“Orphans are the only ones who are free to find their own happiness; they don’t have their own history so they create it for themselves.”
— Tash Aw, Map of the Invisible World
“Johan. Farah put her hand on his arm. Her fingers are not cold, not warm, just perfect and unmoving and strong. I’m worried about you. Johan, look at me. She touched his face, gently. Look at me.
The white shower was over and the light was dim on her face, dancing faintly across her small nose and wide-open eyes. Don’t worry, I’m happy now, Farah.
She gripped his arm tightly. No, you’re not.
I am. I can’t remember anything.
Breathe deeply, slowly.
I wish it could be like this all the time. I wish I could forget everything. I don’t want to remember anything, Farah. Nothing at all.”
— Tash Aw, Map of the Invisible World
“The first four years of one’s life are terribly formative — with the accent on terribly.”
— Tash Aw, Map of the Invisible World
“‘My idea was that we needed a history of our country written by an Indonesian, something that explored non-standard sources that Westerners could not easily reach. Like folk stories, local mythology, or ancient manuscripts written on palm leaves —’
‘Lontar, you mean.’
‘Yes. When you think about the standard approach to history, all the historical texts, you’re really talking about Western sources. It’s as if the history of South-East Asia started with the discovery of the sea routes from Europe to Asia. Everything begins at this point in time, but in fact so much had already happened. The empires of Majapahit and Mataram had been established; Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism … I wanted to retell the story of these islands because I have a theory that their history is beyond the comprehension of foreigners — sorry, you’ll forgive me for saying that, I know —’
‘Forgiven —’
‘— and that history has to be told by a voice that is non-Western …’”
— Tash Aw, Map of the Invisible World
“[S]he had long since shut out the possibility of romance. Once, in an age of endless possibilities, love had presented itself to her and it had seemed so simple, so attainable that all she had to do was reach out and claim it. Falling in love then had felt as easy as swimming in a warm salty sea: all she had to do was wade into it and the water would bear her away. But she had not done so, and now the tide had retreated, leaving broken bottles and driftwood and tangled nets. It was a landscape she had learnt to live with.”
— Tash Aw, Map of the Invisible World
“Adaptation is the key to human existence.”
— Tash Aw, Map of the Invisible World
“It is the non-verbal communication between human beings that forms the basis of all society.”
— Tash Aw, Map of the Invisible World
“Home was not necessarily where you were born, or even where you grew up, but something else entirely, something fragile that could exist anywhere in the world.”
— Tash Aw, Map of the Invisible World
“Lying in bed listening to the constant wash of the waves he began to realise that the sadness he felt would not last forever; it was a different kind of sadness from anything he might have experienced previously. Somehow, he knew that in this new house, with this frightened, frightening man, he could overcome these sensations of sorrow. He had much to fear in this new life, but fear was no longer something huge and undefined and terrifying. It was something he could master. He knew that now. And so he would fall asleep. He slept a lot during those first days.”
— Tash Aw, Map of the Invisible World
