Jassin noted that Chudori ‘s short stories show influences by writers such as Franz Kafka, Dostoevsky, D.H. The late Indonesian literary critic, H.B Jassin, in his foreword to Malam Terakhir, said that Chudori’s prose is filled with honesty, determination, ambition and principles. Her collection of short stories, Malam Terakhir (“The Last Night” published by Pustaka Utama Grafiti, Jakarta, 1989), have been translated into other languages, including German (Die Letzte Nacht, published by Horlemann Verlag), while some of her short stories were published in the Menagerie Indonesian literary anthology published by the Lontar Foundation. In her adult career, her short stories were published in Indonesian magazines such as Zaman weekly, Horison literary magazine, Matra men’s magazine, Solidarity (Philippines), Menagerie (Indonesia), and Southeast (Malaysia). These early short stories had titles such Sebuah Kejutan (“A Surprise”) Empat Pemuda Kecil (“Four Little Men”) and Seputih Hati Andra (“As Pure As Andra’s Heart”). Both her style and themes mark her as an exceptional figure in the Indonesian literary scene.Ĭhudori’s early works began publication in 1974 when she was 12, in popular Indonesian children’s magazines, including Si Kuncung, Kawanku, and Hai.

She is considered one of Indonesia’s boldest story-tellers her style is unconventional and her themes include such taboo subjects as state absolutism, chauvinism and the hypocrisy of public mores. Chudori tells a first-class story about political exile, struggling with identity in an alien even if friendly land and a longing for a home that will remain permanently closed.Leila Salikha Chudori (born in Jakarta, 12 December, 1962), known to her readers as Leila S.Chudori, is an Indonesian author who has written short stories since a young age, a best-selling novel, and a television series. While there, she is caught up in the upheavals in Indonesia in 1998, which led to the downfall of Suharto. They have a daughter, Lintang, who feels herself mainly French but is well aware of her Indonesian blood and heritage and will, in much of the second part of the book, go to Indonesia to make a documentary as part of her film studies course. Dimas meets and marries (and later divorces) a French woman, he meets during the 1968 May uprising.

He was fortunately abroad at the time of the coup and he and his colleagues are able to go first to China and then to Paris, where they eventually open an Indonesian restaurant, which becomes successful. The main character is Dimas Suryo, who is left-wing but definitely not communist. The novel tells the story of a group of Indonesians who are abroad in 1965, during the 1965 anti-communist coup and are unable to return and have to spend the rest of their lives abroad. The latest addition to my website is Leila S Chudori‘s Pulang (Home).

Pulang by Leila S. Chudori