This book is one of the modern literary works in Malaysia which provokes the great interest of the readers as well as the critics. The author succeeds to change the character of literature as a mere story to make it as a drama of intellectual searching. Tales of Ogonshoto can be considered as a warning against the future tragedy faced by the humanity of the world, tragedy caused by the cruelty in the blood of the people.
Author
Dr. Anwar Ridhwan was born in an agricultural based family who was then reside in Sungai Besar, Selangor, previously the family lived in the neighboring state of Perak. He graduated from University Malaya with a Bachelor of Arts in 1973, then Masters of Arts in 1983 and finally finished his doctorate (Ph.D) in 1998. Soon he pursue his career in Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) until resignation in 2005 as Production Director of DBP.[1] On 11 August 2009, he was officially announced as the nation's 10th Sasterawan Negara by the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in his office in Putrajaya. In writing, he is a well known novelist and a short story writer. His first novel, Hari-hari Terakhir Seorang Seniman won the Yayasan Sabah-GAPENA Novel Prize of 1979. Arus (1985) won the Malaysian Literary Prize of 1984/1985. Among his famous short stories are Perjalanan Terakhir (1971), Dunia adalah Sebuah Apartmen (1973), Sesudah Perang (1976) and Dari Kiev ke Moskova (1992). Naratif Ogonshoto won the Sastera Perdana Award of Malaysia 2000/2001 which was inspired and finally finished by Dr. Anwar Ridhwan in Japan. The novel with another title, "Bili i Nebili Ostrovov Ogonsoto" was published in Russian (translated by Victor Pogadaev) in 2006, Sanct-Petersburg (Paideia).
