Hi guys, just wondering, I remembered early in this year, my novel (in Indonesia language) was included in the National Library of Australia's Acquistion list, I'm pretty happy and proud because people from the overseas could read it. But again, since the novel was written in Indonesia language, I'm pretty pessimistic someone will eventually borrow the book from the shelves since not many people outside our country speak and read Indonesian.

So I'm wondering, non-Indonesians, how many of you have read Indonesian literature before? do you read them translated or in bahasa Indonesia or you dont have interest at all? To be honest I'm little sad the fact that many masterpieces in Indonesia literature (supernova, saman, etc) are virtually unknown outside Indonesia.

tell me your thought about it.

The closest I have come to reading Indonesian literature is when I read film scripts.
In our forum here, we have touched on the subject of Indonesian poetry, by peope such as Chairil Anwar.
From the forum and travel guide books, and also from actually travelling through Indonesia and making friends, I have heard the names of other writers like Dewi Lestari (singer/writer) and Mochtar Lubis who wrote Twilight In Djakarta about the social turmoil in the 1950s. Also thanks to Furansizuka's excellent Indonesian Movies topic, I have learned about Andrea Hirata, the man behind the famous Laskar Pelangi.
The hard fact is that Indonesian popular culture, such as film, music and literature, all of these are unknown by the average foreigner.

Ah thanks for the information Ralf. Chairil Anwar is one of the greatest poet in Indonesia. Not many poet could invoke such blazing effect like his words, I think his ouvres considered classic already. It's very nice to know some of his works are known outside Indonesia.

To my knowledge, Pramoeya Ananta Toer is probably the most famous writer from Indonesia. Many of his works have been translated and he has been nominated for noble prize candidate (but in the end he never picked as the recipient). But other than that, I couldnt pick much novelist that have their work translated already.

Equinox Publishing is probably the most well-known English publishr for Indonesian literature, but unfortunately, they seem not really open, I dont see any message for indonesian writers to submit their works. Also, I have encountered their published books in periplus chain store, and they ridiculously expensive ($20-$40 or more).

Saman is probably the most appealing available title in their collection. It's one of the most controversial novel published in Indonesia because it was talking about Sex and woman which still considered taboo in our literature realm. Believe it or not, Ayu Utami is the person who recommended my novel to be published by my current publisher.

Indonesian literature?

Everyone should have read the buru quartet at least one time in their lives. An absolute world classic.

This Earth of Mankind, Child of All Nations, Footsteps, and House of Glass - by Pramoedya Ananta Toer.
Just like Nelson Mandela, Pram seems to have spent a good deal of his life in jail.
It makes me angry that such people who espouse Humanist values are always locked up by authoritarian governments.
Pram's buru quartet is a set of novels that chronicle the history of Dutch colonialism and the first stirrings of independence.
He was too commie for the right-wing government and too mainstream for the radical communists.
Being a child of the Movies, I have not read a great deal of literature, but I hope to get hold of some of Pram's translated works.

BTW what does buru actually mean ?
I gather it has something to do with the writer's time in prison, but I looked up the word in my kamus, and it says "hunt".

yes, buru literally means hunt, though I think Bram refers it as the name of the island he was jailed during New order, specifically "Pulau Buru"/Buru Island

Other than Pram and these I mentioned before, there is alsoMoanmar Emka whose controversial Jakarta Undercover has also been translated and published worldwide. Perhaps someone has read it before? It was contoversy because so many sex services which was virtually unknown to most of people and he investigated it by himself.

OK, now I understand why it is called the Buru Quartet.

When I was in Jakarta at this time last year, I was shopping for DVDs of Indonesian movies, and I remember seeing a DVD called Jakarta Undercover.
Is this movie related to Moanmar's book ?
I did not buy the DVD because it looked like a typical sexploitation movie.

verstehe nix...

Actually I havent watched the movie, I only have read the book so far, the movie itself was pretty standing out because it explores theme of prostitution which is still a taboo in Indonesia. Interestingly, there is also a Japanese Indonesian child starring in this movie. Lukman Sardi who played as transgender in this movie also asked high security during recording (because he doesnt want to be exposed in women's attire maybe). it was also subject of controversy because Luna Maya's role as striptease. I dont remember whether there wre any flame from the islam conservatives though, I think they were pretty quiet.

