You might remember a cover reveal for Naadhira’s book from last year. Well, here’s a full review of Indecipherable, a book she has been working on for the longest time and I’m so thrilled to have gotten my hands on it.

As a Malaysian, I feel pride flowing in my veins every time I see a local book being circulated. I hope to read more locally this year, and I can’t wait to bring you all with me.

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BOOK REVIEW

Indecipherable is Naadhira Zahari’s debut poetry and short story collection, one that she has been writing since the age of 15 and finally, made it out to the world in late 2021. The book is separated into 5 sections: Hidden, Love, Life, Words and A Glipse into Fiction. If you’re a poetry reader, you’re in luck! Her poetry takes up most of the book, while the last section was reserved for her short stories.

The poems in this book was fairly direct, which isn’t my personal taste. I remember hearing other readers comparing it to Amanda Lovelace’s poetry, which I do see similarities of. So if you’re a big Lovelace fan, you should give this a read.

While I liked some of the poems, I preferred the short stories more. The themes of the poetry surround family, resentment, religion, growing up, the comfort of books and being an introvert. Whereas the short stories were a mishmash of Naadhira’s interest. From strong women characters and found family trope, childhood crushes, heists to some unexpected dark ones or interesting short stories inspired by Japan, it reflects the genres she reads and that’s my favourite part of this book.

I think Naadhira would have a great future in YA, especially with her unpredictable plots. I’m excited to see more Malaysian authors surface in the coming years! This is one of many that will be featured on this blog of mine.