"An ambitious saga that intertwines narration from various generations and creates a wide-ranging picture of Indonesia." — Publishers Weekly
**Nominated for the FT/Oppenheimer Funds Emerging Voices Award 2016**
"An epic saga of families and friends entangled in the cruel snare of history" (Time Magazine) Home examines the tragedy of political exiles during Suharto's regime (1965-1998) forced out of Indonesia after the 1965 massacre of presumed leftists and sympathizers, alternating between Paris and Jakarta, delving into the lives of the exiles, their families and friends. A story of longing, lust, and betrayal, but also love, laughter, adventure, and mouthwatering descriptions of Indonesian food, Home further illuminates Indonesia's tragic twentieth-century history made known in the West by the Oscar-nominated documentary The Act of Killing.
Leila S. Chudori is Indonesia's most prominent female journalist. Home is her debut novel and won Indonesia's most important literary prize in 2013.
Recenzii
"Chudori relentlessly examines the complexity of having a "home"; home can be both political and personal, and involve remembering and forgetting. . . . the novel stays grounded with nostalgic themes of food and love, anchoring the reader with mouthwatering detail and the intrigue of Romeo and Juliet–esque affairs." — Publishers Weekly
"A writer with a fine appreciation of social collisions and domestic dramas that mirror wider political concerns. . . . Special mention must be made of John McGlynn’s translation, which admirably brings to life the energy of Chudori’s storytelling. Whether describing Indonesia – 'a place that gave the world the scent of cloves and a wasted sadness' – or contemplating the life of a flaneur 'building his home in the flow and motion of movement', McGlynn is consistently able to capture the musicality of Bahasa Indonesia on the page with pinpoint clarity – essential for a novel with a complicated, sometimes breathless structure." — Tash Aw, The Times Literary Supplement (TLS)
"A story of families and friends entangled in the cruel snare of history." — Time
"The suffering and loss that Suryo and the other exiles face, while realistic, is also utterly heartbreaking . . . The history might be new for American readers, but the relationship issues are universal. " — Hannah Wise, Dallas Morning News
"An epic family saga set in Indonesia during Suharto's regime. Heartbreaking and lovely." — Liberty Hardy, via Twitter n/a #2015damngoodbooks)
"An epic, ambitious slab of fiction crammed with a rich and diverse cast of characters whose lives have been swept along by Indonesia's dramatic and at times extremely tragic contemporary history . . . A wonderful exercise in humanism by a prodigious and impressive storyteller". — Jakarta Globe
"A highly entertaining epic, with a plethora of historical stories to tell." — Messengers Booker
"Never less than fascinating . . . a wonderful introduction to Indonesian literature for readers with an interest in political, historical novels."— Tony's Reading List
"It is rare to pick up a novel as powerful and engrossing as Home by Leila Chudori The narrative spans time and place to cast reflections on love at first sight, complex family dynamics, and identity. With vivid depictions of Indonesian cuisine and its preparation, Chudori tackles universal subjects through multi generational perspectives. Bridging the 1960's revolt and uprisings in France and Indonesia, she sheds light on life as a forced expatriate in Paris. Walks through the Père Lachaise Cemetery, poetry, and an eventual return to home through a documentary assignment help create the narrative of this marvelous, yet heartbreaking novel. Home is one of my absolute favorite books of 2015!" — Patrick Kukucka, bookseller, Malaprop's Bookstore (Asheville, NC)
"[Home] is a novel of art and education, and also of food and its importance in cementing a sense of community and belonging. For English-speaking readers unfamiliar with Indonesian culture and history, the novel is an excellent introduction. For any reader, it’s a thought-provoking read and a satisfying examination of what it means to have and then lose and then try to find one’s home." - Rebecca Hussey, Full-Stop
"By turns beautiful, moving, tragic and life-affirming, and is a remarkable creative response to the barbarism of Suharto's notorious coup." — Gareth Richards, bookseller, Gerakbudaya Bookshop (George Town, Penang, Malaysia) - Best Books of 2015
"An excellent novel...[Chudori] tells a first-class story and, even if Indonesia is remote and unknown to us, we find ourselves sharing its troubles and very much taking the sides that Chudori wants us to take. This is her first novel and it is to be hoped that she writes more." — The Modern Novel
Nota biografica
Leila S. Chudori (Jakarta, 1962) is Indonesia's most prominent and outspoken female author & journalist. She has worked at the renowned Indonesian newsmagazine TEMPO since 1989, where she is now Senior Editor. A scholarship recipient, she completed university studies at Trent University in Canada and returned to Indonesia in 1988. Chudori started publishing as a child at the age of 12 in children’s magazines, and she is the author of several anthologies of short stories, novels, TV & film scripts, Chudori is considered one of Indonesia's boldest storytellers.
John H. McGlynn, a Wisconsin native, has lived in Jakarta since 1976. He received a masters degree in Indonesian language & literature from Michigan & he has translated or edited over 100 works. Through the Lontar Foundation, which he established with four Indonesian authors in 1987 to promote Indonesian culture internationally through literature, he has edited, translated, and published close to one hundred titles of and on Indonesian literature and culture.