I couldnt say much about the movie, but I think it's worth to watch because the unusual theme, telling story about the prostitutes who actually wish to escape from their life. Maybe these who have watched it could give some opinion?

Just want to inform you, there will be award ceremony of Khatulistiwa Literary Awards, a prestigious literary awards in Indonesia in 13 November, other than Jakarta Arts Council Novel Competition (they have no official english translation). The latter one will be announced by the end december.

I'm posting this news because my name appears on the talented young writer longlist

A lot of subtle nuances are lost in translation, so I guess I should learn Bahasa Indonesia properly to read your book.

ahaha, sorry bout that, why not using google for translation? they support indonesian translation to certain extent. I have plan to translate my book, but it's on my lowest priority, because my english for literature is not that good, I have tough time to decide what grammar I should use.

Hey Ralfie maybe you should bring out the novel that’s inside you, put that wild stories and characters
break dancing, popin n lockin in your head on paper, you have lot of ideas n certainly has a way with words!

Congrats Gus with your book’s nomination, I am not an avid lit book reader but I read this “Atheis” novel by Achdiat Kartamihardja another Indonesian literary giant
who lives in Australia for decades, too bad I never get a chance to ask for his autograph tho when he was in my neighborhood in Bdg.

ah, talking about modern Indonesian literature, E.S Ito is a name worth to mention.


This man is probably the first writer who elaborated quasi-fictional genre in his works. A fact spiced with twisted fiction here and there. His latest novel, Rahasia Meede (Secret of Meede, and some said, het geheim van meede) is a 671-pages novel which will bring the reader to a non-stop breathtaking adventure. The story is about group of people who are seeking the V.O.C. (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, also called kompeni by Indonesia, or translated Dutch East India Company).

If you read indonesia's history, you would probably start questioning why VOC went bankrupt since it virtually had monopoly across the entire island. According to this novel, many VOC bureaucrats were abusing their privilages and corrupting their company's fortune. Three people in the company established a plan to take monopoly of gold in the island since its economical value is much higher than spices. There has been centuries of urban legend whether there are really a hidden pool of gold somewhere hidden in the island. The novel actually said there is probability if the gold in Monas is really part of gold hidden by VOC. As you can see, it's story of conspiracy, but it's about Indonesia and its overlooked history.

The story will bring you to the country past, seeing history in perspective you've never sees before. It's probably one of the best novel I have read around decade. It offers something unusual, a "smart" novel, that's it. If you could read Indonesian novel, this is a must-read. I really hope they will translate this novel into english someday.

^Wow.....I want that...
The story looks interesting.

Anyone will come tomorrow at Atrium Plaza Senayan for KLA 2008? I receive the invitation since I'm nominated, wish me luck

Keep us posted, I always envy writers like you: semoga meraih Khatulistiwa Award ya!

Encik Gustaaf penulis rupanya, saya tak sangka akan terjumpa penulis di sini. Bangga berkenalan dengan Encik Gustaaf.

Wow, Gustaaf! Way to go, dude! Good luck!
Can you tell us your real name and maybe the title of your book, please?

I can't make it to Plaza Senayan until January....
But good luck Gustaaf !
Hope your novel Jukstaposisi : cerita Tuhan mati gets some extra recognition.
As you mentioned earlier, we have your book here in the National Library of Australia in Canberra.

thanks guys! my real name is Calvin, as Ralf said, I wrote the novel Jukstaposisi: cerita Tuhan Mati (Juxtaposition: story of dead god), also happen to be 3rd place of Jakarta Arts Council in 2006 . It's an honor to be listed in KLA 2008, though I shouldnt hold hope too high, since we never know what determines winners in such literary competition.


My friend Farida Susanty actually winner of the last year award, she wrote novel "dan hujan pun berhenti" (And the rain stops), an unusual teenager novel, tells story of japanese indonesian boys who frequently committed suicides because his problematic, broken home family.

My novel is in short, is a story of a girl named Ashra Trivurti, who hava third eye to see the predetermined future. Later on she was distrubed after realizing the world she resides is a dream of sleeping god, and surprised by the knowledge of unknown language in her head. She acually could speak language of gods. If this god will wake up, her real world will be shattered. Because she's a deity born in dream, she's an incomplete god, and must eat other gods through 10 sefira of kabbalah, only this way she could ascend into prima causa and recreate the world.

