This work of historical fiction is based on the author’s personal observations of events and chronicles the chilling story of the survival of three women fleeing the savagery of the post-Suharto regime and of an Indonesia floundering on the brink of social, political and economic collapse.
The Fifth Season is also an account of tens of thousands of innocents slaughtered throughout the archipelago as a result of ongoing sectarian and separatist upheaval. Though the book reads like a thriller, it is really a chronicle of the times told in vivid detail.
Collison’s knowledge of the region is undeniable. He served in Indonesia as a member of the Australian military and government intelligence services during the turbulent period known as “The Year of Living Dangerously”, which was followed by a successful business career spanning 30 years throughout Asia.
Recognized for his uncanny predictions through his books in relation to Asia’s evolving political and economic climate, he brings unique qualifications to the historically based vignettes and intriguing accounts of power-politics and the shadowy world of government clandestine activities.
The author’s inspiration for writing The Fifth Season apparently was the result of the reading the Indonesian transcript of a twelve year old Chinese girl’s statement to Jakarta police in which she related the horrors of home invasion, gang-rape and murder. He cried unashamedly.
His burning question became “Why the authorities in Jakarta, and many other Indonesian cities, failed to prevent the tragedy which occurred during ten days in May 1998 when the Chinese were specifically targeted for political gain?” Collison doesn’t mince words...“The Republic of Indonesia now lives in danger of becoming an economic dust-bowl, inflicted with widespread poverty and pestilence, the number of unemployed and destitute reaching catastrophic proportions because of the self-serving interests of those entrusted with the country’s leadership.” In every line of every page, it is easy to discern that this is the author’s heartfelt sentiment.
His predictions have turned out to be sadly accurate. Collison writes about Osama bin Laden and the Muslim/terrorist presence in Indonesia three years before the events of September 11th. Subsequent to the Bali bombing in 12 October 2002, Collison “revisited the story” and discovered that many of his predictions contained in the original edition had come to pass.
Indonesia and the world have witnessed the emergence of powerful, influential militant Muslim groups who are responsible not only for the slaughter of many thousands of Christians in the eastern provinces but the incomprehensible attack on innocent tourists and Balinese on Bali that killed hundreds. It is now an accepted fact that Al Qaeda had established a sound network throughout Indonesia with the intention of supporting the realization of an Islamic state.
The Fifth Season should reawaken urgent discussion of all that has transpired since those first heady days of post-reformist Indonesia.
The Fifth Season by Kerry B. Collison, Sid Harta Publishers (www.sidarta.com.au <http://www.sidarta.com.au/», www.publisher-guidelines.com <http://www.publisher-guidelines.com/» , www.temple-house.com <http://www.temple-house.com/» ) 2003, ISBN 1-877-059-17-X, 407 pages.
Available for Rp99,000 at Periplus Bookshops in the Bali Galleria and in the Matahari in Kuta, Warung Made in Seminyak, Ngurah Rai Airport (both international and domestic terminals), Keris Gallery in Nusa Dua and in Gramedia bookstores.
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