Some straight talking with author Ayu

Some straight talking with author Ayu

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It was a long time coming, but author Yustina Ayu Utami, better
known as Ayu Utami, has finally finished the continuation of
Saman, her critically acclaimed book published in 1998.

Back then, the book was said to be a fragment of a novel in
the works called Laila Tak Mampir Ke New York. But Ayu, 33, then
decided to make it into two independent novels, though connected,
and titled the second Larung.

In Larung, the roles that appeared in Saman also emerge.
Similar with Saman, the second book also touches on social and
political events in this country, such as the massacre of alleged
communists in 1965 and the tragedy which resulted from the bloody
takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party headquarters.

In Larung, Ayu also delves into the world of mysticism and
black magic.

We met twice recently, at the press conference for Larung and
at Teater Utan Kayu, where she works. At the conference, Ayu, who
is small and slight, seemed nervous -- "I'm not a fluent
speaker," she said later -- but in the one-on-one she was more
poised. Below are excerpts from the interviews.

Question: Why did it take you so long to write Larung?

Answer: I actually started writing Larung in 1997. But because I'm
working, it took me three years to finish it. I'm not a person
who can concentrate on many things at the same time. Saman was
written within seven to eight months, but I wasn't employed at
that time. So, I took leave over the past two months to finish
the novel.

Saman was supposed to be a fragment of Laila. Why did you
suddenly decide to make it two independent novels?
Larung is a role that wasn't included in Saman. He was supposed
to be a small role, but later on, it developed so much that I
decided to make him the main role. Besides, if both books were
made into one, it would be more expensive.

Q: What was the process in creating Larung?

A: My approach in writing it was language exploration and
struggle. Because thinking means using language, and vice versa.
There were, what I call, "language efforts", such as finding
vocabulary, looking for words, making new ones playfully and
reusing words that exist in the dictionary.

Like mencongak, for example, a term that we used in elementary
school to count from memory. I then used the word in terms of
thinking intuitively.

Q: So, the story ends with Larung or you will make it a trilogy?

A: No, it ends with Larung. But not everything comes to a
conclusion.

Q: Can both books be read separately?

A: Yes. But there are some sections that can't be understood if
you read Larung first.

Larung is darker than Saman, and the mystical world, or "black
magic" is more intense. Why are you so interested in it? Any
personal experiences?

No, just from other people's. And I tried to do some research
in Kediri, which people say is the Banten of Central Java in
terms of mysticism.

It's just that in Saman, many people apparently were
interested in the part about ghosts and mysticism. Besides, I see
that there is some misogyny surrounding the mystical world. Like
how in Bahasa witch is called nenek sihir (literally, nenek means
grandma and sihir means sorcery). There is some anxiety about the
prejudice in respect of women and black magic.

Q: And then on to sex. What is it about sex that you write so
intensely about it?

A: Because sex is still a problem for women, rather than for men.
Ninety percent of the physical and social risks are carried by
women. There is also a reflection of sex in the mystical world
like I mentioned earlier. So, there's the meeting point between
sex and the mystical world.

Q: What percentage of the novels is autobiographical?

A: Well, there is nothing linear, straight from personal
experience, in the novel. The books are just representing my
restlessness, my anxiety. Like Saman, who used to be so
religious, that happened to me too.

I was raised a Catholic and when I was little, I easily
believed in virtue, God. I saw it as something great and
mysterious. But later on, I started to question many things about
the values in religion. I then came to the conclusion that those
values are very contextual and I see religion as something that
is no longer absolute righteousness.

On my ID card, I'm still Catholic but I don't practice it. I
have just lost the ability to pray.

Another anxiety, for example, is about virginity. I think it's
very unfair here that women should be still virgins when they get
married while men shouldn't. What's wrong with premarital sex?
When I told my family about that, they were very upset. I fought
with my father and we swore at each other.

One of my sisters (Ayu is the youngest of five) also condemned
me. But later on, even my father became more relaxed about it. I
mean, I didn't become a bad and irresponsible person, either.

Q: Is it merely a protest against the unfairness?

A: Not really. I just like my boyfriend, that's all. I want to
enjoy being with him and I also have biological needs.
A protest? Maybe. I'm very sad to see old maids usually become
bitter. I want to prove that being unmarried is OK.

Q: So, marriage is not important anymore?

A: Marriage is important, but not for sex because it's
irrelevant. In a patriarchal structure, marriage is needed to
protect women and children. Because I can protect myself and I
maybe don't want to have children, so..

Q: Between Cok, Laila, Yasmin and Shakuntala (the characters in
Ayu's novels), whose characteristics are the closest to your's?

A: Well, each role represents my anxieties. But from the farthest
to the closest would be Laila, Cok, Yasmin and Shakuntala. The
way Shakuntala is angry or dreams is the same with me.

Q: Shakuntala is a self-confessed bisexual in Larung. What about
you?

A: No. I used to be a tomboy but I've never been interested in
women.

Q: What do you think about Supernova (a popular and critically
lauded novel by singer-cum-author Dewi Lestari)?

A: Supernova is smooth and smart, although I have some criticism
about it. Maybe because we both have a different approach or
framework in making a novel. I see the theories inserted in
Supernova as being attached, not woven intensely with the story.
The theories do not become the conditions for solving things. The
characters in the book can't use the theories to solve their
problems, So, the theories didn't come from the characters'
anxiety. The importance of inserting the theories then becomes
unconvincing.

Q: Do you think that you and Dewi Lestari have been overrated?

A: Maybe. I think so. It's because of the media hype. They're
looking for sensation. Why did everyone make a fuss about me when
I published Saman? Because I'm a woman and I was young. I hadn't
reached 30 at that time.

The most annoying thing is that within the first two years,
people always asked the same question: whether I really wrote the
book or not. I'm glad there's no more questions like that.

Q: About your regular column in a monthly magazine. Personally, I
think you're trying too hard to be funny and postmodern.

A: Actually, I don't really like my writing there either. I just
like the magazine and I was asked by a friend to write for it, so
I have to be committed. I think you can't expect too much when
you write something short and regular like that.

Q: Ever thought of writing in English?

A: No, I don't have the need for that. I want to revive Bahasa
Indonesia. I don't like it when people pepper their talk with
English. If we can't find the words in Bahasa, then together we
have to make them.