With his debut novel Yang Tak Kunjung Usai (Never Ending), Awi Chin proves that an Indonesian coming-of-age story does not require foreign or dystopian settings to be good. As a matter of fact, the novel brings up historical events related to an issue rarely discussed: the lack of Chinese-Indonesian … [Read more...]
‘Well, That Was Unexpected’: A novel filled with charm, wit and growing pains
October 8, 2022 by
In her new novel for young adults, Jesse Q. Sutanto again cooks up a humorous story that includes intrusive parents and overbearing but lovable relatives. One and a half years ago, Indonesian writer Jesse Q. Sutanto landed the literary surprise hit Dial A for Aunties. For the hilarious … [Read more...]
Indonesia’s Peter Pan: Ziggy Z delivers dark subjects with a child’s eye
July 2, 2022 by
Award-winning author Ziggy Zezsyazeoviennazabrizkie has published another book that looks relatively harmless at a glance yet is deceptively angsty and dark. Papers and books pile up across the living room of Ziggy's residence in Bandar Lampung — miniature cars and Lego bricks poke out here and … [Read more...]
The Wandering by Intan Paramaditha puts the reader in charge
May 23, 2022 by
Despite their reader-empowering name, choose-your-own-adventure books are more distinguished by the limits placed on the reader’s choice of path than any broad freedom of literary navigation. At most you will have three or four possible paths, and all are bound to lead to the end. What’s more, even … [Read more...]
Indonesian-Chinese writer Marga T on guilt of having been born a girl: ‘it gave me cancer’
May 22, 2022 by
With a career spanning more than half a century, Indonesian-Chinese writer Marga T is one of the country’s most prolific authors. Born in Jakarta to ethnic Chinese parents in 1943, she showed an early gift for writing, with her first two novels, the romance titles Karmila and Badai Pasti … [Read more...]