Cheeming Boey

Picked this up at a bookstore while in Kuala Lumpur. I was looking for a local gem and this one called out to me from a display and it's a charmer.

Each page or two is a different childhood vignette or memory with hand-drawn illustrations. There are several books in the series of boyhood memories with this being the first, although reading them all or reading them in order isn't necessary.

Most of (Cheeming) Boey's memories and illustrations feature himself along with his mother, father, sister or classmates and recount his experiences growing up in Malaysia. Boey and I are under a decade apart and we're not the same gender, but I could easily relate to him and loved getting to know his parents through him. His style of storytelling is simple, but warm, engaging, and direct.

What's interesting is despite big differences in the specifics of our childhood experiences and the fact that we were products of very different cultures and countries growing up, there is more commonality and even universality in our childhoods and coming of ages than you'd expect.

This is, by far, my favorite physical souvenir from my trip. I'm so glad I picked it up and would love to sample more of his work. Recommended!… (meer)