CATEGORY

The months following the fall of Soeharto in May 1998 comprise one of the most tumultuous periods of modern Indonesia history. Many Indonesians refer to those months as the jaman edan, a poetic term for a chaotic time when evil is rewarded and good punished. The jaman edan, while a time of horror and suffering, had its share of absurdity and farce.Jakarta Jive is a chronicle of the jaman edan through the eyes of those who lived through it. At times humorous, at other times harrowing, Jakarta Jive evokes the multifaceted character of that seminal period in the Indonesian nations eventful history. Through accurate portrayal of public events and intriguing insight into private lives, Jakarta Jive will become a must-read book for anyone with an interest in modern Indonesia.
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Jakarta Jive marks a significant contribution to the body of literature written in English on contemporary Indonesia. Unlike many of the other works in that genre, in Jakarta Jive one recognizes immediately that the books author is no mere tourist on Indonesian shores. The color of Jakarta, and of Indonesia as a whole, is apparent on each of its pages. No mere backdrop for a Western love story, this one. Jakarta Jive is its own tale.John McGlynn, Lontar Foundation

Armed with a sharp eye, a wry wit, and the deep insights gained from two decades of living in Indonesia, Allan gives the reader a riveting, ground-level view of the events that shaped the modern history of Indonesia. It is social and political commentary, a comedy of cross-cultural confusion, a love story it is, put simply, a good read.Bill Dalton, author of Indonesia Handbook