KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 -- Australian-British author Catherine Menon has attributed the inspiration behind her latest novel, Fragile Monsters to childhood stories her father used to tell her when he grew up in Kuala Lipis, Pahang.

Menon who was born in Perth, Australia to a British mother and Malaysian father said her father used to bring her on trips to Kuala Lipis when she was young and she grew up listening to his childhood stories.

"It was only as an adult when I realised the significance of Kuala Lipis in that traumatic time period. It was the headquarters of the Japanese army in Pahang, following the invasion of Malaya.

"I began researching in the British Library, reading memoirs and interviews with people who had lived through th...