‘For me, who grew up and became an adult during the New Order period, I was conscious of a historical and political absurdity. I began to feel that there were some Indonesians who had become invisible.’ The year was 1988 and I had traveled to Paris on my way back home to Jakarta after graduating … [Read more...]
Writings
Why using English doesn’t make me any less Indonesian
I was 12 when I read my first Harry Potter book. I had just finished watching the Prisoner of Azkaban and I couldn’t wait to know what would happen next. So I bought the Indonesian translation of the Goblet of Fire. I still remember reading it at midnight in bed, under my blanket with a … [Read more...]
Worn and food-stained, these books still feed my body and soul
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...]
Xu Xi on Living the Transnational Literary Life
“Life really isn’t stranger than fiction, but you have to keep reading, and rereading, to know that.” A Clean, Well-Lighted Place He disliked bars and bodegas. A clean, well-lighted café was a very different thing. They generally were clean, and lighted, though not necessarily well, the … [Read more...]
