Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Larutan Senja by Ratih Kumala Ratih Kumala’s collection of short stories Larutan Senja. The book launch will discuss Ratih Kumala’s book Larutan Senja , which has been translated as The Potion of Twilight . Published in 2006, Larutan Senja is a collection of fourteen short stories written by Ratih Kumala. Most of her short stories in this collection have non-linear timelines, quick switching of narratives and settings, and transgressive female characters. Ratih Kumala however is not merely following the trend of these female authors without a “stamp” of her own. Her challenge of the previous writings is expressed in her cynicism to life, its value and romantic relationship. This collection of short stories have been translated by Soe Tjen Marching, and published by Gramedia. During the book launch, there will be the screening of the short film "Schizophrenia" written by the author and directed by Ikhwan Ridho. She will also distribute free books to give away. Biography. Ratih Kumala was a professional writer residing in Jakarta. She writes fictions as well as screenplay. She started writing in 2003, and her novel Tabula Rasa won the Jakarta Art Council Award in the same year. In 2012, her novel Gadis Kretek [The Cigarette Girl] was shortlisted in the Kusala Sastra Khatulistiwa award. The same novel has been translated into Jerman, Egyptian Arabic and English. Her books Bastian and Jamur Ajaib were longlisted in the Kusala Sastra Khatulistiwa 2015 award. Recently, she published her novelette entitle Wesel Pos. Ratih has published 7 books of fiction. The Potion of Twilight is her first collection of short stories published in 2006 with the title Larutan Senja. Larutan Senja. Dalam alam imajinasi Ratih Kumala, bumi ini terdiri dari berbagai larutan yang ditemukan oleh sekelompok penemu di langit sana. Salah seorang penemu menciptakan larutan gerak agar manusia bisa bergerak, angin bertiup dan laut bergelombang. Penemu ini juga menemukan larutan yang rasanya tidak manis seperti siang, tidak pahit seperti malam, memiliki warna elegan. Larutan ini ia beri nama Larutan Senja . Tuhan yang mengetahui penemuan ini ingin mengambil larutan itu dan meneteskannya ke bumi agar semakin indah. Si Penemu tidak mau memberikannya karena menganggap Tuhan tidak adil. Selama ini Tuhan selalu menerima pujian atas penemuan-penemuannya. Tuhan bahkan tidak menyebut bahwa penemuan itu adalah hasil kerja kerasnya. Maka Tuhan pun mencuri larutan senja dan meneteskan ke bumi. Si penemu merasa kecolongan dan membuat sebuah larutan untuk membalas kecurangan Tuhan; larutan yang menakutkan bagi umat manusia. Potion of Twilight (English version of Larutan Senja) stories by Ratih Kumala translated by Soe Tjen Marching. Synopsis 1. Sang Paradji A traditional midwife ( paradji ) in the early 20th century in West Java, is suspected of killing Nastiti’s husband. The people in the village outcast her, but later she is killed by Nastiti. Before the paradji dies, she swears that she will take revenge on her death. She then reincarnates into a baby, then takes revenge to Nastiti. 2. Schizophrenia (Schizophrenia) A mad-man named Seta is being observed by a psychiatrist. She notes everything about Seta’s health. However, her research of Seta turns out to be quite dangerous to herself as well as others. But who is this psychiatrist, anyway? Why does she do this? 3. Purnama di Borneo (The Full Moon in Borneo) A forest fairy in Borneo. She only lives in little Angga’s fairy tale. Or perhaps also in the story of his father’s mysterious death – merely as an empty rumour. But later, in the forest of Borneo, Angga meets a woman whose hair is long and gown is brownish, the color of falling leaves. 4. Larutan Senja (Potion of Twilight) This is the story of god (with a small ‘g’) and how he creates the Universe. But this cunning god is nothing more than a plagiarist. He steals the works of other creators. And should we be grateful that we do not have this kind of God? 5. Tahi Lalat di Punggung Istriku (The Mole on My Wife’s Back) A husband falls madly in love with a mole on her wife’s back. So in love he is with that mole, that he never pays attention to anything else, not her wife’s lips, eyes, nose, and even herself. Later, the wife becomes very jealous. Not of others, but of her own mole. So, she decides to get rid of her “rival”. Afterwards, she tries to convince her husband that she has never had a mole on her back. This eventually makes her husband suffer from depression. 6. Dalu-Dalu (The Nights) They called me communist although I wasn’t. And I didn’t lie. There were so many people who were but they denied it, to save their heads. After all, until now my head is still in its place, No? I know it may be hard for you to understand me – my speech is unclear because I have suffered two strokes, which have affected the use of my tongue. Parts of my body have also lost their motor functions. You will really have to sharpen your hearing to understand what I have to say . . . 