Archive - June 9, 2025

Salamander Man by James A. Wolter is an emotionally charged coming-of-age tale about a boy whose social inclusion, acceptance, confidence, and self-worth are jeopardized by a sickness that leaves him unable to use his legs. Mohamed Idris bin Mohamed Ibrahim was born strong and healthy until the age of four, when he contracted polio, which he dubs the “evil eye.” At this point, his legs became “useless twisted stumps,” which earned him the scorn of his peers and the nickname “Salamander Man.” He would further develop a biting obsession with finding ways to outdo other boys to “feel like a king” time and again. None, however, could be sustained. At the age of six, his desire to attend Tengku Bariah Primary School was quashed by a headmaster who warned his father that the school was not for “his kind.” This not only gravely crushed his spirits, but also drove the . . .