GABY RUSLI WRITES (in a series of reviews on Indonesian classics) — Corruption. Collusion. Nepotism. The hypocrisy of the wealthy. All odds are stacked against the poor. These are some of the authentic and intriguing themes in Mochtar Lubis’ third novel, Twilight in Djakarta (1963). Lubis’ story … [Read more...]

People from Bloomington are strange indeed, at least in this translated collection of stories from Indonesian writer Budi Darma. In these seven fiction stories, Darma takes a mirror to the wide open spaces of the Midwest American college town of Bloomington, Indiana, where he studied for his PhD in … [Read more...]

According to Tolstoy, there are only two possible stories: a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town. Riwoe gives us both. The Burnished Sun – its title taken from The Merchant of Venice (“Mislike me not for my complexion, / The shadow’d livery of the burnish’d sun”) – brings together the … [Read more...]

Alexander Wells on breakthrough gay Indonesian author Norman Erikson Pasaribu and his new short story collection. Photo: Tilted Axis Press A new voice in global queer fiction is always cause for celebration. In a conversation dominated by the US and UK, the emergence of – and growing curiosity … [Read more...]

An award-winning author, Norman Erikson Pasaribu is part of a tradition of queer Catholic writers, who challenge heterosexual traditions and constrictions in an attempt to open up his work to alternative – and more inclusive – perspectives. Merging his Christian heritage with his Batak cultural … [Read more...]