Monday, February 14, 2011

INDONESIA - A NOVELLA

Joseph Ridgwell
Kilmog Press
March 2011

Edition of 50 copies, hardback, 80 pages, with 2 woodcut illustrations by Alan Morrison

“I started writing what would eventually form the basis of this novella over a decade ago. At first they were a loosely connected set of stories, poems, notes, or what the Australian writer Henry Lawson might have referred to as sketches. As time went by and my writing skills improved, I came to realise there was enough material to comprise a short novel, and gradually began drawing all the pieces together until they bonded into a recognisable whole.

The subsequent book follows my adventures as I wander from one Indonesian island to another without any recognisable itinerary or purpose. From volcanoes at dawn to beach bars populated with philosophical gigolos, each chapter documents my own weird travel experience in the region. There are encounters with goddesses, man-eating komodo dragons, sex fiends, islands without beer, spirits of delight, tattooed prostitutes, drug-fuelled hallucinations, and even a little holiday romance Island of the Gods style. And of course alcohol, for like most of my work, a good deal of drinking occurs.

For those interested in chronology, the events described in Indonesia predate the fictionalised events described in my novel, Last Days of the Cross.”

Available, when published, from Parsons Bookshop in Auckland.

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