Book 93 - MAR 21, 2025 - FRI
THE RED BEKISAR
by Ahmad Tohari
Released in 1993, it´s about Lasi, a poor rural young woman, the daughter of a Javanese mother and a Japanese soldier. Like the red Bekisar, a mixed-breed rooster, she stands out for her rare beauty.
Her life takes an unexpected turn when she´s betrayed by her husband and flees to Jakarta, where she meets a matchmaker for rich men who sells her to the powerful Handarbeni. She enjoys her new life but is alarmed when she realizes the marriage is a sham. At the same time, she and a childhood friend named Kanjat rediscover their affection for each other, so they struggle to free Lasi from a net of power, corruption, deceit, and social oppression.
Lasi´s journey symbolizes the hardships faced by women of humble origins in a rigid and patriarchal social hierarchy, where they are often objectified and denied autonomy. It also portrays Indonesia’s rural-urban divide. Despite those challenges, Lasi’s story is one of endurance and rebellion.
Book 85 - MAR 13, 2025 - THU
THE RAINBOW TROOPS: A NOVEL
Published in 2005, this closely autobiographical debut novel is set on the remote island of Belitung and follows ten students - the "Rainbow Troops" - through the hardships of poverty and a failing school system.
Ikal, the narrator and author's alter ego, captures the passion of two local teachers and the resilience of the children as they strive for a better future through learning despite the odds against it. It´s a tribute to the often unheard heroes of education and a reminder that hope and determination can triumph over adversity.
Each character is depicted individually and emotionally inside a narrative that offers an intimate window into the customs and people of the world´s largest Muslim society. This novel has sold five million copies in Indonesia and is being published around the world in 12 idioms. It was also adapted for the screen and shown at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2009.
Book 77 - MAR 05, 2025 - WED
Published in 1980, it´s the first book in Pramoedya Ananta Toer's series Buru Quartet. Set in 19th-century Java, then a Dutch colony, it features Minke, a local aristocratic student who falls in love with Annelies, an Indo-European daughter of a concubine of a Dutch man.
Educated in a Dutch school, Minke is exposed to Western culture, yet he struggles against the colonial system in his country. His world expands when he meets Annelies and befriends her mother, who defied societal norms to become a self-educated and independent woman.
Pramoedya´s prose blends personal struggle with national identity, portraying life in colonial Indonesia, when social status depended on the amount of European blood in someone´s veins. Minke doesn´t accept this hierarchy and becomes a writer instead of a speech-maker. A classic of modern Indonesian literature, this novel was officially banned in 1981, returning to print only in 2005.
Book 69 - FEV 25, 2025 - TUE
TIGER! TIGER!: TAME THE BEAST WITHIN
First published in 1975, this allegorical novel analyzes primal instincts within us. Set in the Sumatran jungle, it follows a group of seven men on a tiger hunt that turns into a psychological and existential battle.
Despite led by a seasoned hunter, Wak Katok, they become prey to a tiger and simultaneously to their own fears. The jungle mirrors their descent into wild and untamed aspects of human nature in their struggle for survival. They soon realize that before they can kill the tiger, they must kill the beast within them.
Mochtar Lubis weaves suspense with philosophical depth, forcing readers to reflect on the duality of man: the civilized and the savage. Drawing on his own experiences as a journalist and political prisoner under Suharto´s regime, he crafts a thrilling adventure and a meditation on our innate psyche.
Book 61 - FEV 17, 2025 - MON
by Dee Lestari
Published in 2006, the novel follows Kugy, a young woman who dreams of becoming a writer and has a habit of sending paper boat messages into the ocean, and Keenan, a talented painter pressured by family to pursue a more practical path.
In college, an instant connection forms between them, but destiny leads them on separate paths, testing their bond over the years. As they mature, revealing their secret feelings means betraying the people they love most. Can they unveil their love for each other and chase their long-held dreams?
Paper Boats portrays the struggles of young adulthood, when dreams often clash with reality, and love is a source of inspiration and heartache. It´s a love story and a reflection on the courage it takes to follow one’s heart, speaking to whoever has already dared to go against social expectations.
Book 53 - FEV 09, 2025 - Sun
by Ayu Utami
Published in 1998, Saman has taken Indonesia by storm and sold over 100.000 copies in the Indonesian language.
Set against a challenging political backdrop, it depicts the lives of four female friends - Yasmin, a married Catholic lawyer from Manado; Cok, a Balinese businesswoman; Shakuntala, a bisexual dancer from Java; and Laila, a Muslim journalist. Another protagonist is Saman, a former Catholic priest and passionate advocate for human rights.
Utami´s novel is at once an exposé of the oppression of plantation workers in South Sumatra, a quest to understand the role of religion in contemporary lives, an exploration of female sexuality, and a love story touching Indonesian taboos.
Book 45 - FEV 1, 2025 - SAT
The Birdwoman’s Palate is a blend of culinary adventure, political intrigue, and personal discovery set in contemporary Indonesia.
It follows Aruna, a food-obsessed epidemiologist tasked with investigating a bird flu outbreak across the archipelago. Seizing the opportunity, she embarks on a gastronomic journey with her friends, indulging in local delicacies and spices.
Experiencing a new perspective on her country and herself, Aruna undertakes a thought-provoking exploration of Indonesia’s social and cultural landscape.
Book 37 - Jan 24, 2025 - FRI
In Home, Leila Chudori crafts a compelling tale of exile, adventure, love, memory, and also food.
It follows Dimas Suryo, a journalist forced to flee Indonesia towards Paris after the 1965 political upheaval that killed a million "communists" and arrested tens of thousands.
Even though building a new life with exiled compatriots, the ache of separation and the haunting events of their past never truly leave them.
Decades later, Dimas’s daughter, Lintang, returns to Indonesia and uncovers stories of her family, including sacrifices made for love, freedom, and identity.
Set against the backdrop of Suharto´s ferocious regime, this novel is about displacement and the longing for a place to call home.
Book 29 - Jan 16, 2025 - THU
Beauty is a Wound´s opening sentence is: "One afternoon on a weekend in May, Dewi Ayu rose from her grave after being dead for twenty one years". It´s the story of a beautiful Indonesian-Dutch prostitute, Dewi Ayu, and her four daughters amid wars, colonialism, communism, independence struggles, and love. Fairy tales and legends are mixed in this funny and yet tragic novel.
Indonesia had a turbulent history of colonization, first by the Dutch, then the Japanese. Its literature has often portrayed the lives of local people facing family dramas while largely ignorant of the dynamics of the political turmoils around them, as one of Kurniawan´s characters remarked: "Look," she said to another woman next to her, "they must be confused by two foreign nations making war on their land."