Eka Kurniawan’s novel Beauty is a Wound—first published in Indonesian in 2002, but only now available in English translation—has a wonderfully memorable opening line: One afternoon on a weekend in May, Dewi Ayu rose from her grave after being dead for twenty-one years. Kurniawan has frequently … [Read more...]
Goenawan Mohamad: Fighting graft with his pen
November 9, 2015 by
Excerpt Indonesian journalist and activist Goenawan Mohamad's essays reveal insights into a country plagued with corruption. What is a man who loves his country to do when his homeland is plagued with corruption and oppression, when it carries the scars of a bloody past, and when - even now - … [Read more...]
The Rape of Sukreni
August 31, 2015 by
The Rape of Sukreni is set in Bali, mainly in the outback town of Bingin Banjah -- "little more than a cluster of peasants' home" when the story begins. It is, however surrounded by coconut groves, and so Men Nagara has a steady supply of customers for her stall, selling the plantation workers food … [Read more...]
Family Room, by Lily Yulianti Farid, Translated by John H. McGlynn
July 22, 2015 by
Family Room is a dynamic collection of short stories by Indonesian author Lily Yulianti Farid, with whom I will be ‘in conversation’ at the forthcoming Bendigo Writing Festival. (If you haven’t got your tickets yet, here’s the link: you can buy a session ticket, or a festival pass which gets you … [Read more...]
Beauty is A Wound – English-language debut of a celebrated Indonesian author
June 22, 2015 by
English-language debut of a celebrated Indonesian author. “One afternoon on a weekend in May, Dewi Ayu rose from her grave after being dead for 21 years.” With this surprising sentence, Kurniawan sets the stage for an epic picaresque that’s equal parts Canterbury Tales and Mahabharata. Weaving … [Read more...]
