'This book is not easy to pigeonhole in terms of its genre. It is partly social history, partly a biography of a great writer, partly an intellectual adventure story.' The following is a review of “Indonesia Out of Exile: How Pramoedya’s Buru Quartet Killed a Dictatorship” by Max Lane, Penguin … [Read more...]

What would it mean to be happy? It’s a question both essential and existential, one that seems so daunting, it’s best avoided. But queer Indonesian poet Norman Erikson Pasaribu has no intention of shying away from the messy nature of happiness—including its more melancholic aspects. The title of … [Read more...]

Synopsis: A wry, affecting tale set in a small town on the Indonesian coast, Man Tiger tells the story of two interlinked and tormented families and of Margio, a young man ordinary in al particulars except that he conceals within himself a supernatural female white tiger. The inequities and … [Read more...]

Every month, Tobias Carroll shares a handful of recently released or forthcoming titles in translation that he’s especially excited about. This month's selection includes books in translation from Bolivia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Norway, and Poland.   From Sublunary Editions | The … [Read more...]

Happy Stories, Mostly is a collection of melancholic and bittersweet stories that are proudly Batak and unapologetically queer. An enticing fresh piece of fiction that weaves discussions of the Christian faith and heteronormativity of Indonesian society with a blend of sci-fi, absurdism, and … [Read more...]