In 2005, Equinox, Indonesia’s most prestigious English-language
publisher, launched this long awaited book by Ayu Utami, a
breakthrough novel for its author which virtually pioneered
Indonesia’s “chick-lit” genre. Falling loosely
under a group of writers called sastra wangi (“fragrant
letters”), the book became a literary sensation after
it was first released in 1998. Formerly published by Gramedia
in 1998, the Equinox publication is the first English-language
edition.
Because the novelist unabashedly and provocatively expressed
herself from an Indonesian woman’s perspective –
some would think to the point of vulgarity – the book
was truly a first in modern Indonesian literature. Saman enjoyed
spectacular sales of over 100,000 copies in its Indonesian
language edition in a country where a book which sells more
than 5000 copies is considered a bestseller. The title went
on to win the Jakarta Arts Council award for fiction in 1998
and the prestigious Prince Claus Award in the year 2000.
Saman is a story seen through the lives of its feisty female
protagonists – Cok, a businesswoman; Laila, a 30-year-old
writer/photographer; Shakuntala, a dancer; and Yasmin, a lawyer
– as well as the enigmatic hero Saman, a catholic priest
turned human rights activist.
The author was born in Bogor, grew up in Jakarta and obtained
a B.A. in literature from the University of Indonesia. She
worked as a journalist for Matra, Forum Keadilan, and D&R.
Not long after the New Order regime closed Tempo, Editor,
and Detik, she participated in the founding of Indonesia’s
Alliance of Independent Journalists to protest the closure
of those three weeklies.
Saman was one of the first Indonesian novels in which the
author conducted rigorous in-depth on site research to lend
authenticity and flavor to her story. For example, she displayed
an almost obsessive eye for detail when vividly describing
the environs of an oil rig in the South China Sea where she
had two of her characters meet. She displayed an equal passion
for cultural detail when writing about the comedienne Rosie
O’Donnell, Kermit the Frog, and French ticklers.
Rendering literary works from Indonesian into English poses
many difficulties, and Dr. Pamea Allen’s translation
is accurate and crisp, though perhaps a tad dry. The story
is at times confusing and even clumsy as it jumps between
characters, locations, times and points of view. Nevertheless,
the tale still manages to captivate the reader, reading occasionally
like a riveting newspaper story.
It is at once an exposé of the oppression of palm oil
workers in South Sumatra during the autocratic Suharto regime,
a lyrical quest to understand the place of religion and spirituality
in contemporary Indonesia, a playful exploration of female
sexuality and love in all its permutations, while at the same
time touching on all of the country’s long-forbidden
taboos: extramarital sex, the loss of virginity, brutal government
repression, political corruption and the explosive religious
relationships between Christians and Muslims.
If Saman serves to whet your appetite for more of this keen-eyed
and wildly popular author’s work, be aware that Ayu
has joined the International Writing Program at Iowa University
in the U.S.A. and is now writing her third novel, an English-language
version of Saman’s sequel, Larung!
Saman by Ayu Utami, Equinox Publishing 2005, ISBN 979-3780-118.
Softcover 184 pages.
Available for US$15 (Rp150,000) 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), in Gramedia Bookstores, and in Ary’s, Ganesha
and Periplus bookshops of Ubud. Also sold directly from the
Equinox website: www.equinoxpublishing.com
For comments and suggestions, please write : pakbill2003@yahoo.com
Copyright@2005 PakBill
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