Back when I was a kid in the 1980s, Jakarta was a crowded city of organised chaos, somewhere between sprawling village and budding metropolis. Bicycle rickshaws operated in the shadows of nascent skyscrapers. Homes were lit by fluorescent bulbs but street vendors still hung kerosene lamps out for … [Read more...]
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The ‘Sturm und Drang’ of a teenage girl and Indonesia’s transition to authoritarianism
July 24, 2026 by
Framed against the violent communist purges of 1965, Tari Lang’s debut memoir My Neighbour the Dictator weaves a gripping, Anne Frank–like coming-of-age story of a teenager thrust into Indonesia’s dangerous underground resistance. — Why are coming of age stories immensely popular? Most likely … [Read more...]
Tari Lang’s ‘My Neighbour, The Dictator’ looks back at Suharto era
July 19, 2026 by
Memoir recounts repression and upheaval in Indonesia through a teenager's eyes. Many Indonesians still approach free speech with caution, as broadly worded laws can be used to stifle criticism of the government. The legacy of what is widely regarded as a three-decade dictatorship has left many … [Read more...]
The day the tanks came for my parents
July 11, 2026 by
Tari Lang’s memoir discusses growing up under Indonesia's military dictatorship while much of society carried on as normal “The Establishment is largely unchanged. Nothing changes in this universe. They continue to live in their big houses, shop in the malls, eat in smart restaurants.” In My … [Read more...]
Worn and food-stained, these books still feed my body and soul
July 9, 2026 by
I look at my grandmother’s recipe books and suddenly there she is, filling a Tupperware dish with devilled eggs. When I was a child, my grandmother collected dolls. Pedigree, antique – never Barbies. European dolls made from celluloid and bisque; Madame Alexander dolls with names like Baby … [Read more...]
