Three Sisters

Three Sisters
Author: Bi Feiyu
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2010-08-09
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0547487339

In a small village in China, the Wang family has produced seven sisters in its quest to have a boy; three of the sisters emerge as the lead characters in this remarkable novel. From the small-town treachery of the village to the slogans of the Cultural Revolution to the harried pace of city life, Bi Feiyu follows the women as they strive to change the course of their destinies and battle against an “infinite ocean of people” in a China that does not truly belong to them. Yumi will use her dignity, Yuxiu her powers of seduction, and Yuyang her ambition—all in an effort to take control of their world, their bodies, and their lives. Like Dai Sijie’s Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha, and J.G. Ballard’s Empire of the Sun, Three Sisters transports us to and immerses us in a culture we think we know but will understand much more fully by the time we reach the end. Bi’s Moon Opera was praised by the Los Angeles Times, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and other publications. In one review Lisa See said: “I hope this is the first of many of Bi’s works to come to us.” Three Sisters fulfills that wish, with its irreplaceable portrait of contemporary Chinese life and indelible story of three tragic and sometimes triumphant heroines.

The Appearances of Memory

The Appearances of Memory
Author: Abidin Kusno
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2010-02-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 0822392577

In The Appearances of Memory, the Indonesian architectural and urban historian Abidin Kusno explores the connections between the built environment and political consciousness in Indonesia during the colonial and postcolonial eras. Focusing primarily on Jakarta, he describes how perceptions of the past, anxieties about the rapid pace of change in the present, and hopes for the future have been embodied in architecture and urban space at different historical moments. He argues that the built environment serves as a reminder of the practices of the past and an instantiation of the desire to remake oneself within, as well as beyond, one’s particular time and place. Addressing developments in Indonesia since the fall of President Suharto’s regime in 1998, Kusno delves into such topics as the domestication of traumatic violence and the restoration of order in the urban space, the intense interest in urban history in contemporary Indonesia, and the implications of “superblocks,” large urban complexes consisting of residences, offices, shops, and entertainment venues. Moving farther back in time, he examines how Indonesian architects reinvented colonial architectural styles to challenge the political culture of the state, how colonial structures such as railway and commercial buildings created a new, politically charged cognitive map of cities in Java in the early twentieth century, and how the Dutch, in attempting to quell dissent, imposed a distinctive urban visual order in the 1930s. Finally, the present and the past meet in his long-term considerations of how Java has responded to the global flow of Islamic architecture, and how the meanings of Indonesian gatehouses have changed and persisted over time. The Appearances of Memory is a pioneering look at the roles of architecture and urban development in Indonesia’s ongoing efforts to move forward.

Theory of the Novel

Theory of the Novel
Author: Michael McKeon
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 972
Release: 2000-12
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9780801863974

McKeon and others delve into the significance of the novel as a genre form, issues in novel techniques such as displacement, the grand theory, narrative modes such as subjectivity, character, and development, critical interpretation of the structure of the novel, and the novel in historical context.

Chewing Over the West

Chewing Over the West
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 438
Release: 2009-01-01
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9042027843

The orientation of academic institutions has in recent years been moving away from highly specialized area studies in the classical sense towards broader regional and comparative studies. Cultural studies points to the limitation of Western approaches to non-Western cultures – a development not yet reflected in actual research and data collections. Bringing together scholars from all over the world with specialized knowledge in both Western and non-Western languages, literatures, and cultures, this collection of essays provides new insights into the agency of non-Western literatures in relation to the West – a term used with critical caution and, like other common binary dualisms, challenged here. Inter-cultural expertise, seldom applied in the combination of Asian, African, and ‘oriental’ perspectives, makes this compilation of essays an important contribution to the study of colonialism and postcoloniality. Topics covered include postcolonial Arabic writing; T.S. Eliot in contemporary Arabic poetry; Algerian (and Berber) literature; the English language and narratives in Kenyan art; characterization, dialogism, gender and Western infuence in modern Hindi fiction; Naya drama in India; modern Burmese theatre and literature under Western influence; Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front and the Vietnamese Novel Without a Name; Western Marxism and vernacular literature in colonial Indonesia; hybridity in Komedi Stambul; and Sherlock Holmes in/and the crime fiction of Siam and Indonesia Contributors: Amina Azza Bekkat; Thomas de Bruijn; Matthew Isaac Cohen; Rasheed El-Enany; Keith Foulcher; Saddik M. Gohar; Rachel Harrison; Doris Jedamski; Ursula Lies; Daniela Merolla; Evan Mwangi; Guzel Vladimirovna Strelkova; Anna Suvorova; U Win Pe

