Birth Canal

By Dias Novita Wuri

2023

First Published

3.64

Average Rating

160

Number of Pages

4H53M

Audio Length

This dazzling novella from a rising star of Indonesian literature explores generational legacies, lost loves, the damage that war does to men, and the damage that men do to women. In today’s Jakarta, an unnamed man tells the story of his lifelong friend Nastiti, and what happened on the day she vanished. In the Dutch East Indies’ Semarang, a young Indo-Dutch girl, Rukmini, is captured by the Japanese military and is forced into prostitution. Years later, Arini travels to the Netherlands to share her mother’s dark past with a researcher. After the American occupation of Japan in WWII ends, a former war photographer revisits his memories of Hanako, the wife of a traumatised ex-Imperial soldier, but can’t escape his own darkness. And in present-day Osaka, a young Indonesian woman, Dara, haunted by her past and struggling to conceive, becomes obsessed with a Japanese porn star. Full of surprising turns, and in stunning prose, Birth Canal tells the interwoven stories of women that span time and history.

Avg Rating

3.64

Number of Ratings

239

5 STARS

16%

4 STARS

44%

3 STARS

32%

2 STARS

1 STARS

goodreads

Author

Dias Novita Wuri

Author · 2 books

Dias Novita Wuri was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, 11 November 1989. She graduated from Universitas Indonesia, majoring in Russian Language and Literature, and received funding from Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan (LPDP) for her study in Queen Mary University of London, England, majoring in MA Comparative Literature. She completed the degree in 2019. She publishes short stories in Indonesian newspapers since 2012. Her first book, "Makramé" was published in 2017 by Gramedia Pustaka Utama, and was in the longlist of Khatulistiwa Literary Award in 2018. Her second book, "Jalan Lahir", was completed during her writing residency program in Australia in 2018, funded by Asialink and Australia-Indonesia Institute. She served as adviser in the literary section of the editorial board of jakartabeat.net . She is married with one child.