Tash Aw
Description
A heartrending tale of two estranged brothers surviving the tumultuous “Year of Living Dangerously” in post-colonial Indonesia, from the Booker-longli
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sted author of The South
In 1960s Indonesia, a country in the grip of civil unrest, two orphaned brothers are forced down divergent paths: Johan is adopted by a wealthy Malaysian couple in Kuala Lumpur, while Adam finds himself living with a Dutch painter, Karl, in a simple Indonesian coastal town.
When Karl is taken away by soldiers during Sukarno's drive to purge Indonesia of its colonial past, Adam sets out to find him. All Adam has to guide him in his quest are some old photos and letters—one of which sends him to the colourful, dangerous capital, Jakarta, and to Margaret, an American whose own past is bound up with Karl's.
This extraordinary tale perfectly captures the turmoil of a country teetering on the brink of war, and the experience of two brothers forced apart and wracked with guilt at the memory of their parting.
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