Some straight talking with author Ayu<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
It was a long time coming, but author Yustina Ayu Utami, better
\nknown as Ayu Utami, has finally finished the continuation of
\nSaman, her critically acclaimed book published in 1998.<\/p>\n
Back then, the book was said to be a fragment of a novel in
\nthe works called Laila Tak Mampir Ke New York. But Ayu, 33, then
\ndecided to make it into two independent novels, though connected,
\nand titled the second Larung.<\/p>\n
In Larung, the roles that appeared in Saman also emerge.
\nSimilar with Saman, the second book also touches on social and
\npolitical events in this country, such as the massacre of alleged
\ncommunists in 1965 and the tragedy which resulted from the bloody
\ntakeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party headquarters.<\/p>\n
In Larung, Ayu also delves into the world of mysticism and
\nblack magic.<\/p>\n
We met twice recently, at the press conference for Larung and
\nat Teater Utan Kayu, where she works. At the conference, Ayu, who
\nis small and slight, seemed nervous -- \"I'm not a fluent
\nspeaker,\" she said later -- but in the one-on-one she was more
\npoised. Below are excerpts from the interviews.<\/p>\n
Question: Why did it take you so long to write Larung?<\/p>\n
Answer: I actually started writing Larung in 1997. But because I'm
\nworking, it took me three years to finish it. I'm not a person
\nwho can concentrate on many things at the same time. Saman was
\nwritten within seven to eight months, but I wasn't employed at
\nthat time. So, I took leave over the past two months to finish
\nthe novel.<\/p>\n
Saman was supposed to be a fragment of Laila. Why did you
\nsuddenly decide to make it two independent novels?
\nLarung is a role that wasn't included in Saman. He was supposed
\nto be a small role, but later on, it developed so much that I
\ndecided to make him the main role. Besides, if both books were
\nmade into one, it would be more expensive.<\/p>\n
Q: What was the process in creating Larung?<\/p>\n
A: My approach in writing it was language exploration and
\nstruggle. Because thinking means using language, and vice versa.
\nThere were, what I call, \"language efforts\", such as finding
\nvocabulary, looking for words, making new ones playfully and
\nreusing words that exist in the dictionary.<\/p>\n
Like mencongak, for example, a term that we used in elementary
\nschool to count from memory. I then used the word in terms of
\nthinking intuitively.<\/p>\n
Q: So, the story ends with Larung or you will make it a trilogy?<\/p>\n
A: No, it ends with Larung. But not everything comes to a
\nconclusion.<\/p>\n
Q: Can both books be read separately?<\/p>\n
A: Yes. But there are some sections that can't be understood if
\nyou read Larung first.<\/p>\n
Larung is darker than Saman, and the mystical world, or \"black
\nmagic\" is more intense. Why are you so interested in it? Any
\npersonal experiences?<\/p>\n
No, just from other people's. And I tried to do some research
\nin Kediri, which people say is the Banten of Central Java in
\nterms of mysticism.<\/p>\n
It's just that in Saman, many people apparently were
\ninterested in the part about ghosts and mysticism. Besides, I see
\nthat there is some misogyny surrounding the mystical world. Like
\nhow in Bahasa witch is called nenek sihir (literally, nenek means
\ngrandma and sihir means sorcery). There is some anxiety about the
\nprejudice in respect of women and black magic.<\/p>\n
Q: And then on to sex. What is it about sex that you write so
\nintensely about it?<\/p>\n
A: Because sex is still a problem for women, rather than for men.
\nNinety percent of the physical and social risks are carried by
\nwomen. There is also a reflection of sex in the mystical world
\nlike I mentioned earlier. So, there's the meeting point between
\nsex and the mystical world.<\/p>\n
Q: What percentage of the novels is autobiographical?<\/p>\n
A: Well, there is nothing linear, straight from personal
\nexperience, in the novel. The books are just representing my
\nrestlessness, my anxiety. Like Saman, who used to be so
\nreligious, that happened to me too.<\/p>\n
I was raised a Catholic and when I was little, I easily
\nbelieved in virtue, God. I saw it as something great and
\nmysterious. But later on, I started to question many things about
\nthe values in religion. I then came to the conclusion that those
\nvalues are very contextual and I see religion as something that
\nis no longer absolute righteousness.<\/p>\n
On my ID card, I'm still Catholic but I don't practice it. I
\nhave just lost the ability to pray.<\/p>\n
Another anxiety, for example, is about virginity. I think it's
\nvery unfair here that women should be still virgins when they get
\nmarried while men shouldn't. What's wrong with premarital sex?
\nWhen I told my family about that, they were very upset. I fought
\nwith my father and we swore at each other.<\/p>\n
One of my sisters (Ayu is the youngest of five) also condemned
\nme. But later on, even my father became more relaxed about it. I
\nmean, I didn't become a bad and irresponsible person, either.<\/p>\n
Q: Is it merely a protest against the unfairness?<\/p>\n
A: Not really. I just like my boyfriend, that's all. I want to
\nenjoy being with him and I also have biological needs.
\nA protest? Maybe. I'm very sad to see old maids usually become
\nbitter. I want to prove that being unmarried is OK.<\/p>\n
Q: So, marriage is not important anymore?<\/p>\n
A: Marriage is important, but not for sex because it's
\nirrelevant. In a patriarchal structure, marriage is needed to
\nprotect women and children. Because I can protect myself and I
\nmaybe don't want to have children, so..<\/p>\n
Q: Between Cok, Laila, Yasmin and Shakuntala (the characters in
\nAyu's novels), whose characteristics are the closest to your's?<\/p>\n
A: Well, each role represents my anxieties. But from the farthest
\nto the closest would be Laila, Cok, Yasmin and Shakuntala. The
\nway Shakuntala is angry or dreams is the same with me.<\/p>\n
Q: Shakuntala is a self-confessed bisexual in Larung. What about
\nyou?<\/p>\n
A: No. I used to be a tomboy but I've never been interested in
\nwomen.<\/p>\n
Q: What do you think about Supernova (a popular and critically
\nlauded novel by singer-cum-author Dewi Lestari)?<\/p>\n
A: Supernova is smooth and smart, although I have some criticism
\nabout it. Maybe because we both have a different approach or
\nframework in making a novel. I see the theories inserted in
\nSupernova as being attached, not woven intensely with the story.
\nThe theories do not become the conditions for solving things. The
\ncharacters in the book can't use the theories to solve their
\nproblems, So, the theories didn't come from the characters'
\nanxiety. The importance of inserting the theories then becomes
\nunconvincing.<\/p>\n
Q: Do you think that you and Dewi Lestari have been overrated?<\/p>\n
A: Maybe. I think so. It's because of the media hype. They're
\nlooking for sensation. Why did everyone make a fuss about me when
\nI published Saman? Because I'm a woman and I was young. I hadn't
\nreached 30 at that time.<\/p>\n
The most annoying thing is that within the first two years,
\npeople always asked the same question: whether I really wrote the
\nbook or not. I'm glad there's no more questions like that.<\/p>\n
Q: About your regular column in a monthly magazine. Personally, I
\nthink you're trying too hard to be funny and postmodern.<\/p>\n
A: Actually, I don't really like my writing there either. I just
\nlike the magazine and I was asked by a friend to write for it, so
\nI have to be committed. I think you can't expect too much when
\nyou write something short and regular like that.<\/p>\n
Q: Ever thought of writing in English?<\/p>\n
A: No, I don't have the need for that. I want to revive Bahasa
\nIndonesia. I don't like it when people pepper their talk with
\nEnglish. If we can't find the words in Bahasa, then together we
\nhave to make them.<\/p>",
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