I am still reeling from this book at the time of reviewing it and I think it is also partly responsible for the strange dreams I have been having over the past few days. Tiffany Tsao’s novel of sisters Gwendolyn and Estella is haunting, disturbing and vivid. It is one of those novels that has such a … [Read more...]
Historical fiction in a time of war and change in Dutch Indonesia – Lian Gouw’s ‘Only a Girl’
July 30, 2018 by
There is an immediate thrill of the visual as one reads the opening sentences of “Only a Girl,” a novel by Lian Gouw. The language is so vivid, that in an instant, the reader is transported to Bandung, Indonesia/The Dutch East Indies, 1932, where “feathery leaves of the tall jacaranda trees” are … [Read more...]
Raden Mandasia Si Pencuri Daging Sapi
July 20, 2018 by
It is not uncommon for us to enjoy adventure/fantasy books, but perhaps it’s pretty hard to find the real gem here in Indonesia, much less the historical one with a grand journey and multiple characters and truly enjoyable narrative that sucks the reader right up from the very first page. Raden … [Read more...]
10 Short Story Collection about Women
July 12, 2018 by
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...]
