Mahabbah, the novel by National Laureate. Shahnon Ahmad. proves different from his previous works. This is not a narration, but a complete metaphysical journey. Endar the young man was an activist. intellectual, writer and orator, whose passion in life was his community, who took upon himself to right all wrongs. But. Endar the old man is wasting away after being attacked by Myasthenia Gravis (MG). He lies in bed, entirely paralysed, with only his heart and mind still functioning. Still. even in this state, his concerns run deep: his race is split with constant feuding, but he knows he has little time left to sort it out, considering he is almost ready to move on, to leave this land of reality and journey to the land of barzakh.
Author
Dato' Haji Shahnon bin Ahmad (born 1933 in Sik, Kedah) is a Malaysian writer, a National Laureate, and a former Member of Parliament. He was awarded with the National Literary Award in 1982. He is also a Professor Emeritus at Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang. Shahnon has written a number books, one of the most notable being Shit @ PukiMak @ PM (1999), a controversial political satire. The book makes allegorical references to the ruling coalition government, Barisan Nasional (BN), its major component party, United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), and former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamed. There were attempts by the government to ban this book and to strip Shahnon of his literary title. Some novels written by Shahnon include Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan (1966)—which has been adapted into a film called Rice People directed by Cambodian film director Rithy Panh, Rentong (1965), Srengenge (1973)—which won the Malaysian Novel of the Year in 1970, and Terdedah (1965). Shahnon is also a member of opposition political party PAS. In the 1999 general election, he contested in the Parliamentary constituency of Sik (P.13) in which he won. He did not contest in the 2004 general election which saw PAS losing that seat to BN. Source: Wikipedia
