Saman

Saman tells stories about four urban middle class women who have been best friend from schools, and their connection to Saman, an ex Catholic priest turned activist. Saman is hunted by the military regime. The female characters in this story help him to flee abroad. The novel is set in the era of General Soeharto.

Saman won the best novel competition of The Jakarta Arts Council in 1998. The jury considered its narrative form and the opennes of its content as a breakthrough that had expanded the horizon of the Indonesian literature. It is considered to be daring in tackling the issues ranging from politic, religion and sexuaIity. I was awarded the Prince Claus Award in 2000 for the same consideration.

Saman was a national bestseller. It has gone to 32 reprint in 16 years. Saman has been published in Dutch, Japanese, English, French, Italy, Chzechs, German, Korean, and, will soon in Amharic (Ethiopia).¹

1. Ayu Utami’s Indonesia & World ↩