Research is tricky without background. While literature reviews are meant to resolve this, they merely look at what others have been talking about, rather than delve into the whys and wherefores. That’s what the research is for. Let’s search for the whys even though they are hard to find. Reading, researching and reminiscing should do the job.
I am reading J.D. Legge’s history of Indonesia right now. I’ve read plenty of Indonesian history, notably the Adrian Vickers book below, and never tire of learning nuggets about the ancient past which shaped how such diversity can hang together.
Elizabeth Pisani’s a woman with plenty of ground experience in Indonesia. Not only did she work as an epidemologist in the Jakarta backstreets, but she then hit the road, boat, plane and train to travel to the remoter parts, talking to the locals on their terms. It’s fascinating.
Then we move onto literature. Indonesian literature is very hard to find in English or even outside the region. This is surely something to be addressed. Beyond the ancient Nagarakretagama which is a tough read, Pramoedya, an imprisioned critic of the Suharto regime, wrote this quartet, a true masterful tale of Indonesia from colonial times.
Recently I finished The Rainbow Troops, a beautiful tale on the challenges to get an education in rural Indonesia.
Lastly, Man Tiger is a great, magical, surrealist read on life in a coastal town.
