A stark, honest portrayal of cursed love during the Japanese occupation of Java and the struggle for Indonesian independence. *** Sulis is a young woman selling potions in Surabaya's harbor district. She meets Sujono, a coolie with dreams of becoming a freedom fighter, and whose passion for Matsumi, a geisha called to Java by a Japanese general, is destined to ruin all of them. In Potions and Paper Cranes, each tells the story of their lives during the end of World War II and Indonesia's transition from a Dutch colony to an independent republic. *** Award-winning author Lan Fang began...

Pum is a loyal old dog who can smell colors. Along with Kwee, a pig with attitude, and seven-year-old Leksi, they tell the story of Mabel. As a young girl of the Dani tribe in Papua, Dutch missionaries take her to the city under the pretense of adopting her. Mabel quickly adapts to being domestic help and is eager to learn, but her request to attend school is denied. When Mabel returns to village life years later, her daughter-in-law and granddaughter, Leksi, join her. The women work in the fields all day long, and Mabel sells the fruits and vegetables in the open market. Living in Papua is a...

Half-Japanese and half-Javanese Lasi flees from the constraints of her small village to find herself enmeshed in the political corruption of Jakarta. *** The bekisar is a fine crossbreed between jungle fowl and domestic chicken that adorns the houses of the wealthy. Lasi, whose father was a Japanese soldier, fair skinned and beautiful, is such an acquisition for a rich man in Jakarta. She is born in a village where the main source of income is tapping coconut palms for their rich sap, or nira. Her life takes an unexpected turn when she is betrayed by her husband and flees to Jakarta. She...