From Now On Everything Will Be Different

As democratic reforms swept Indonesia in the late nineties, the nation’s young generation asked themselves: what does it mean to be free? This novel is a compelling study of freedom and love, community and conformity, told with humour, sensuality and a subtly sharp political intelligence.

Diary of A Questioning Girl, part 1

A reflection about how we learn and practice religion, featuring God, a demon bird, a pharaoh, punks, and a blue-furred alien.

Sebaik-baik Manusia

L. baru tiba di New York sebagai mahasiswa berbeasiswa. Ia ingin sekali merentangkan sayap, terbang keluar dari zona nyaman, dan mengenyam citarasa kehidupan yang sesungguhnya. Namun, apa yang terjadi ketika seorang pria yang jauh lebih tua daripadanya mengajaknya berkencan?

Between Languages Between Worlds

A personal essay about how reading and writing in many languages have shaped the person and writer I am today.

Eighteen Years Later

This essay is part of a series commissioned by the Australia-Indonesia Centre, with leading writers and commentators from Indonesia and Australia each looking closely at their own society, cultures and political situations. When asked to contribute an essay to the series, Eliza thought of exploring the subject of Indonesian identity through personal and national trauma—specifically the May 1998 tragedy.

Someplace Between Respect and Desire

My confusion and alarm soon turned to fear. I felt with every cell on my skin my disadvantaged situation: I was the woman and he was the man, I was Asian and he was white, I was just another local girl and he was the dashing coveted foreigner, I was younger, less experienced, less beautiful, and I probably liked him much more than he liked me.

Firdaus dari Kardus

Aku tak habis pikir mengapa orangtuaku ingin memasukkanku ke sekolah Islam. Kami salat dan pergi ke masjid untuk mengaji, tapi Islam hanyalah salah satu dari banyak sendi kehidupan keluarga kami. Aku curiga keputusan Mama itu lebih berkaitan dengan keprihatinannya akan tindak “kenakalan remaja” yang makin lama makin sering diberitakan di televisi dan koran.