Books Literature

The Mahabharata in comics

Reincarnations of works by the great Indonesian comic artists challenge manga’s dominance

A many-headed machine

The story of Indonesian literature is a fragmenting journey from national myth to bewildering multiplication

New aromas

'Fragrant literature' is giving way to a diversity of literary voices and identities

What’s trending?

Young Indonesians are leading trends in Indonesian writing and publishing

Indonesian writing in the present: Introduction

Important Indonesian writing is emerging in unexpected forms

Book Review: Tiger Stone

Deryn Mansell’s novel opens a window into Indonesia for younger readers

KITLV Reading Room gone, collection remains

The Reading Room enabled interactions between scholars - Andy Fuller

The Institute will continue to operate without its famous reading room

Review: Seeking peace without justice

The memoir of a former human rights commission official gives insights into handling of human rights in Indonesia in the late New Order and early reformasi period

Review: Coming to terms with 1965

Can the descendants of both sides of 1965 come together to help the nation achieve reconciliation?

Review: Money, power and ideology in Indonesia’s political party system

Marcus Mietzner argues that when seen in the context of other new democracies, Indonesia’s political parties are not so bad

Review: Jokowi: From Solo to Jakarta and beyond?

Bob Lowry reviews the memoir of the current Jakarta governor and likely frontrunner for the 2014 presidential elections

Seeking identity, seeking Indonesia

Pulang'sauthor reflects on writing the stories of those unseen and unheard

Review: Voices from the unheard

Leila S. Chudori’s novel Pulang is an important addition to a growing literature examining the events of 1965-66 and its aftermath

Review: Julia’s jihad

The provocative Julia Suryakusuma on the rampage

Review: A tale of survival and resilience in modern Surabaya

Robbie Peters' new book brings the poor urban kampungs of Surabaya to life

Review: Justice, victimhood and remembering the violence in East Timor

Lia Kent’s study of East Timor’s attempts at transitional justice is an important contribution

Review: Taking a musical journey in Sumatra

Margaret Kartomi’s life-long devotion to bringing Sumatran music to the world is revealed in her major contribution to analysing and preserving this musical heritage

Review: Suharto’s guardians and reluctant reformers

A new publication tells the story of the first graduates of the joint Indonesian Armed Forces Military Academy

Review: Lieutenant General Djaja Suparman tells his story

Editor’s note: For Indonesia-watchers the activities of the military and its leaders remain largely opaque and perhaps even menacing. In recent years the steady stream of memoirs and biographies by and about military leaders has, in some cases, assuaged some of this mystery and in others, added to the intrigue. As the public and judicial gaze has increasingly turned to the actions of military leaders with connections to the New Order, the memoir has been engaged by some as a form of testimony in an effort to ‘clear their name’. Whatever the motivation, with each new addition to this genre, we are offered new insights into the fractious and often treacherous ‘interior’ world of the Indonesian Armed Forces. Suparman holds the line but reveals some new insights into the transition of power after the fall of the New Order

Review: Reporting violence and promoting peace

A new book opens up debate about the power of the journalist and media organisations reporting conflict in Indonesia

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Lontar Modern Indonesia

A selection of stories from the Indonesian classics and modern writers, periodically published free for Inside Indonesia readers, courtesy of Lontar

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