The Weight of Our Sky

Melati, or Mel, is 16 years old and the protagonist of the novel, as the narrative centers on her journey to find her mother and safety during the 1969 race riots in Kuala Lumpur. Her father passed away about a year before the events of the novel, during which time she developed a mental health condition, likely OCD, or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Prior to her father’s passing, Mel had a happy family life, praying with her father in the Muslim tradition and enjoying time with her mother, Salmah, and her best friend, Safiyah, or Saf. After her father’s death, Mel describes how she became possessed by a Djinn, or spirit, who maliciously shows her images of her mother’s death, reflecting her fear that her mother might die as well. As a Malay Muslim, Mel is automatically grouped with the majority Malay race during the riots, and she often is put in danger or becomes a point of contention during the riots. Critically, when Auntie Bee inaccurately tells the Chinese gang members that Mel is Eurasian, she is attempting to emphasize Mel’s indifference to, or separation from, the ongoing violence. Mel notes to Saf how she is not particularly invested in politics, and this remains true throughout the novel as Mel tries to avoid or resolve tension rather than engage with it directly.