The funny thing is, the Jakarta Arts Council committee almost gasped when knew I was 21, they thought I'm some philosophy lecturer because the theme of my novel

I always think I'm a lucky person, Ayu utami happened to recommend my novel to be published by gagas media back then. If she hadnt' recommended it, I doubt the process would have been faster since I'm just a beginner after all .

that's some story about me, I will make a report to this thread after the event.

We have a number of people in AF who look set to go on to great careers at a very young age.

@ Gustaaf
Nice...! Have you written more books? Are they translated into English as well?
Any inspirational or any psychological thrillers?? _{(note to DEIM: not "inspirational psychological thrillers", but 2 different genres )}
I'd love to read some. (is there a special AF price? )

Actually I have three novels in my pc, but only one so far published. I also have finished another novel, but under some circumstances, I couldnt send them to publisher yet before the end of december. My next novel is science fiction, my friends tell me if they enjoy it very much, and I hope it could be published sometime next year, after I find a publisher.

Actually my 1st novel is homage of sybil, I tried to write psychological thriller. The novel titled "Miroir", means mirror in french. A story of french chinese boy who has 5 personalities, one of them is a girl, and eventually he found out that he was adopted into his family. Later on, one of his personality killed his real brother because his brother wanted to commit suicide. I'm too ashamed to bring this to publisher, back then I wrote this when I was euro-centric, everything is shamefully too europe, even the character backround is french, german, etc, etc. I also used mixed english language heavily just like these typical popular teenager novel you could see anywhere. Simply said, I think it's still not good enough to be published.

I'm also slowly translating my novel into english, but I'm not native, it's rather hard, I have problem to translate the artistic expression of indonesian language to english. I'm used to write academic english, but to write english literature is much harder.

you could find my novel in gramedia book store, but from what I heard, it's getting rare these days, perhaps because because distribution problem, I dunno, or maybe my publisher want to sell out all the first copies as fast as possible. =/

Calvin, my man! 21? Wow! DEIM, Gustaaf... We have a lot of bright and talented young people. With them around, I'm optimistic that we're going to have a bright future!

wow..Gustaaf....you make me feel ashamed of my "literature"...can i buy your novel from u? we have Gramedia here in Jayapura...but the newest novel i can find here is "Keperawanan yang Terenggut" by Freddy S (who will never got Khatulistiwa award sampe lebaran monyet juga),excuse my unfunny joke....but seriously...i cant find the newest novel here in Jayapura....so, can i buy your novel Gustav?dont forget to sign it yah...

OMG, Peccy !!
You came back.
Been gone a long time.

Just returned from Atrium Plaza Senayan, as I mentioned before in the early post, and the winner is:

Prose

Ayu Utami - Bilangan Fu

Poetry

Nirwan Dewanto - Jantung Lebah Ratu

Talented Young Writers

Wa Ode Wulan Ratna - Cari Aku di Canti

I'm naturally disappointed because I dont win this time, but it's okay! Nobody could win competition all the time, there is always xyz factor in such competition, so I would like to congratulate the winners, hopefully this competition will encourage young writers across our nation to produce quality literature.

i become silent member of this forum...i always drop by...but post nothing....and the talented gustaaf didnt reply my msg....hiks...btw, i love Saman and Larung by Ayu Utami....i think im gonna buy Bilangan Fu...happened to see it in Gramedia Jayapura.....

ah sorry peculiar alien, unfortunately I dont distribute my own novel, maybe you could consider to buy from online book shopping? There are some sites like palasari online where you could buy the novel. Sorry not replying last message, I was bit hurry during last time.

-------------------------------
Gustaaf, Hi there, I am in the process of submitting a proposal to the National Endowment of the Arts for the translation of Indonesian literature into English. I was reading your post and was wondering if you had any suggestions of works that should be translated. When I lived in Jakarta I used to love reading Indo fiction in order to learn the language. You mentioned supernova and saman. I am not familiar with these but if you could offer me any suggestions I would appreciate it. I am also looking for any works that might be coming under censorship in Indonesia or other political topics. Trima kasih banyak ya... Lonnie

It will be too long if I post my suggestion here, so I sent it via PM, I hope it could be useful

Cheers for getting involved.
Hope your proposal will encourage an interest in literature.
Translation is a tricky issue.... sometimes the subtle nuances are lost in translation.
To do it properly is certainly not like translating an instruction manual.
It is a painstaking job.

absolutely, sometime it's dilemma to read translateed non-english literature, especially the asian ones. There are many aesthetical essences lost from original language, and it made the output rather bland. I have read several japanese classics in english language, which are awfully soulless. I blamed the translation since japanese literature probably should be read in japanese.

