Richard Cockett
Their Island Story
Indonesia Etc: Exploring the Improbable Nation
By Elizabeth Pisani
Granta Books 404pp £18.99 order from our bookshop
Indonesia must be the biggest country in the world that you know almost nothing about. With 250 million people it is the fourth most populous, after China, India and the USA – but could you name the president? Or any city other than Jakarta? Or just one famous Indonesian? Maybe one of the above, but certainly not all three. One of Indonesia’s smaller islands, Bali, is probably better known than the country itself. And how many people know Bali is in Indonesia?
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
What's the worth of being zen when the icecaps are melting and populism looms? The world's leading thinkers including @ronpurser will assess the 'mindfulness' craze at the world's largest philosophy and music festival, @HTLGIFestival, this May. Learn more: http://ow.ly/STu650ywARQ
'Feminists have been caricatured so often that it’s worth recalling the many obstacles placed in the path of women campaigning for equal rights.'
@polblonde on @helenlewis's new book about difficult women throughout history.
http://ow.ly/Is9c50ywe7G
'Too many historians sneer at our forbears; scolding them if they follow the customs of their own day ... tut-tutting if the poor things are detected having a little fun.'
From the archive, Mary Clive on medieval travellers.
http://ow.ly/yk8a50yrjSG