All happy families resemble one another, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. But that is only the tip of the iceberg. Malam Seribu Jahanam, Intan Paramaditha’s second novel after the critically acclaimed Gentayangan in 2017 (published as The Wandering in English translation in 2020) is … [Read more...]

I moved to Asia and the third book I have reviewed from Indonesia. This time, it is published by one of my favourite publishers, Archieplago Books. Their books are just lovely. So, when I saw this a while ago, it was one I had to buy from them. Felix Nesi is from West Timor. The book looks back at … [Read more...]

It can be hard to read without projecting a use function onto a piece of writing—perhaps inevitable, since most literature is subject to market forces. Even the self-declared aesthete wants something: an encounter with the sublime, or an escape from utilitarianism. I’m drawn to Bruno Latour’s notion … [Read more...]

People from Oetimu came my way via a review from Stu at Winston’s Dad. Felix Nesi (b. 1988) is an author from Indonesian West Timor, and the novel is set there, on the western part of the island that had been colonised by the Dutch until Indonesia gained independence.  We in Australia are more … [Read more...]