Malaysian Book Inspires Cross-Cultural Dialogue in Helsinki

By Zeinab Morshed

Source: Daily Finland

The House of Doors, the third novel by acclaimed Malaysian novelist Tan Twan Eng prompted the initiation of the first ever Malaysia – Bulgaria Literary Diplomacy Dialogue in May 2025. Among its international readers was Bulgaria’s Ambassador to Finland, H.E. Nina Angelova Simova. She came across the Bulgarian translation,which inspired the event and her expertise in the literary realm contributed profound nuance to the discussion around the novel.

The attendees were readers from Malaysia, Bulgaria and Finland,representing diverse fields ranging from literature and creative writing to international relations. The event was hosted by the Malaysian Embassy in Helsinki and steered by Chargé d’Affaires Ariff Ali. The dialogue centered around the renowned novel were on themes of identity, colonialism, gender, memory and the enduring impact of storytelling. A memorable segment of the event was a recorded video by Mr. Tan Twan Eng addressing the audiences’ questions. He asserted that literature has subtle power in fostering diplomatic relations, but is underutilized and undervalued.

Source: Goodreads

The House of Doors earned a spot on the longlist for the 2023 Booker Prize and was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize in 2024, it was recognised as one of the year’s standout fiction by The Washington Post and The Financial Times.The House of Doors commingles historical events with fictional storytelling and casts real-life figures such as William Somerset Maugham and Sun Yat-Sen, reimagining how Maugham may have conceived the idea for his short story “The Letter”. Maugham accompanied by his lover Gerald Haxton (who pretended to be his secretary because homosexuality was outlawed in England), traversed through Southeast Asia seeking inspiration for stories. At the time of his visit to the Federal Malay States, he assembled tales of secret lives- consisting of infidelity, duplicity or violence. Later he fictionalised them into short stories featured in The Casuarina Tree. Subsequently, this led to Maugham being banned from the State, as the locals felt the material could be traced back to them and saw it as a breach of confidentiality. 

Set around Maugham’s visit to Penang in 1921, the novel focuses on his stay with friends Robert and Leslie Hamlyn. The story switches between Leslie’s point of view and chapters with a third point of view, starring Maugham. As they recount tales in similar manner of the famous Arabian tale “One Thousand and One Nights”, Leslie divulges about her husband’s illicit relations with a male clerk and her own paramour Arthur Loh, who is affiliated with Sun Yat-Sen. These revelations prompt a question, on whether Maugham will incorporate it into his work which could lead to the collapse of her marriage. A recurring theme in the novel is the House of Doors, a literal structure with spinning doors that allude to changing realities and multiple versions of truths. It mirrors and reflects “The Letter” by Maugham by resonating its theme and characters. Pertinent to the story are four letters: one notifying Maugham about his bankruptcy, another letter is Leslie urging her paramour not to send, the third being a a letter Leslie intends to write to Arthur and the last is crafted by Maugham in his retelling of the Ethel Proudlock case.

As reported by Daily Finland, during the cross-cultural dialogue it was expressed that there was hope for more Malaysian literature to reach across Europe and beyond. Eng pointed out, “No writer from Malaysia- no writer from South East Asia has ever won the Booker Prize. When people talk about ‘Asian Writing’ and ‘Asian Literature’, they’re talking about China, Japan, Korea. South-East Asia is often barely even acknowledged.” Considering this, even being recognised for the third time is a significant step towards Malaysian voices getting recognition.

Eng’s sophomore novel, The Garden of Evening Mists previously earned the Man Asian Literary Prize and Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. It was Eng’s first work to be brought to the screen in a film adaptation by Taiwanese director Tom Lin Shu-yu. The Bulgarian translation of The Garden of Evening Mists is also underway, further evidence of increasing global appreciation for Malaysian literature. The House of Doors still does not have a Finnish translation yet, however Finnish readers can find the English translation of the novel at Helsinki’s Oodi Library.

Eng’s achievements and the success of the Malaysia-Bulgaria literary diplomacy dialogue highlight the growing global recognition of Malaysian voices in literature, asserting their cultural significance and impact on the international stage.