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...]
Fetishist Disavowal: On Felix Nesi’s “People from Oetimu”
December 29, 2025 by
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 (2019) by Felix Nesi, translated 2025 by Lara Norgaard
December 29, 2025 by
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...]
Towards a Postcolonial Politics of Relatability: Translating People from Oetimu by Felix Nesi
December 29, 2025 by
This essay was originally published in the Full Stop Quarterly “Literary Dis(-)appearances in (Post)colonial Cities,” edited by Michelle Chan Schmidt. Subscribe at our Patreon page to get access to this and future issues, also available for purchase here. The novel opens on the night of the 1998 … [Read more...]
In Indonesia, fears grow that dark past may be rewritten with government’s new history books
December 29, 2025 by
The Indonesian government's plan to release new history books has sparked concerns that some of the country's darkest chapters could be recast to show President Prabowo Subianto and late authoritarian ruler Suharto in a favourable light. The 10-volume series would have an Indonesia-centric … [Read more...]
