Marni is an illiterate Javanese woman who still practices ancestor worship. Through her offerings she finds her gods and puts forth her hopes. She knows nothing of the God brought in from that faraway land. Rahayu is Marni’s daughter, part of a new generation shaped by education and an easier life. She is a firm believer in God and in common sense. She stands against the ancestors, even against her own mother. To Marni, Rahayu is a soulless being. And to Rahayu, Marni is a sinner. Each lives according to her own creed, with nothing in common. Then come the sounds of the jackboots, constantly disrupting and destroying souls. They are the ones with the authority, the ones who play with power as they desire. They are the ones who can turn the skies and the fields red, and blood yellow, their guns ready to strike anywhere. Marni and Rahayu, these women from two generations who have never understood each other, finally find something in their lives that they agree on. Both are victims of those in power. Both fight against the guns.
Author
Okky Madasari is an Indonesian novelist. She is well-known for her social criticism with her fiction highlighting social issues, such as injustice and discrimination, and above all, about humanity. In academic field, her main interest is on literature, censorship and freedom of expression, and sociology of knowledge. Since 2010 Okky has published 10 books, comprising of five novels, one short-story collection, three children’s novels and one non-fiction book. Her newest book (2019) is Genealogi Sastra Indonesia: Kapitalisme, Islam dan Sastra Perlawanan or “Genealogy of Indonesian Literature: Capitalism, Islam and Critical Literature”, which is published online and can be freely downloaded from her website www.okkymadasari.net. Okky’s novels have been translated into English, Germany and Arabic.
