Indonesian tale of love, war and independence debuts at Florey’s

“Sulis is a young woman selling potions in Surabaya’s harbor district,” reads the jacket synopsis of Lan Fang’s “Potions and Paper Cranes.” “She meets Sujono, a coolie with dreams of becoming a freedom fighter and whose passion for Matsumi, a geisha called to Java by a Japanese general, is destined to ruin all of them. In ‘Potions and Paper Cranes,’ each tells the story of their lives during the end of WWII and Indonesia’s transition from a Dutch colony to an independent republic.” On Saturday, the book’s U.S. publisher will be on hand at Florey’s to present and discuss the late author’s work.