Friday, November 20, 2009

Tina KISIL ... Footprints in the Paddy Fields (MPH Publishing, March 2010)

TINA KISIL’S FOOTPRINTS IN THE PADDY FIELDS is both a family portrait and a childhood memoir, set against the vanished world of bamboo huts on spindly timber stilts, a world where one’s prized possessions were makeshift farm tools and a buffalo or two, and where the dead were placed in stone burial jars. Those were the days when removing human heads from their owners’ shoulders was a form of sport, and the only mode of transport was one’s two good legs.

The author takes you on a fascinating journey into a world seldom seen, to see how the Dusuns in Sabah on the island of Borneo lived at a time when wealth was measured by the amount of rice a farmer harvested and a hardworking sumandak made a more alluring bride than her pretty sister.

Written to preserve some of the old Dusun beliefs and customs, this engaging memoir is a delightful reminiscence of what it was like to be a child growing up in the 1960s when Sabah was still known as British North Borneo.

TINA KISIL was a loner in a brood of 12. A misfit and a misunderstood child, her shyness often misconstrued as arrogance, she began observing people at a tender age and took refuge in the world of books. Forced to quit school at 18 to help support her younger siblings through school, she was told by her mother to choose: be a nurse or a teacher. Since blood makes her faint, she chose the latter. After earning her teacher’s diploma, she dedicated the best 35 years of her life to her students. She now lives a quiet life in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, where she catches up on her reading and tries to charm her backyard into a garden. She still seeks refuge in the world of books. Footprints in the Paddy Fields is her first book.

OUT IN PAPERBACK ORIGINAL BY MPH PUBLISHING IN APRIL 2010

14 Comments:

Blogger Buddhaphish said...

Eric, I am excited to see local authors from Malaysian Borneo!! Can't wait to read this one!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 1:10:00 AM  
Blogger Eric Forbes said...

I am looking forward to publishing more books by Malaysians who live in Sabah and Sarawak. There are many good writers over there.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 1:18:00 AM  
Blogger Sukhbir Cheema said...

Eric, I love the cover design of the book!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 1:22:00 AM  
Blogger Eric Forbes said...

Thanks, Sukhbir! We are still fine-tuning the cover, bit by bit!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 3:39:00 AM  
Blogger Eric Forbes said...

This memoir is mainly about the Dusun people of Kelawat, a small hamlet near Kota Belud in Sabah, on the island of Borneo. The author has used her family as the vehicle to document some of the old customs and practices which are in danger of being discarded or simply forgotten.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 5:36:00 PM  
Anonymous Princess Xena said...

This is wonderful! I am a huge fan of books such as these - books detailing quaint customs of yore. Can't wait to read it.

Monday, November 30, 2009 1:22:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am so excited about the book and definitely will recommend to others when its finally printed. People, young and old, should read it and learn about life in the past. I think its a good reminder for us not to forget our roots - native roots!

Little sister

Thursday, December 03, 2009 8:34:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations!! I really love the cover,it's beautiful and it'll be great finding out about how Sabah was in the 1960's through your stories :)

Thursday, December 03, 2009 10:28:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am looking forward to read this book. So excited..
because I know this lady personally!

Friday, December 04, 2009 6:26:00 AM  
Anonymous nuramah said...

hooray,to a lady like tina kisil author of "Footprints in the Padi Fields" it takes a lot of patience to create this type of book.

Saturday, December 05, 2009 3:19:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Finally got the book today at MPH MidV, after making so many enquiries since last tuesday, I'm sure I will enjoy it, so those who have been waiting, get your hands on it now and happy reading.

little sister

Saturday, March 06, 2010 7:35:00 AM  
Blogger AngeL BeaR said...

own it, read it, reviewed about it. Am proud that I finally get to know better of my own family link. =)

Monday, May 03, 2010 2:31:00 AM  
Blogger TataJane said...

Finish reading it! Awesome!!Awesome!!

Thursday, May 06, 2010 9:12:00 PM  
Blogger tarabassing said...

I still dont get any chance of getting this book yet, but the preview sounds very exciting. I'm proud of her, she is my english teacher.

Wednesday, March 02, 2011 8:37:00 AM  

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