I’m not an expert in plotting murder, but I believe there is nothing we can’t learn if we set our mind to it. And my mind is made up. After thinking it through, I have come to the conclusion that this murder might be the greatest contribution I could make for myself and my community, although I have … [Read more...]
The Absurdist Meets Jane Austen in Bloomington
April 17, 2022 by
Budi Darma’s People from Bloomington engages in a strange realism—where life in a small-town America seems both banal and absurd. EDITOR’S NOTE: This essay originally appeared as the foreword to Budi Darma’s People from Bloomington. Ifirst read Budi Darma’s Orang-orang Bloomington (“People from … [Read more...]
East Timor: The Final Hour
July 16, 2018 by
Indonesia unilaterally claimed the integration of East Timor in 1975 as its 27th province. During the 24 years of Soeharto’s presidency, Indonesia made every effort to get the international community to recognize this “integration,” while the United Nations otherwise classified East Timor a non-self … [Read more...]
In Twilight Born
July 8, 2018 by
When I was growing up, my family home was filled with young men – some of them my older foster brothers, the rest of them student boarders. One of my foster brothers was Hurip, who had recently graduated from the state junior high school in the provincial capital of Semarang. As is common with young … [Read more...]
Amba: The Question of Red by Laksmi Pamuntjak
May 4, 2017 by
Named after a tragic figure in Indonesia’s and India’s shared mythology, Amba spends her lifetime trying to invent a story she can call her own. When she meets two suitors who fit perfectly into her namesake’s myth, Amba cannot help but feel that fate is teasing her. Salwa, respectful to a fault, … [Read more...]