But again, in the english-language-dominated world, you have no choice but to translate your work into english if looking for greater attention. sometime I'm wondering whether there are any Indonesian author who wrote their novels in english.

Yes, I know one, although she now resides in Australia.

Dewi Anggraeni

wow, that's an interesting find, thanks for the link rasibiduk

How about Julia Suryakusuma
she was a friend of Obama's mom and lives in Australia too.

I would like to know some famous Indonesian literature, can you guys suggest a few for me ? I never realised until a few days ago that I never read much Indonesian lit.
Maybe literature in a form of a novel ? thx.

Also it would be appreciated if a brief on what the literature is about can be given as well.

How about you start with Calvin Michel Sidjaja's book, which he describes in a post above.

Yeah so do I, hardly ever read any Indo lit novel or Ustrali’s for that matter
If I had read them at all at one time (like as part of school’s assignment) I certainly do not have any recollection of them (the plots) anymore.
But I do still have a vivid account when I was in SD I read a lot of Buku Silat by Kho Ping Ho rented from a local Taman Bacaan in the hood.
Sometime if the book was hot off the press n ever popular like Bu Kek Siansu series with the ever antagonist Jay Hwa Ciat (sic)
then I cant take it home, hafta read it on premises only and spent a good couple of hours just to speed read there.

I have since lost my craving to read books, instead I watched VCD bajakan or played video games in warnet because its more asyik I reckoned.
But now thanks to AF cultural postings that have re-sparked my yearning to start to read worthwhile Indo novels again, I 've finished reading a good Indo classic roman novel “Atheis” by Achdiat KartaMiharja an Indonesian literary giant -now lives in Ustrali for the last 40 years, btw he is also Jamie Aditya’s grandpa -the novel has been translated in English and adapted in the movie by acclaimed director Sjuman Djaja.

Right now I am reading a best-selling contemporary novel Laskar Pelangi, it too has been adapted recently in equally phenomenal movie by yet another brilliant Indo cineaste that is Mira Lesmana .

Yeah that's a good place to start, read the famous Andrea Hirata books.





Anyway where is our member author Calvin ?
We need his insight into the Indonesian writers' scene.
What's happening, what are the trends, meet and greet seminars, etc....

Ahhh I was thinking more of 20th century Indonesia first, old times first



Yeah Kho Ping Ho I've read that one as well lol....dad has heaps of that.
If I was going to buy any novel I would like to buy it in Indonesian...I'm fluent (you could say) in English but not so much in Indonesian nowadays and it's worrying.

I've done some research and i was thinking of getting this book Hoakiau by Pramoedya Ananta Toer....I know it's not a novel, it's more like an essay but there is something I could relate to it I guess.

Hold on to your Indonesian language skills.
When I arrived in Australia as a five year old boy, I let my German language slip away and now I realise what it is that I have lost.
There is culture and commerce in language skills.
Being multi-lingual can enrich your life in many ways, not the least of which is actual riches from international career opportunities.

hahah... grasshopper now is the time to turun gunung n get out of ur shaolin temple (read : your attic or basement)
What about Ca-bau-kan (The Courtesan) Remy Sylado's novel about the plight of Chinese, set in colonial Java's tempo doeloe .
Its about search of family identity, of mixed marriages, of multi heritage this novel was also made into a blockbuster movie
by multi talented Nia Dinata who never too shy to tackle any controversial social issue.

