Articles tagged ‘Book Reviews’
Indonesians in Focus: Fikar W. Eda
By Barrie | March 27th, 2008 |
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“Berbilah-bilah rencong/dengan sarung dan tangkai berkilap/tak lupa kami selipkan/pertanda /martabat/dan keagungan/betapa pedih hati kami/dari Jakarta/kalian hujamkan mata rencong itu/tepat di jantung kami” (Blades of rencong/with their shiny sheaths and handles/we do not forget to put on/as a sign/of dignity and greatness/how our hearts bleed/from Jakarta/you stab the rencong/right into our hearts.) The poem is among [...]
Indonesians in Focus: Godi Suwarma
By Barrie | March 21st, 2008 | Add a Comment »
From the long white hair to the sarong-style trousers and leather sandals from the West Java town of Garut, everything about Godi Suwarma says “artist”. But the Sundanese writer does not care what people think. He believes in his choice to become an artist, a decision many people find hard to accept. In a writing [...]
City Caricatures: Jakarta, West Java
By Barrie | March 4th, 2008 | Add a Comment »
A transvestite wearing a rowdy wig, gaudy makeup and shabby tank top singing a dangdut song in a baritone voice is not something most people want to see while sitting at a traffic light or stuck on a congested street. It’s the sort of thing that makes you want to avert your eyes. You could [...]
Book Review: History in Uniform
By Barrie | January 17th, 2008 | Add a Comment »
In 1945 when Indonesia proclaimed its independence from the Netherlands it had no army-in-waiting, indeed no police, nothing at all in the way of a formal apparatus of repression or defense. The leadership was essentially anti-militarist and in the case of Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir avowedly anti-fascist.
Book Review: Mads Lange - The Bali Trader and Peacemaker
By Barrie | January 9th, 2008 | Add a Comment »
A Danish expat living in Lombok and Bali in the 19th century has been almost completely forgotten, yet he was one of the most influential people in Balinese history. He is Mads Johansen Lange, a blue-eyed, blond haired Dane, who is buried in Kuta in a small Chinese graveyard on a road named after him, [...]
New Gramedia Bookstore: Matraman, Jakarta, West Java
By Barrie | January 1st, 2008 | Add a Comment »
Let me lose in a bookstore and you have lost me for the whole day. I can browse through the bookshelves with utmost joy and I simply adore the fresh odour of newly printed paper. Yeah I know, bizarre, but it’s the reading I like. Candika, my wife, hates it when I disappear into a [...]
Book Review: Culture Shock! Jakarta
By Barrie | December 31st, 2007 | Add a Comment »
Most seasoned travellers will be aware of the term “culture shock“, which is an all-encompassing expression to cover the feeling of disorientation that often affects people thrust into new surroundings outside their own comfort zone explains Andrew Charles.
Trekking in Indonesia
By Barrie | December 19th, 2007 | Add a Comment »
Without a doubt, trekking in the islands of the archipelago is the most rewarding experience. You get to view of the exotic landscape of the country together with extraordinary flora and fauna and on your hikes, you often get the chance to meet and assimilate with customs and lifestyle of the indigenous tribes of Indonesia. [...]
Bookshops in Jakarta: West Java
By Barrie | November 30th, 2007 | Add a Comment »
The bookshelves I have at home are full to the brim, books are stacked on the floor and my desk, my office looking more like a library!. I enjoy reading books and buying them much to annoyance of my wife who would probably prefer I spent the money on other pursuits. In every major city [...]
Arabic Language in Contemporary Indonesian
By Barrie | October 17th, 2007 | Add a Comment »
One of the most often heard cliches is that Bahasa Indonesia is a simple language. I find this cliche is mainly used by those who have never mastered the language. Nevertheless, it should be admitted that Arabic is much more complex and difficult to master.
