Search

A young woman takes a driverless taxi through the streets of Jakarta, only to discover that the destination she is hurtling towards is now entirely submerged... A group of elderly women visit a famous amusement park for one last ride, but things don’t go quite according to plan... The day before her wedding, a bride risks everything to meet her former lover at their favourite seafood restaurant on the other side of the tracks... Despite being the world’s fourth largest nation – made up of over 17,000 islands – very little of Indonesian history and contemporary politics are known to outsiders. From feudal states and sultanates to a Cold War killing field and a now struggling, flawed democracy – the country’s political history, as well as its literature, defies easy explanation. Like Indonesia itself, the capital city Jakarta is a multiplicity; irreducible, unpredictable and full of surprises. Traversing the different neighbourhoods and districts, the stories gathered here attempt to capture the essence of contemporary Jakarta and its writing, as well as the ever-changing landscape of the fastest-sinking city in the world. Translated by Mikael Johani, Zoe McLaughlin, Shaffira Gayatri, Khairani Barokka, Daniel Owen, Paul Agusta, Eliza Vitri Handayani, Syarafina Vidyadhana, Rara Rizal and Annie Tucker.

There was a long letter that arrived too late. The sender’s name was not written and the letter was partly wet because of the rain. * Since we were little, we felt like aliens that were lost on earth. The man had already forgotten his childhood friend when a bundle of letters arrived at his doorstep. If you really must know, I only have one type of dream. I want to live in a simple house with someone who is truly fitting for me. If I really must pour all of my attention, I will do that to such a person. The man had already forgotten their childhood dreams. For many decades since we first met, I have chosen you in each of my prayers. You never knew that until today. And if you ask me to leave just like that, at my age now, which is nearing forty, it might be too late for me to find a substitute of you. * The man had never known that his childhood friend was still in love with him. The letters dragged that man to the past. Until he found out that it was all too late.

"Ada surat panjang yang terlambat sampai. Tanpa nama pengirim, dan hampir basah oleh tempias hujan. Sejak kecil kita berdua merasa diri kita adalah alien-alien yang tersesat ke Bumi. Pria itu sudah melupakan seorang teman masa kecilnya saat sebundel amplop itu sampai di beranda rumah. Kalau kau perlu tahu, aku hanya punya satu macam mimpi. Aku ingin tinggal di rumah sederhana dengan satu orang yang benar-benar tepat. Bila memang aku harus mencurahkan seluruh perhatianku, kepada satu orang itulah hal itu akan kulakukan. Ia bahkan sudah melupakan mimpi-mimpi masa kecil mereka. Berpuluh-puluh tahun lamanya, bahkan sejak kali pertama bertemu, aku telah memilihmu dalam setiap doaku. Sesuatu yang tak pernah kauketahui bahkan hingga hari ini. Dan bila kau suruh aku pergi begitu saja, di usiaku yang lebih dari empat puluh ini, aku mungkin telah terlambat untuk mencari penggantimu. Dan ia tak tahu teman masa kecilnya itu masih mencintainya. Surat-surat itu menarik pria itu ke masa lalu. Hingga ia tahu, semuanya sudah terlambat."

A young woman takes a driverless taxi through the streets of Jakarta, only to discover that the destination she is hurtling towards is now entirely submerged... A group of elderly women visit a famous amusement park for one last ride, but things don’t go quite according to plan... The day before her wedding, a bride risks everything to meet her former lover at their favourite seafood restaurant on the other side of the tracks... Despite being the world’s fourth largest nation – made up of over 17,000 islands – very little of Indonesian history and contemporary politics are known to outsiders. From feudal states and sultanates to a Cold War killing field and a now struggling, flawed democracy – the country’s political history, as well as its literature, defies easy explanation. Like Indonesia itself, the capital city Jakarta is a multiplicity; irreducible, unpredictable and full of surprises. Traversing the different neighbourhoods and districts, the stories gathered here attempt to capture the essence of contemporary Jakarta and its writing, as well as the ever-changing landscape of the fastest-sinking city in the world. Translated by Mikael Johani, Zoe McLaughlin, Shaffira Gayatri, Khairani Barokka, Daniel Owen, Paul Agusta, Eliza Vitri Handayani, Syarafina Vidyadhana, Rara Rizal and Annie Tucker.