CATEGORY

Danarto is a master short story writer, whose roots reach deep into the Indonesian subconscious. His style is easy and lyrical, yet he deals with subjects of tremendous importance love, death and the possible spiritual greatness of human being.Could man become God? Could he be perfect? Could he bear the rustle of distant breathing? This is a ridiculous dream: it is barely possible that man can become God. It is barely possible that God wants to reveal Himself physically.Burton Raffel has described these as disturbing tales few readers will forget them easily
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In Danarto's stories extremes meet, and the absurdest things becomes possible. It would all be very eery and horrifying if it were not at the same time absurd and comical. Danarto has a vivid imagination and conjures up a completely phantasmagorical world the Javanese counterpart of Cecil. B. de Mille-like scenes. The stories are bizarre and baroque, but at the same time displaying a gift for the poetic evocation of beauty.- A. Teeuw, in Modern Indonesian Literature II -