Sergius and Bacchus were fourth-century Roman soldiers. In secret, they were also Christians. They would pray in isolation but were eventually found out and executed for their faith. Parallels between their secrecy and that of so many queer communities across the globe has turned them into something … [Read more...]
Review: The Wandering by Intan Paramaditha
February 16, 2020 by
In 2018, Intan Paramaditha and Stephen J. Epstein brought a literary gift to the English-speaking world. Apple and Knife was an intensely smart, sharp, scathing, witty, and innovative collection of short stories that reframed folk and fairy tales from the world over; digging up old tales and making … [Read more...]
Review: Intan Paramaditha, The Wandering
February 15, 2020 by
The Wandering is an innovative, thought-provoking twist on the Choose Your Own Adventure genre. Written in a compelling second-person narrative, it is based on the following premise: You are bored with your predictable life in Jakarta, and you wish to escape. A demon lover comes to tempt you with a … [Read more...]
‘Buru Island – A Prison Memoir’: Watermelons drained of tears
February 10, 2020 by
From above, Buru looks like a fairy tale isle washed by the Banda and Seram seas. At ground level, the third-largest island in the Maluku archipelago located 2,230 kilometers northeast of Jakarta supports the aerial image. Settlements are small, roads uncrowded, a lush landscape dominated by Mount … [Read more...]
Beauty is a Wound: Eka Kurniawan
February 5, 2020 by
“One afternoon on a weekend in March, Dewi Ayu rose from her grave after being dead for twenty-one years. … She had passed away at fifty-two, rose again after being dead for twenty-one years, and from that point forward nobody knew exactly how to calculate her age.” This novel tells the story of … [Read more...]