The Year of Living Dangerously

by Christopher J. Koch

Book Overview

An intelligent, compelling tale of political turmoil in mid-twentieth-century Indonesia. "Well conceived and beautifully executed."--Larry McMurtry.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140065350
• ISBN13: 9780140065350
• Release Date: March 1983
• Publisher: Penguin Adult Hc/Tr
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Multi-Layered Novel

Intriguing thriller set in one of Indonesia's most turbulent times follows the basic plot of most of that country's shadow puppet fables. Viz: The earthly balance of good and evil has lapsed, and the clueless but good-hearted hero finds himself aided by the unexpected attentions of a bold dwarf. There is so much going on, it's to be enjoyed on several levels. Innocence lost, cloak and daggery, true political intrigue, guy meets girl, expatriate sleaze, lessons in Indonesian culture: it's all there. Very nicely written with a perfect pace and memorable characters; Koch seems to be a great observer and decent researcher. So nicely composed was this book, the subsequent film (featuring breathtakingly fresh performances by youngsters Sigourney Weaver and Mel Gibson) captured the best dialogue and the steamy atmosphere with apparent ease. Destined to be a classic, YLD is a story that takes hold and stays with you a long time. De rigeur reading for the expats of Indonesia, but also a great book to have along if traveling in Indonesia (the twenty year ban on this book has been lifted by the government, so you can bring it in legally now)!

amazing, filled with the tension of the era

This book is full of what makes a novel great. it provides insight into the time, sukarno and the attitudes and sweaty lifestyles of the journalists reporting the tempestous events of 1965. What makes this book so great is the mystism created through the wonderful characterisation and shady backdrops.

1999 is another Year of Living Dangerously in Indonesia...

... and what a better time to read this book set against the backdrop of radical social upheaval. Though the story takes place three decades ago, it could just as well be happening today. Excellent background reading for anybody with an interest in what's happening in the world's fourth most populous nation, with the world's largest number of Muslim people.

*****

This novel of international intrigue makes an exciting read. It is also a good place to start for Western readers (like me) who don't know much about Indonesia and its history. What sets it apart from all the other hard-boiled romances about journalists in danger is the author's real compassion for his characters, their frailties and their aspirations, as well as for Indonesia itself. The Year of Living Dangerously is thrilling but not manipulative, sensitive but not maudlin. It explains Indonesia to novices without patronizing. It is an important book which goes way beyond the boundaries of any genre.

Romance & political intrigue in exotic, turbulent Indonesia.

Not in a long time have I read a seemingly little book so slowly. I must confess I bought the paperback for fifty cents at a used book store for the romantic title (I love travelogues), a picture of a young Mel Gibson (but the cover was the only piece of fluff in the book!) and because I was too cheap to rent the movie. I knew little about either the 1982 movie (also featuring a younger Sigourney Weaver) or the poetic Australian author and journalist, C. J. Koch. Friendship, romance, idealism, obsession and ultimately betrayal are woven amongst historical and political intrigue as a group of foreign correspondents is stationed in Indonesia during turbulent 1965. Indonesia? I knew little more about this country since the time I lived in Kingston, Jamaica and one of my letters mistakenly posted to the capital city of the NEXT tiny island nation on the equator: Jakarta, Indonesia. Let me leave you just enough detail about some of the characters to spark your curiousity: There's Billy Kwan, a half Chinese-Australian cameraman who happens to be a dwarf. His eccentric political philosophies loom large in comparison to his tiny stature. Billy's partner and idol, Guy Hamilton, is a Western journalist and an ambitious, solitary soul desperate to make a name for himself. Jill is an expatriate embassy secretary, suspicious, vulnerable and still naive after a succession of mismatched romantic involvements. Wally O'Sullivan, or "The Great Wally," as he is called, is the group's unofficial leader and respected news veteran. He is enormously fat and harbors his own secret sorrows despite the numerous parties he hosts. Before the war in Vietnam consumed the world's attention, Indonesia had it's brief moment in the international spotlight. The dictatorial, charismatic, Western-hating President Sukarno called upon his small, bitterly poor nation to defy U.N. convention and invade neighboring Malaysia. What happens to Indonesia's future if his plan succeeds is the crucible in which the fates of Koch's colorful characters are depicted. Intricately laced with many fascinating and unfamiliar elements, The Year of Living Dangerously is told in such a way that the reader can feel as if part of the tightly knit circle of "international press corps" who gather every day for Happy Hour in the Wayang Bar at the Hotel Indonesia to discuss the day's events or Sukarno's latest propaganda speech. Not a single character was ever who they seemed and exposing layer after articulate layer was half the pleasure of the trip. I was able to sightsee a little on that "other" island, one continent east, along the equator. Kochs