counting) in photo comic-book style:
[check out Danny Lim’s work]
Even without considering that it is not a big company publication, the physical quality and feel of the book is excellent with its eye-catching art cover and story-titles at the middle-edge of the pages. My only grouse would be the fact that there are a number of misspellings and missing spaces between words where there should be one.
There are only 1,000 copies of Wilayah Kutu in print, so far available exlusively from Silverfish Books, mail order from Neohikayat or from the authors themselves.
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