Ladies of the Borobudur

By Barbara Haines Howett

Book Overview

A MARRIAGE ENDS TO PRESERVE A LOVE, AN INFANT CRUSHES A PROUD SPIRIT, PERFECTIONISM LEADS TO A CHILLING CONCLUSION. For the wives of American oil industry workers living in the insulated opulence of Jakarta's Hotel Borobudur in 1976, the problems are many; and for the Indonesians who get to know them, the puzzlements are life-altering. In the hot house of culture shock, fears and conflicts can change lives in unexpected ways. Just as the shadow plays of Indonesia reveal new facets of old stories in each performance, so too the characters in this rich collection of interrelated stories discover new strengths and old weaknesses. PRAISE FOR LADIES OF THE BOROBUDUR "Barbara Haines Howett writes with the passion and grace of one who has traveled deep into other realms of perception and brought back a precious gift--her cycle of stories, Ladies of the Borobudur. It is a realm fraught with mystery and wonder. I was amazed and enthralled by the range of emotion." Don Williams, Editor and publisher of New Millenium Writings "A dazzling mosaic of interwoven stories that reflects a now-vanished world. The reader will remember these hau;nting women and their tales long after the lights go on and the shadows return to the dark." Ruth Knafo Setton, author of The Road to Fez "Howett explores and evokes astonishingly different points of view, and her post-colonial sense of irony is bracing." DeWitt Henry, author of The Marriage of Anna Maye Potts

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1432706330
• ISBN13: 9781432706333
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Outskirts Press, Incorporated
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

I kept wanting to read more

Not being a real avid reader of ficiton novels, I wasn't quite sure if this book was for me. But, I suddenly found myself pleasantly surprised and caught up in this book and I looked forward to picking it up to read. In this book, Barbara takes me to Indonesia and really makes me feel like I am right there. The Ladies of the Borobudur all have very different and interesting lives. I easily became pulled into their stories and their lives, which became so real to me. I could not stop reading to find out more about their adventures. This was a good read for me and I look forward to more from Barbara.

LADIES OF THE BOROBUDUR

In this highly successful work, Barbara Howett uses her poetic and often dreamlike portrayal of expatriate life in Indonesia as a backdrop for glimpses into the human soul's darker side. The book is a marvelous study of how an inbred social world can cripple the spirit and how gossip can utterly destroy.The psychological insights are as compelling as the beautifully crafted ambience. In many ways, this is a frightening collection of stories. In all ways, it is an enjoyable one. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. I hope we will be seeing more from this author.

I couldn't put the book down.

Barbara's stories took me to Indonesia. A country that I knew nothing about. Each story is very exciting with a surprise ending. Barbara had a way of pulling me into her story and I become the main character. I smelled the smells, tasted the tastes, and felt the sweltering heat. I learned about a culture that is still foriegn to me. I am looking forward to a sequal.

Ladies Of The Borobudur

This is a must read, especially for anyone who has ever traveled through or lived in Asia. Barbara Haines Howett, a word painter, touches all our senses by using her experience as an ex-patriot in Indonesia and Singapore to bring the sights and sounds of Post-Colonial Jakarta to life through multiple points of view. Ladies Of The Borobudur provides insight into life in an American Enclave--the byproduct of American Corporations striving to become International Giants.James E. Balme, Jr. Author of OHIO FAREWELL

Explore a world within a world--expats in Indonesia

Ladies is a modern novel recalling the Southeast Asia stories of Somerset Maugham. But expatriate presence in Jakarta in 1976 has altered from haughty Colonial overlords to Buck Rogers tie-wearing American oilmen. Steamships, trains and plantations have been replaced with planes, traffic jams and offshore oil platforms. While focusing on the interlaced lives of the luxury hotel bound wives of the oilrig dwelling workers and those Indonesians around them, Howett blithely explores what social pressures, boredom, and cultural misconception can provoke. The Ladies strive to maintain their identities in an Indonesia that is intimidating, exotic and nothing like home. For readers unfamiliar with Indonesia, Ladies introduces the world's largest Muslim country as a place clearly as enthralling as it is foreign. Although the setting is the 70s the tales have been made exceptionally timely by recent world events. Take some time to investigate the other side of the globe and read this book. Ladies is not a "difficult" book to read, and although full of insight, is storytelling at its best. I know this book will stay with me. Through the cloistering walls of the Borobudur we still hear the bamboo music, feel the equatorial heat and smell the roasting satay. The portraits of the expat woman are whimsical, poignant and pungent--like the Jakarta that permeates them all.