I read my first short story collection when I was in Year 11 at school. It was Scission by Tim Winton, and to this day it is the only Tim Winton book which I can categorically say I enjoyed. I loved these little snapshots into the lives of the characters – how immersive they were from the get-go, … [Read more...]
Jazz, Perfume and the Incident by Seno Gumira Ajidarma
June 19, 2018 by
Ostensibly from its title you’d think this is a book of light-hearted short stories, but this is decidedly not the case. The unorthodox structure of this supposedly cosmopolitan novel is a disguise. The searing emotional thrust of Jazz, Perfume & The Incident centers around one of the most … [Read more...]
Situated Testimonies, a Review by Manneke Budiman
June 18, 2018 by
Can an entire nation be haunted by a trauma that originates from phantoms, ghosts from the past that are not materially real yet exist in the psychical realm? Can fantasies, spurred by a desire for a future that may fail to come true, become the source of a “national trauma”? Can dread of what … [Read more...]
Finding home in the ‘Imaginary City’ by Rain Chudori
June 13, 2018 by
Home is a not a place, but a feeling. There are also people who believe that you can find a home in a person. But what happens when that someone leaves? Rain Chudori provides the answer in Imaginary City. To be exact: she leaves clues and trails so you can find a home in the city, where someone … [Read more...]
‘Apple and Knife’: a riot of unruly women
June 12, 2018 by
A collection of playful and provocative short stories by Intan Paramaditha In her author acknowledgments, Intan Paramaditha thanks “the first disobedient woman” – her mother – who “inspired many of [her] early stories”. Apple and Knife is a riot of disobedient women, including vengeful, neglected … [Read more...]