The classic Sitti Nurbaya the biggest sellout in indonesian literature and culture so far
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/07...aya-legend.html
Claudio Cozzolino, Roma, Italia — Tue, 07/28/2009 - 3:43pm
Many people underestimate the real value of some classics of the Indonesian literature. Even the early novels published by Balai Pustaka in the '20s and '30s, though under a strict control by the Dutch rulers, represent a development towards more progressive ideas. I read part of "Sitti Nurbaya", the whole "Belenggu" (Pane) and "Layar Terkembang" (ST Alisyahbana) in original language editions, feeling that those writers could touch very deep issues of culture and psychology even through some manierism imposed by colonial authorities and censorship. I wish I could translate and help publishing those and even more masterpieces of the Indonesian literature in my language. In my humble point of view, Indonesian literature deserves a better and international exposure.

More about Indonesian classic lit: http://www.answers.com/topic/indonesian-literature

Looking at that answers.com list of literary titles suggests that "cinta" is the current favourite topic.

Ahhhh thx for all the input...

I'm very interested in looking at Pramoedya Ananta Toer atm......
His works somehow attracts my attention the most....

Hoakiau di Indonesia (1960)
Korupsi (Corruption) (1954)
The Buru Quartet

* Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind) (1980)
* Anak Semua Bangsa (Child of All Nations) (1980)
* Jejak Langkah (Footsteps) (1985)
* Rumah Kaca (House of Glass) (1988)

Remy Silado is good too. He wrote Ca Bau Kan, Kembang Jepun, Sam Po Kong, Menunggu Matahari Melbourne, Parisj Van Java, etc. The most memorable novel of him is Rumahku di Atas Bukit.

Hi there calvin here. Have been absent for a while since I'm busy with my work. Anyway guys, if you are wondering what is the hottest cake in indonesian books right now, it's probably Dewi Lestari newest "Perahu Kertas". The author herself is a best-selling author with her novel Supernova. Perahu Kertas (which means paper boat) is lighter novel which probably stays in the middle between literature (sastra) and pop novel (which always put as B-ranked novel by so-called literature expert 'sastrawan' here in Indonesia).
She actually writes this novel in 55 days. It was published previously in digital format by XL before it finally published in book form.

price: Rp. 70,000 ($7)
genre: pop
my rate: 7.5/10

The story is about a girl named Kugy and a man named Keenan. Kugy is a carefree girl who is dreaming to become folk stories writer, and Keenan is a man who wants to follow his dream to become painter. Both unaware that they are attracted to each other at first sight, but they couldnt admit it to each other which makes the story full of soap opera. But what this make novel better is how Dewi Lestari gracefully shakes our emotion with interaction of each characters in the novel. There are some scenes that could make you laugh really hard and some might make you teary eyes really fast. This novel is really "gado gado" full of laugh, sad, romance, etc.

What does Perahu Kertas has to do with the story? The dreamy girl, Kugy used to think she's agent of sea-deity Neptune, and she sails paper boats to the ocean, telling all her thoughts to the ocean. She also shares this story to Keenan, who shares same zodiac sign with her, and the paper boat will eventually play major role to reunite these two.

This novel actually was written before Supernova, so it's very different than her recent works. I could recommend this for these who are looking for pop novels that doesnt suck with the overused cliche and all. I read this book for 2 days and I really enjoy it, just dont expect something extraordinary of it.

Also for these who are looking for english-translated Indonesian novel in Indonesia, you could look for discounts at Periplus at Pondok Indah Mal. I actualy saw Ayu Utami's Saman for price Rp. 90,000 (9$). I would probably have bought it if I had more money to spend, but recently I have been reading a lot of eurasian literatures book and anything related to dutch-east-indies. (Incase you dont know Ayu Utami... she's a famous feminist, novelist, writer and best known for writing Saman which breaks Taboo about sexuality in Indonesian literature. ever since she wrote Saman, there are a lot of woman writer who write about sexuality in our literature.)

My 2nd novel is on a way to be published by the end of year or next year by a publisher from Jogjakarta, it's title gonna be Last Anthropos (Tentative). A science fiction based on alternative history of Indonesia in period of 2100. In 2100, the humans disappeared from the planet because the wish of one woman. And how this gonna happen? Just wait till it published :p

And for these who are interested to watch Khatulistiwa Literary Awards 2009, the names have been mentioned. (KLA is also one prestigious literature award, they pick three winner. $10,000 for prose category, $10,000 poem cateogory, and $2,500 for young writer who published their first novels). My novel was nominated last year, I didnt win but I think it was honorable tp be put in the list. Ayu Utami won the prose category though she didnt attend the event itself.