Law student turns familial yearning into prize-winning novel

 

The feeling of missing someone close to you is a universal one and law student cum author Nadia Mikail was able to draw upon it for her award-winning debut novel “The Cats We Meet Along The Way”.

Nadia, who recently won the Waterstones children’s book prize for her first book, recently spoke to Malaysiakini about the origins of the story that was inspired by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It was originally a story about a girl who's missing her sister because she hasn't spoken to her in some time. Soon after I had written the story, the pandemic started.

“I went back to the story and I was like, I'm going to make it about a more general fear about the whole world ending,” explained Sarawak-born Nadia during a Zoom meeting with Malaysiakini.

She began writing “The Cats We Meet Along The Way” in 2019 and sent the manuscript to her publisher in 2021. It was published in 2022.

Nadia, who was reading law, was still in London at that unfortunate time while the rest of her family was in Malaysia.

Things were a mess the world over and Nadia, like the rest of humanity, was not sure what was going to happen next, especially when lockdowns were imposed everywhere.

“It was like, what if this continues? What if something happens to them? What if I never see them again? What will happen to the whole world? That kind of feeling,” Nadia recalled.

For young adults

Elaborating on the book, from the get-go, the book was targeted at young adults, with the main character being 18 years of age.

“I was just writing about the feelings I would have had at that age. What was it like before (Covid-19) it happened? All this was running through my head as I was taking my A-levels…when everything was very new to me.

“I guess I was just specifically writing about that experience of being a teenager and having this huge thing happening,” said Nadia.

Before this book, she had written short stories that were published in the compilations of KL Noir Magic and Malaysian Millennial Voices.

As such, “The Cats We Meet Along The Way” started as a short story too.

On who inspired the work, Nadia said the book is dedicated to her younger sister, with whom she is very close. Nadia’s sister just started studying in London as well.

And as the title may indicate, cats are a big part of the story - and Nadia has two of them.

She is also a big fan of authors JRR Tolkien, Louisa May Alcott and Mary Oliver.

“When I was younger, I loved writing stories in genres. I would write quite a bit in Arthur Conan Doyle’s style, the whole mystery detective style because I love that.

“I also think it would be very interesting to write something featuring fantasy but I've never tried that,” Nadia mentioned.

Proud family

Right now, Nadia is busy studying for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) and she has not decided if she wants to move to London permanently as she misses home and her family.

So, what happened to the £5,000 (RM25,515) prize money? To this question, Nadia replied it will be used to pay off her living expenses.

“Rent is very expensive in London and so I think it would contribute a lot to that. The cost of living is very high - the bills and stuff," she said.

Speaking of her folks back home, her family is naturally proud of Nadia’s victory, especially her sister who inspired the story.

If she is open to the idea of having her book adapted into a feature film, Nadia replied in the positive but has not received any offers yet.

“It would be so nice to see all the different places in Malaysia in such a movie,” she said, adding that she would practice law and continue writing on the sides in the future. - MKini