There must be art in the doing of any work in which complex means have to be employed to do it well; for art is the skillful use of such means, whether the work be a kitchen table or an epic poem. Now, Preaching relying on divine help, undertakes a very difficult and complicated work, namely, to move the will of another from a state of apathy or opposition to activity in a definite direction. To do this, several means have to be employed: obstacles and prepossessions have to be removed; interest has to be awakened; the intellect has to be enlightened by exposition and illustration; the feelings have to be aroused and enlisted; the will itself has to be brought under the direct influence of motives calculated to determine it to action. Aeterna Press

Religion has featured in Anglophone literature in Malaysia from colonial times to the present. In Intimating the Sacred, Andrew Hock Soon Ng considers the practice of everyday religiosity as represented in literature, which is often starkly opposed to the impression created by religious rhetoric promoted by the government. The book's examination of intersections between (post)modernity and religion highlights links between religion and other facets of colonial and postcolonial identity such as class, gender and sexuality. It will appeal not only to scholars and specialists, but also to anyone who enjoys modern Southeast Asian literature. Andrew Hock Soon Ng is senior lecturer in literary studies at Monash University, Sunway Campus, Malaysia. He is the author of Dimensions of Monstrosity in Contemporary Narratives and Interrogating Interstices. "In Intimating the Sacred, Andrew Hock Soon Ng confirms his status as one of the most important new voices in Malaysian literary studies, moving beyond national and postcolonial frameworks to a more subtle plotting of the psychic contours of Malaysian modernity." – Philip Holden, National University of Singapore "In Malaysia, the relationships between various religions, the state ideology and the multicultural composition of the populace are fraught with tension. Ng's book, with critical insights derived from a balanced treatment of texts and theory, deals with these issues in a robust and uncompromising manner. This is a welcome contribution to Southeast Asian literary studies." – Eddie Tay, author of Colony, Nation, and Globalisation "This refreshing approach to Malaysian canonical texts combines diverse literary theories and religion. Courageous and convincing, it engages post colonialism, feminism, and theories of religion with a sophisticated focus on texts." – Gaik Cheng Khoo, Australian National University