The story starts in present-day Jakarta, on the morning of a human rights conference. An older narrator wakes up and argues with his wife as married couples do. He chats with the taxi driver on the way to the meeting hall before taking the stage. The narrator, it becomes clear, is a former … [Read more...]
Film adaptation of Eka Kurniawan’s novel sets sights on global market
February 23, 2020 by
The third novel by award-winning author Eka Kurniawan, Seperti Dendam, Rindu Harus Dibayar Tuntas, peculiarly given the international title Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash, has its cards lined up to become the next most-awaited movie. There is still another year to go before the movie hits … [Read more...]
‘Buru Island – A Prison Memoir’: Watermelons drained of tears
February 10, 2020 by
From above, Buru looks like a fairy tale isle washed by the Banda and Seram seas. At ground level, the third-largest island in the Maluku archipelago located 2,230 kilometers northeast of Jakarta supports the aerial image. Settlements are small, roads uncrowded, a lush landscape dominated by Mount … [Read more...]
Winternachten literary festival and the art of decolonization
February 5, 2020 by
Former Dutch colonies are the focus at Winternachten in The Hague, one of the Netherlands’ biggest literary festivals. “Again, your excellency, we are in 1939, and just as your parliament expressed expectations that it would take at least another century before Indonesians are ready for … [Read more...]
Discovering Indonesian-Dutch connection through poetry
February 2, 2020 by
Robin Block and Angelina Enny have co-written a poetry collection about shared Dutch-Indonesian history. Before the Dutch colonial era ended in the 1940s, Indonesians and Dutch settlers lived alongside each other for hundreds of years. Yet how much do Indonesians and Dutch people really know about … [Read more...]