33. Susuk - The Evil Within by Amir Hafizi

BOOK REVIEW: Susuk – The Evil Within by Amir Hafizi

Being in Malaysia, we women as Asians look towards the West for beauty inspiration. We adore their flawless looks, drop-dead gorgeous body and the way men just gravitate towards them. Many modern procedures have mushroomed to provide Asian women with the elusive ‘beauty’ such as plastic surgery, botox, fillers and the list is endless. However, are you familiar with the ancient dark art of susuk (the Muslim black magic of inserting spelled needles below the skin’s surface to look youthful till death and also for unparalleled attraction)? This novel written by our very own Malaysian writer Amir Hafizi is bound to raise a few hairs on the back of your neck while providing an insight into this well-kept beauty secret.

Beauty has a price. Suraya is a young trainee nurse who is starting to feel disaffected by her life. A chance introduction to the world of glamour piques her ambition to be a star. She does not succeed at first, but then she is told of the forbidden practice of susuk. She is torn between making a decision of being the way she is or crossing the line to the other side.

Suzana is a diva with an air of mystery. She has long used the extreme susuk keramat. Every time she violates a taboo, a human life is required. In this book, we follow the eventful lives of these two women until we get to the true secret of this dreaded charm.

Susuk is the forbidden practice of inserting and embedding foreign objects under a person’s skin to increase their allure. The wearer will have to respect a few taboos, failing which the consequences will be dire. More dangerous is a variant called susuk keramat.

Being brought up in a small town which still practiced forbidden black magic like this, I have personally encountered close acquaintances wearing this art. Some effects of disrespecting the taboos are bleeding for no reason from the face, aging way beyond your age in a matter of seconds (for example, looking 60 when you are only 30 in a span of five minutes after disrespecting the taboo) and other macabre and ill after-effects. Beauty is within you and will radiate outwards if you choose to. So, I don’t encourage doing any of these ‘beauty procedures’ and those intending to do this susuk, you guys will resort to healthier means of gaining beauty rather than through the back door after reading this insightful book.