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…
ALEC FARMER WRITES – The Cultural Revolution was a notorious period of China’s history that has been analyzed time and time again worldwide. The strict policies of Mao Zedong shattered the livelihoods of China’s citizens. Few people remain who can tell their stories of that dark and turbulent period. In the eyes of Chinese…
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…
BOOK REVIEW EDITOR ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – Society’s rejection of Takiko is not solely because of her sudden pregnancy at the tender age of twenty-one. It is Takiko’s unfettered commitment to herself and her happiness that causes her family and Japanese society to ostracize and condemn her. Takiko’s self-conviction is…
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…
CADY ABE WRITES – Disney Pixar’s newest movie, “Turning Red”, premiered on March 11, 2022, on Disney Plus. The new animated film, directed by Domee Shi, brilliantly shines with themes of women empowerment and Asian American representation. “Turning Red” is the first Disney animated movie to have an Asian woman as head…
BOOK REVIEW EDITOR ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – What would happen if your country sank into the ocean? Would you still have a claim to your “homeland”? What about the language you speak? Could it still be considered your “native language”? In Yoko Tawada’s latest release of dystopian fiction, Scattered All Over…
BOOK REVIEW EDITOR ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – What exactly is the ‘self,’ and how can it be defined? From modern psychology, we know that human minds can be usurped through drastic techniques such as brainwashing, manipulation, and even hypnosis. Elusive and slippery in nature, the malleable ‘self’ forms and reforms…
ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – Through a vulnerable child’s eyes, parents represent stability, protection, and even eternity. What happens when eternity grows small and seemingly insignificant? Adolescents, ostensibly indestructible and infinitely hot-headed, get their first taste of personal freedom and start to detach from their nurturers. As one generation grows stronger and…
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…
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…
BRIANNA HIRAMI WRITES – Falling in love is already hard enough as it is without the constant fear of being outcasted for who you love. When your and your loved ones’ identity is not socially acceptable in society, it makes the thought of falling in love absolutely terrifying. One becomes incessantly…
CADY ABE WRITES – Picture books are often synonymous with bright colors, simple plots, and child-like innocence. However, readers find completely opposite undertones in Mr. Goodchild (2022). The artwork curiously draws readers in and creates an unsettling atmosphere. There is a great deal of dark shading, leaving a mysterious aura across the page…
ANGELINE KEK WRITES — Hauntings, secrets, graveyards — Violet Kupersmith’s debut novel, Build Your House Around My Body (2021) — is an ash-charred sky splattered with these ghastly hues. Winnie is a twenty-two-year-old Vietnamese American (or Việt Kiều in Vietnamese) woman who sets out for Saigon with nothing but “a passport,…
