Mochtar Lubis: 3 books

Half a century ago when Mochtar Lubis’ Twilight in Jakarta was secreted out of Indonesia and published in London, it was the first Indonesian novel ever to be published in English translation. The novel, a depiction of social and political events in the capital during the run up to a national election,...

Written in the early 1960s while the author was under arrest by Indonesian authorities, this vivid dissection of social and political life in Jakarta, Indonesia reveals the dark currents of poverty, corruption and vice which course beneath the surface of one of the great cities of the Third World....

The novel, a depiction of social and political events in the capital during the run-up to a national election, contains a grim cast of characters: corrupt politicians, impotent intellectuals, unprincipled journalists, manipulative Leftists, and impetuous Muslims to name but a few. Although the novel...