Indonesia, Etc.: Exploring the Improbable Nation

What I loved about this book were all the intimate insights into the daily life of rural Indonesians. It is not easy for an average traveler with no knowledge of Indonesian language to venture so deep into the rural parts, but thanks to Elizabeth Pisani we can get a glimpse! The book provides a ton of hilarious anecdotes about local traditions and customs, most of which warmed my heart towards the Indonesians, but also got me wondering if we are truly in the same century.

What I didn't love was the unnecessarily complex structure of the text, which made it a tedious and slow read. The narrative itself was easy to follow even with non-linear timeline due to woven-in references to Elizabeth's prior trips a decade or two earlier. But I felt like there were many unnecessary details and over-complicated language structures without which I would have enjoyed the book twice as much!

This was a long read for me. It was not that it wasn't a good read, it was a read that needed time to absorb the shear scope and scale of the book.

The title Indonesia, etc. refers to the Indonesian Declaration of Independence, which promised “The details of the transfer of power etc. will be worked out as soon as possible.” That was 1945, and they are still working on it.

Pisani writes from a position of knowledge, having spent a lot of time in Indonesia, initially as a Reuters journalist, then returning two decades later to spend a year travelling many locations and preparing for this book. She speaks the language, and is fluent enough to communicate with most people (a bit undertaking in a country with literally hundreds of languages) and she happily slums it, travelling in local transport, using the (somewhat terrifying) local ferry system (google "Is it safe to travel on a ferry in Indonesia?" and see how comfortable you would be. As a clue where advice is "Never board a ferry you consider is overloaded" - you wouldn't be travelling on any ferry I saw!)., and generally mixing at a local level, staying in huts, and eating unidentifiable food (sometimes better not to know!).

There is a smattering of history, there are politics and the political system and rife corruption within the system, there are the many cultural inputs, community initiatives, the transmigration policy and the ongoing situation with this, fishing, timber, mining and other natural resources, religions (there are many), faith healing and the NGOs. There is a lot going on, and what becomes especially obvious is that there is no ‘one Indonesia' but thousands, and moving in different directions at different times. Words like Typical and usual mean nothing on a national scale, or even on an island scale.

And this is the core of the fascination I have for Indonesia. Every place, every people, every time there is a difference, there is no sameness, nothing to take for granted. Variation and change are regular and constant. I have only been twice, once in 1994 for a little under 3 weeks, and again in 2002 for 7 weeks, and have only visited a few islands, but even the physical features of the islands vary so much. In what other country can you find the range Indonesia offers - colourful local markets; beaches and diving; mountains and volcanoes; jungle and rainforest; plantations of coffee, rubber, cacao, coconut, spices, groundnuts, rice, and now of course palm oil; temples, mosques, churches; music and dance, etc, etc. So diverse.

Pisani does a good job of breaking up the book, chapters follow geographical travel, and within chapters discussion on aspects of culture etc go wider than the geographical travel, but she wraps up one topic before the next, and it follows a roughly linear timeline of her year. There are diversions to the past, where relevant and historical inputs, and peoples personal stories are told within the narrative.

Overall a huge undertaking, and one done well.
4 stars.