In a world where education often focuses on superficial aspects, Joko Pinurbo’s “Celana 2” stands out as a captivating work that explores deeper human complexities. This poem reveals societal norms, human nature, and the education system’s overlooked aspects through its unassuming title “Celan 2”, … [Read more...]

Monsoon Tiger and Other Stories (2015) by Rain Chudori contains eight short stories – or nine, if you manage to get your hands on the Indonesian translation – painted in colours of melancholia, the shades blurring the lines between reality and fantasy, anger and resignation, as well as actual … [Read more...]

From local publisher The Emma Press comes their latest translated publication: About Us by Reda Gaudiamo, translated by Ikhda Ayunning Maharsi Degoul and Philippa Barker. Gaudiamo is a writer and musician from Jakarta, Indonesia, and About Us collects stories originally published in Indonesia from … [Read more...]

Iksaka Banu is widely known for his historical fiction, most of which are set during the Dutch colonial era in the East Indies before Indonesia gained its independence and became a sovereign country. Sang Raja, first published by Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia in 2017, is one of those. Focusing on a … [Read more...]

In, Happy Stories, Mostly, a collection of short stories, the complexities of queer life in the Southeast Asian country come into focus. Happy endings (or beginnings) don’t make for good fiction, as the Indonesian writer Norman Erikson Pasaribu knows well. But Pasaribu doesn’t want to give … [Read more...]