The stories in Family Room will transport readers from Indonesian villages and remote islands to the capital city of Jakarta; from Victoria Park in Hong Kong to refugee camps in Kashmir; and also to expedition camps near the lakes of Finland. The mosaic of family rooms, seen through the eyes of the narrators, gives us a sense of what Indonesia has gone through from time to time. The further away the protagonists leave home, the stronger their unspoken yearning to unravel the traumas rooted at the center of their family homes. One especially strategic room, where all of the dark sociocultural and political dimensions are dramatized brilliantly, is the kitchen, where women churn dreams, fears, social and political intrigues away. Another one is the bedroom, where babies are born and a maternal figure dies. In these domestic and feminized spaces, family and political affairs are played out in its sharpest intensity.

Translated by: John H. McGlynn