Author Nukila Amal strikes her own balance

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As she turns 32 this year, writer Nukila Amal is proud to confirm that she has freed herself from "the blueprint of how women should live their lives".

She does things her way, working for a certain period, and then spending the rest of her time doing what she wants. The latter may consist of traveling, taking a guitar course or making ceramics -- whatever takes her fancy.

It's only when she runs out of money that she returns to the drudgery of a 9-to-5 existence. The last time was last year when she worked in a bakery -- "a need for bread, literally" -- a five-minute walk from her house in Kebun Jeruk, West Jakarta.

"It's actually not a healthy way of life, and inappropriate, if we talk about being established, and security and stuff," she said.

"But for me, it's more about balancing things. That's my way to be alive. Although people say it's unusual, and it often draws negative comments about me. But, in the end, I'm the one who lives my life," smiled the soft-spoken, warm woman.

Although it's about time to pore through the job ads, the search will have to be postponed until she is finished with the whirlwind of promotion and seminars following the recent launch of her debut novel Cala Ibi.

With the title taken from the word for hummingbird in the dialect of Ternate, Maluku, one of the settings of the novel, it has drawn good, even glowing reviews.

Leading daily Kompas lauded Cala Ibi as fantastic, imbued with linguistic mysticism and sharing philosophical theories with Julia Kristeva, Martin Heidegger and Jacques Derrida.

Pretty heady stuff -- but Nukila takes it in stride.

"When I read the review, I was like 'Oke deeeeh (Yeah, right!)'. I've never even heard those names!" she laughed, while unable to hide her pride at the praise.

"That's flattering, and a relief. But somehow, I'm also worried that if somebody asked me about those philosophers and theories, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to answer!"

It's not all sweetness and light: Some cynics have accused her of exploiting the prolonged sectarian conflict of her birthplace to make her literary name.

She was born and spent her early childhood in Ternate, the homeland of her parents.

"Well, at least I am concerned about the situation in my hometown," shrugged Nukila.

The division in critical opinion underscores that Cala Ibi is one of those books readers either love or hate.

It tells about a young woman named Maya, whose quest for self- identity comes from her alter ego Maia and the latter's journey through a dreamy landscape.

With complicated plots, overlapping events shifting between dreams and reality and packed with metaphors, it is not an easy read. Some may dismiss it as philosophical mumbo jumbo, but the plain truth is that the novel offers more depth than most Indonesian literary offerings.

Most significantly, it does not fall into the trap of pretentiousness, the failing of so many contemporary novels.

"Cala Ibi actually is something simple. It can be taken lightly. Basically, it's about shifting identity, a process of defining oneself," said the sixth of seven children.

As she was impressed by the polarization or dualism theory, Nukila took it as the main theme for the novel.

"There are so many poles presented in this story: Night and day, urban versus rural, dreams and reality, and so on. One of the final purposes is to show that those twin poles are only human conventions to make perception easier," she said.

"I aimed at reconciling those poles, that they can actually strengthen each other. And there is always the third outing, a new entity that is an assimilation of both."

Like many other Indonesian female writers, she also discusses a woman's struggle against societal norms.

"It is a very feminine novel, because it mixes up the masculine patterns of plot that are linear, logical, structured and so on," she said.

"But I don't make the female characters out to be heroines. The themes are very universal. It's a reflective journey of a human being who makes the decision to do what's best for her."

Nukila spent her childhood in cities all over the country, as her father, M. Adnan Amal, now retired, moved to different positions as a judge.

Writing is in her blood: Her father is the author of Kronik Sejarah Maluku Utara (The Chronicle of North Maluku History) and her older brother, Taufik Adnan Amal, is best known for his work Sejarah Al-Quran (The History of the Al-Quran).

Nukila began her own emergence on the literary scene at a relatively late age in 2001, writing short stories for literary journal Kalam. Fellow writer and the journal's editor Ayu Utami once told The Jakarta Post that she favors Nukila's lyrical, emotionally charged style of writing.

Up to then, Nukila had followed the conventional path, working in a hotel and several companies after graduating from the Bandung Tourism Academy (STPB) in 1994.

She is guarded in talking about the experiences that led her to rethink the direction in her life and all that she had accepted as meaningful.

"It was painful when one found that she wasn't the way she thinks she is, that all of the images in her are a big lie," she said faintly.

"I then came to the conclusion that meaningful things in life are not always things that are meaningful according to society. There are so many things beyond that."

But pain is what gives meaning to one's work: It's said that great sorrow makes for great art. Pain reflects throughout Cala Ibi, but the work is as unpretentious and sincere as its author.

"That's what I rarely find in many Indonesian literary works -- the pain that gives an emotional punch, that touches their readers," she said.

Indonesians do not like to dig too deep or reflect too much about themselves, she added, preferring the pursuit of popularity and a blinkered confidence that all is well with their world.

"Those things are what trap us in mediocrity."

The works of the new crop of young women writers, like Ayu and singer-cum-author Dewi "Dee" Lestari, have been clumped under the term sastra wangi (fragrant literature).

Nukila considers it intrinsically patronizing, because people are still focusing on the personalities and appearance of the authors, not their literary merit or lack thereof.

"That label is really negating. Writers should be categorized in genre, or movement, or the style and the spirit, not based on their physical appearance."

For that reason, she refused to use her photo on the book.

"All I want to do is just write, because there's something that has to be told. Then it is up to the readers to decide."

It's still early days in her literary career, and it will take a few more works of the caliber of Cala Ibi to confirm her promise. But for those who really care about the content on the page, not the pretty face peering out from the book jacket, Nukila Amal signifies a writer of note and hope.

Laluba -- Page 8