Indonesian Stories for Language Learners

Indonesian Stories for Language Learners
Author: Katherine Davidsen
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2021-10-12
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 1462922686

This diverse anthology of traditional tales from across the Indonesian archipelago includes short stories, origin myths, historical legends, poetry, diary entries, news reports and dialogues. Each of the 20 stories is presented in parallel English and Indonesian versions on facing pages, making this a great resource for intermediate language learners. Although written in the Indonesian national language, the stories hail from many different ethnic cultures and include a number of female characters who reveal the challenges faced by women in Indonesian society. In adopting this approach, the authors make the stories relevant and engaging for students, as well as provide fascinating windows onto the regional cultures found among these islands. The stories in this volume include: "Forbidden Love"--A story from West Kalimantan that tells of the tragic love between two first cousins who had to pay a hefty price for their love "Freshwater Dolphins of the Mahakam River"--A story in the form of blog reports from Borneo telling the legend of the freshwater dolphins in the Mahakam River and the challenges faced by the peoples of East Kalimantan "Pitung, the Hero of Batavia"--A story from Jakarta in which a Robin Hood-like figure who stole from the rich to pay the poor, played a heroic role in defending the poor against foreign-run gangs in colonial times And many more! Authors Katherine Davidsen and Yusep Cuandani are experienced language teachers who use these texts in their high school classes at international schools in Jakarta to fulfill the requirements for International Baccalaureate and Cambridge IGCSE curriculum courses in Indonesian language and culture. The stories are graded in terms of difficulty. Each one is accompanied by a set of discussion questions, a detailed vocabulary list, cultural notes keyed to the text and online native-speaker audio recordings. An extensive Indonesian-English glossary is provided at the back of the book.

Indonesian Children's Favorite Stories

Indonesian Children's Favorite Stories
Author: Joan Suyenaga
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Total Pages: 87
Release: 2020-03-17
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 146290808X

This colorfully illustrated multicultural children's book presents Indonesian fairy tales and other folk stories--providing insight into a rich oral culture. Set in tropical rainforests, on balmy beaches, and in the remote highlands of the Indonesian islands, Indonesian Children's Favorite Stories offers a taste of how universal values of bravery, cleverness, true love, kindness and loyalty are transmitted to Indonesian children. It make perfect new additions for story time or bedtime reading. Astute princesses, resourceful villagers and daring travelers appear throughout this vast archipelago to tell their stories and charm our children. These beautifully illustrated stories, retold for an international audience, provide children with an insight into the traditional culture, morals and environment of Indonesia. This book is aimed at children in the five to twelve age group, but readers of all ages, young and old, will find much to enjoy within these pages. Featured Indonesian stories include: True Strength The Woodcarver's Love The Buffalo's Victory The Magic Headcloth The Caterpillar Story And many more! The Children's Favorite Stories series was created to share the folktales and legends most beloved by children in the East with young readers of all backgrounds in the West. Other multicultural children's books in this series include: Asian Children's Favorite Stories, Indian Children's Favorite Stories, Japanese Children's Favorite Stories, Singapore Children's Favorite Stories, Filipino Favorite Children's Stories, Favorite Children's Stories from China & Tibet, Chinese Children's Favorite Stories, Korean Children's Favorite Stories, Balinese Children's Favorite Stories, and Vietnamese Children's Favorite Stories.

A History of Modern Indonesia

A History of Modern Indonesia
Author: Adrian Vickers
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 325
Release: 2013-03-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107019478

This updated edition examines the rise of fundamentalist Islam in Indonesia and asks why the country's democratic aspirations have yet to be realized.

Virtual Lotus

Virtual Lotus
Author: Teri Shaffer Yamada
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2002
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780472067893

This winning collection of short stories poignantly illustrates contemporary life in Southeast Asia

Behind the Postcolonial

Behind the Postcolonial
Author: Abidin Kusno
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2014-04-04
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1136365095

In Behind the Postcolonial Abidin Kusno shows how colonial representations have been revived and rearticulated in postcolonial Indonesia. The book shows how architecture and urban space can be seen, both historically and theoretically, as representations of political and cultural tendencies that characterize an emerging as well as a declining social order. It addresses the complex interactions between public memories of the present and past, between images of global urban cultures and the concrete historical meanings of the local. It shows how one might write a political history of postcolonial architecture and urban space that recognizes the political cultures of the present without neglecting the importance of the colonial past. In the process, it poses serious questions for the analysis and understanding of postcolonial states.