Norman Erikson Pasaribu / WLT
In this article:
Happy Stories, Mostly
Norman Erikson Pasaribu
Written by Michelle Johnson, originally published in World Literature Today
Jul 01, 2023
Happy Stories, Mostly
Norman Erikson Pasaribu
Written by Michelle Johnson, originally published in World Literature Today
Jul 01, 2023
Q
The Booker Prize website has this wonderful line on its page about your collection: “Powerful blend of science fiction, absurdism and alternative-historical realism that aims to destabilise the heteronormative world and expose its underlying rot.” Reading these stories, I see the evidence of this. Who else in literature and culture is doing this work?
A
I have no idea. I might not be knowledgeable enough regarding this. I think I was attracted to Indonesian absurdists (like the brilliant Budi Darma) because I feel I had an absurd upbringing. But I wrote so differently from them. It goes the same with other writers I love: Herta Müller, Claudia Rankine, Mary Gordon, et al. Personally, I initially didn’t realize that I was doing something special, this thing people call “blend.” I think it’s just normal for a writer to mix stuff. If I don’t get to experiment when I write, what’s in it for me?
The Booker Prize website has this wonderful line on its page about your collection: “Powerful blend of science fiction, absurdism and alternative-historical realism that aims to destabilise the heteronormative world and expose its underlying rot.” Reading these stories, I see the evidence of this. Who else in literature and culture is doing this work?
A
I have no idea. I might not be knowledgeable enough regarding this. I think I was attracted to Indonesian absurdists (like the brilliant Budi Darma) because I feel I had an absurd upbringing. But I wrote so differently from them. It goes the same with other writers I love: Herta Müller, Claudia Rankine, Mary Gordon, et al. Personally, I initially didn’t realize that I was doing something special, this thing people call “blend.” I think it’s just normal for a writer to mix stuff. If I don’t get to experiment when I write, what’s in it for me?
Read the full article here.
