Publisher: Lontar Foundation (June, 2019)
Price: £13 (A-IS members) or £15 (non A-IS members)
A. A. Navis (1924-2003) was the leading cultural and literary figure in his home province of West Sumatra and widely respected at the national level as well. He wrote novels, plays, non-fiction, and poetry, but is best known for his short stories.
Kevin W. Fogg, and A-IS member, Matthew G.B. Woolgar, translated Navis’ stories in “To the Contrary”. The book contains seventeen of A.A. Navis’s most provocative and engaging stories. These range from a light-hearted comedy of errors between a husband and wife to heavy-hitting critiques of corruption, patrimonialism, bureaucratic morass, and self-righteous pretension. One of the reasons that Navis’ short stories have had such staying power is their biting satire that provides insight into everyday situations familiar to any reader. Although the stories are firmly rooted in West Sumatra, they speak to common problems of the modern era and shine a light on many of the cultural dilemmas that Indonesia has had to face.
To order the book, please send an email to Dorothy Ferary at delazio@yahoo.com with the subject: “To the Contrary”