The Fisherman KingAuthor by Kathrina Mohd Daud

Lisan the fisherman has always believed he was descended from Bruneian royalty, and now he says he can prove it. Returning to the Water Village after eight years, Lisan reconnects with his estranged wife Bathia to recover an underwater treasure that will establish his royal birthright. As the story of Lisan's true intentions unravels, including what he was really doing in those years away, it becomes intertwined with the ancient history of two doomed royal siblings and a fearsome serpent god called the Nabau.

Critical Acclaim
"A fast-paced caper of a folk tale that dives, quite literally, into the ocean of the self in search of treasure and the meaning of genealogy; an ocean with unexpected monsters and life-altering revelations."— Cyril Wong, Singapore Literature Prize-winning author of This Side of Heaven 

Key Features & Themes

• Setting: Set in the historic Kampong Ayer (Water Village) in Brunei Darussalam.
• Themes: Blends contemporary narrative with rich Southeast Asian folklore, pre-Islamic mythology, and lost dynasties.
• Structure: A dense "story within a story" format running across parallel timelines separated by 600 years. 
  

Product Detail
Publication Date: 2020
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN-13: 9789814901208
Accolades: Finalist for the 2020 Epigram Books Fiction Prize