GABY RUSLI WRITES (in an on-going series of reviews of Indonesian classics) — A grandfather who seeks to marry off his granddaughters to his wealthy friends for connections. A young, successful model who suffered the consequences of her early success. A Chinese-Indonesian family was left with the scars and traumas…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: FAMILY ROOM (2010) BY LILY YULIANTI FARID — THE MANY FACES OF A FAMILY UNRAVELED
GABY RUSLI WRITES (in an ongoing series of Indonesian classics) — Every person has within themselves a personal ‘tiger,’ whether it is vice, trauma, or an immoral act we bury inside of us. We spend our lives trying to subdue this tiger. Some succeed in taming their tigers, while others…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: TIGER! TIGER! (1991) BY MOCHTAR LUBIS — A TALE OF ONE MAN’S BATTLE AGAINST HIMSELF
GABY RUSLI WRITES (in her ongoing series on classic Indonesian literature) — Through versatility and natural eloquence, Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s, The Girl From The Coast (1987), took a seemingly simple story based on the author’s grandmother’s life into a complex metaphor that simultaneously represents female oppression and the exploitative dynamics between the ruling class…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: THE GIRL FROM THE COAST (1987) BY PRAMOEDYA ANANTA TOER — A PEASANT GIRL TURNED AN ARISTOCRATIC WIFE
KEZIA LAKSMONO WRITES – I never thought that leaving my home country would make me more aware of food’s importance in my life story or identity. I see now, though, that the food which brings us back to our childhood represents more than just a taste. It is an extension…
Full Article INDONESIA: A HUNGER FOR THE TASTE OF HOME
GABY RUSLI WRITES (in a series of reviews on Indonesian classics) — Is it not ironic to witness a person of faith advocating for love and understanding yet punishing a man for loving another man? For Indonesian author Norman Erikson Pasaribu, growing up as a gay man of Batak descent (an ethnic group…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: SERGIUS SEEKS BACCHUS BY NORMAN ERIKSON PASARIBU (2019) – THE POWERFUL POEMS OF A QUEER INDONESIAN
GABY RUSLI WRITES (in a series of reviews on Indonesian classics still in print) — It is a well-known fact that many great revolutions started from the circulation of finely written, brave literature. For the Indonesian natives who were growing weary of endless backbreaking work and hunger, Multatuli’s Max Havelaar (1860) represented what many…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: MAX HAVELAAR (1860) BY MULTATULI — REVISITING THE FUEL THAT IGNITED A REVOLUTION AGAINST DUTCH OPPRESSION
KEZIA LAKSMONO WRITES – Tesla cars roaming the streets are a common sight for the average Angeleno. Public parking lots with charging stations for electric cars are now the norm here. But for a typical Indonesian like me? I am fascinated by this. While renewable energy has become the second-most…
Full Article INDONESIA: THE ROAD AHEAD LOOKS GOOD FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND CLEAN, GREEN ENERGY
GABY RUSLI WRITES (in a series of reviews on Indonesian classics) — Corruption. Collusion. Nepotism. The hypocrisy of the wealthy. All odds are stacked against the poor. These are some of the authentic and intriguing themes in Mochtar Lubis’ third novel, Twilight in Djakarta (1963). Lubis’ story challenges an autocratic leader and…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: TWILIGHT IN DJAKARTA (1963) BY MOCHTAR LUBIS – AN INDONESIAN’S LETTER TO HIS FAILING COUNTRY
GABY RUSLI WRITES – Nowadays, widespread education is viewed as a method to acquire more wealth rather than a new-age privilege. In Andrea Hirata’s classic work, The Rainbow Troops (2005), he recounts his childhood on the island of Belitung, Indonesia, through the story of ten incredibly unique and eager students whose families depend…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: THE RAINBOW TROOPS (2005) BY ANDREA HIRATA — THE POWER OF EDUCATION IN A HOPELESS WORLD
GABY RUSLI WRITES — “You can turn her into a prostitute and take the money she earns for as long as she lives,” said the old man. “Or, if there’s no man who wants to be with her, you can chop her up into bits and sell her flesh at…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: BEAUTY IS A WOUND (2002) BY EKA KURNIAWAN – A TRAGIC STORY OF INDONESIA’S EARLY YEARS
GABY RUSLI WRITES – Faith teaches us that all men are created equal, yet we choose to enslave one another. European empires have colonized almost every country globally, and while colonialism has been linked to progress, it has left nations scarred and changed. For Indonesia, the foreign occupation has inspired…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: THIS EARTH OF MANKIND (1996) BY PRAMOEDYA ANATA TOER – THE AWAKENING OF A NATION ENSLAVED IN ITS OWN LAND
GABY RUSLI WRITES — Beggars roam the busiest streets of Indonesia’s capital cities, some with the intent to gather funds for a cause no one really knows much about, while others simply out of a desperate desire to survive. Imagine you’re a typical driver running errands on a Wednesday. You’ve…
Full Article INDONESIA: A GENERATION’S FUTURE COMES OUT TO BEG
GABY RUSLI WRITES — Indonesia has become one of the world’s epicenters for COVID-19 in recent weeks. With a dramatic surge in cases-averaging 50,000 per day-as well as bed and oxygen scarcity, the country’s Third World history and residual characteristics have thrust it into an especially damaging, vulnerable position. While…
Full Article INDONESIA: WHERE CRAZY, RICH PEOPLE, POLITICS AND THE PRESS HELP SPREAD COVID
GABY RUSLI WRITES — Was it my clothes? Did I make the mistake of dressing slightly more provocatively today without realizing it? Why are people so hostile to women? Why do they stare at me as if I am walking around with a target on my back? These questions have…
Full Article INDONESIA: WHERE SEXUAL HARASSMENT NEITHER STOPS NOR STARTS
KEZIA LAKSMONO WRITES — So, on April 2nd, in the heart of Jakarta, I strode into a large building where the vaccine was being distributed and almost cried with joy as I got my jab of the Sinovac vaccine. This name might be unknown to you – with all the…
Full Article CORONAVIRUS CHRONICLES: MY FIRST DOSE OF THE SINOVAC VACCINE
KEZIA LAKSMONO WRITES — I was reminded of “Pantun,” an oral literary form of expression traditionally used amongst Indonesians, during this pandemic. In its most basic form, it consists of even-numbered lines which are recited according to a fixed rhythm. For example: “Kalau ada sumur di ladang, bolehlah kita menumpang…
Full Article CORONAVIRUS CHRONICLES: POETRY FOR THE PANDEMIC AND BEYOND