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Indonesia

The covers of the nine books featured in the list: Suee and the Strange White Light, The House...
World Kid Lit Month: Read Around Asia
By Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp, Kelly Zhang & Hongyu Jasmine Zhu
This World Kid Lit Month, join us for a tour of Asia with the best of translated Asian literature for young people, including picture books, middle-grade and YA fiction, and graphic novels.
The covers of the six titles featured in the Watchlist: Beijing Sprawl, Happy Stories, Mostly,...
The Watchlist: June 2023
By Tobias Carroll
Tobias Carroll recommends new and forthcoming books in translation from Bolivia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Norway, and Poalnd.
Person in front of a blue city
Photo by Jr Korpa on Unsplash
The March 4th Incident
By Sabda Armandio
Though the girl’s mom had died five years earlier, her consciousness had been uploaded into a robot body with a tube-shaped head and a torso cluttered with silly refrigerator magnets.
Translated from Indonesian by Lara Norgaard
A dark kitchen table and chairs seen through a doorway with a single light above them
Photo by Ehud Neuhaus on Unsplash
Anna and Her Daughter’s Partner
By Laksmi Pamuntjak
“In Indonesia there are only two categories,” you replied. “Pacar atau suami—boyfriend or husband.”
Translated from Indonesian by Annie Tucker
MultimediaMultilingual
The covers of the books featured in the list
The Best Books of 2022—And What We’re Looking Forward to in 2023
By Words Without Borders
Our staff, contributors, and board members share their favorite translated books of the year and the titles they’re looking forward to in 2023.
The book covers of At the Edge of the Woods, When Women Kill, People from Bloomington, Let Us Believe...
The Watchlist: April 2022
By Tobias Carroll
Tobias Carroll recommends noteworthy new books translated from Ukrainian, Indonesian, Persian, Japanese, and Spanish.
Interiors and Interpretations: New Writing from Indonesia
By Susan Harris
The authors here represent a range of genres and topics in settings extending from distant planets to the very center of the earth.
The Biography of a Newborn Baby
By Raudal Tanjung Banua
But what did a baby have to show for its life?
Translated from Indonesian by Harry Aveling
Geology
By Nirwan Dewanto
When I realize that I am only writing in a national language, it is precisely geography that adds to its meaning.
Translated from Indonesian by George A. Fowler
The Prayer of the Flame that Sparked the Forest Fire
By M Aan Mansyur
Tell the sad stories to the sky.
Translated from Indonesian by John H. McGlynn
Multilingual
Myth and History: Writing from Indonesia
By John H. McGlynn
In October of this year, Indonesia will make its appearance as the guest of honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair—the first country from Southeast Asia to be so honored.
The Wild Cherry Tree
By Linda Christanty
When I was still in primary school, most of my time was spent up in that wild cherry tree.
Translated from Indonesian by Debra Yatim
Story
By Hasif Amini
Poetry is a pen that is dreaming.
Translated from Indonesian by Marjie Suanda
The Crow
By Zen Hae
But what caught most of his attention was the man’s wings.
Translated from Indonesian by Marjie Suanda
writing you
By Taufik Ikram Jamil
. . . the letters are reluctant to sound out / voices i knew / voices i memorized
Translated from Indonesian by John H. McGlynn
The Moon and the Magician in the Red Jacket
By Clara Ng
How could anyone survive on a primary teacher’s pension?
Translated from Indonesian by Pamela Allen
A Tale of Redemption
By Mona Sylviana
So you're hiding a communist, are you?
Translated from Indonesian by Toni Pollard
All for Hindia
By M. Iksaka Banu
I will find a way to get this letter safely to your hands, although it may take a long time.
Translated from Indonesian by Tjandra Kerton
When
By Acep Zamzam Noor
I heard the singing and dancing / In the village square / Suddenly fall silent.
Translated from Indonesian by John H. McGlynn
Gendhis
By Abidah El Khalieqy
“True. I am a whore. What of it?”
Translated from Indonesian by Joan Suyenaga
Multilingual
Fragile States: Artwork from freeDimensional
By freeDimensional
A visual exploration of the physical and psychological experiences of persecution and forced displacement.
Multimedia
Snacks in the Fashion Pages
By Syahmedi Dean
Right up till Friday afternoon the casting location was still not settled.
Translated from Indonesian by David Reeves
The Century Carver
By Oka Rusmini
Odd, where was it coming from, this smell that made him feel so agitated?
Translated from Indonesian by Pamela Allen
Road to Heaven
By Abidah El Khalieqy
Her eyes were fixed on the distant sky and a smile, befitting an angel of paradise, floated on her lips.
Translated from Indonesian by John H. McGlynn
The Rooms Out Back
By Nenden Lilis A.
I said we rise at 7:30 but we actually wake up at 4:30—before our baby's first cries and the morning call to prayer
Translated from Indonesian by John H. McGlynn
Cik Giok
By Reda Gaudiamo
Don't forget to buy something for Cik Giok to wear . . .
Translated from Indonesian by John H. McGlynn
Maybe Not Yem
By Etik Juwita
The woman was terrorizing me. Damn it all!
Translated from Indonesian by Andy Fuller
The Kitchen
By Lily Yulianti Farid
I grew up at the large kitchen table, watching Ruth sift flour and mix various kinds of dough.
Translated from Indonesian by John H. McGlynn
Mother’s Letter
By Dorothea Rosa Herliany
I write my letter, it has no address other than my longing.
Translated from Indonesian by Harry Aveling
The Well is Someone’s Home
By Dorothea Rosa Herliany
each time i dig into the well i never reach the bottom.
Translated from Indonesian
Womb
By Cok Sawitri
There is no need to explain; I understand.
Translated from Indonesian by John H. McGlynn