7. Gin-Gin dari Singaraja (Gin-Gin from Singaraja) Her name is Ni Made Ginarni, a cheerful girl from Singaraja – a small town in Bali. She offers me to visit her and the ngaben ceremony (the traditional cremation ceremony). I finally take up her invitation, only to find that she had passed away before I met her. 8. Nach Westen (To The West) One city, two countries. And the East is sad again. Helga, a woman who lived for nearly 70 years in East Germany, was shot dead after getting a lift with her son, who was travelling from the east to the west. But Dietrich is persistent to cross the wall. He is aware of the consequence; but for him, to become a corpse for the sake of the freedom is worth the risk. 9. Wanita Berwajah Penyok (A Woman with a Disfigured Face) Is she human or animal? If she is human, why is she caged and treated worse than a dog? 10. Anakku Terbang Laksana Burung (My Son Flies like a Bird) This story is based from The New Testament of Holy Bible, but told from the point of view of a woman: Mary, Jesus’ mother. 11. Pada Sebuah Gang Buntu (On a Cul-De-Sac) What happens if you leave your family, to live with a poor man in a tiny, noisy room in a slump area, only to be betrayed by this man later? 12. Radio Kakek (Grandpa’s Radio) The Dutch still occupies the land, and my grandfather cradles his radio like he does a baby, because this very small machine is able to give information to young Indonesian freedom fighters. But the Dutch discovers the radio one day, and I have to witness the death of my grandfather. 13. Obral Peti Mati (Coffins for Sale) Could you sell coffins like you sell clothes, shoes or souvenirs? And if you are desperate for more income, what strategy will you use to boost its sale? Well, the seller of coffins in this story decides to sell his coffins half price. Believe it or not, it does increase the sale dramatically. Of course, this also means that death has increased dramatically. 14. Buroq (Buroq) No one knows his real name. He doesn’t seem to have any authentic identity cards. His skin is dark. He has drawn colourful tattoos on it. And surely, surely . . . when some crime happens in the area, the neighbours will name him as a suspect. The neighbours consider him as garbage and they want him to piss off immediately from here. But this man says, he has met the Prophet Mohammad? Terjemahan Bahasa Inggris Kumcer ‘Larutan Senja’ Diluncurkan di London. Jakarta – Buku kumpulan cerpen ‘Larutan Senja’ yang diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Inggris menjadi ‘The Potion of Twilight’ telah diluncurkan di London. Penulis Ratih Kumala awalnya merilis 12 tahun yang lalu. Continue reading → The Potion of Twilight, Book Launch. Author Ratih Kumala in conversation with Dr Soe Tjen Marching (SOAS) Venue: Russell Square: College Buildings Room: 320 – SOAS University of London. Larutan Senja, kumcer. LARUTAN SENJA adalah kumpulan cerpen pertama saya. Terbit pertama di tahun 2006, dan kini, di tahun 2017 terbit lagi dengan desain kover baru. Kumpulan cerpen ini sudah bisa didapatkan di toko-toko buku. Ratih Kumala. There are more than a million books published around the world every year, with short story collections accounting for less than 1 percent of them. Still, the last two years have seen the publication of some of the most intriguing anthologies by authors of all backgrounds, making 2008 and 2009 very successful years for short fiction. In the long run, it remains to be seen if the short story will gain the publishing upper hand. Maggie Tiojakin reports. Short stories are hard to write, that’s true; but they’re even harder to sell, and that’s a fact. Ratih Kumala is known for her quirky and sometimes disturbing stories that appear regularly in leading national dailies, including Kompas and Suara Merdeka . She’s the author of three novels – Tabula Rasa (2004), Genesis (2005) and Kronik Betawi (2009) – as well as a collection of short stories, Larutan Senja (2006), distinguishing her as one of the most promising young writers today. The 14 stories included in Larutan Senja (Potion of Twilight) feature some of Ratih’s best writing to date, recounting anecdotes of a world driven by faith (or the lack of it), mysticism, fantasy and (some) horror. Yet the anthology is almost impossible to find in local bookstores and available for purchase only through the Internet. This is despite the fact that Larutan Senja was listed as one of the few notable books in the year of its publication. “Our editorial department has often expressed a great interest in publishing short story collections,” says Hetih Rusli, a senior editor at publisher Gramedia Pustaka Utama. “But our marketing department has always been more than a little hesitant to put them out there because they never sell as well as we expect.” Nevertheless, according to Ratih, the lack of interest on readers’ part in purchasing anthologies of short stories may also be attributed to the fact that local short stories are readily accessible in newspapers’ weekly cycle. “This is a unique tradition for Indonesian writers and readers,” she says. “We’re accustomed to reading short stories while browsing the weekend edition of the national dailies, whereas we read books when we’re in the mood to get lost in larger works, like novels or even novellas.” Over in other countries—notably the United States and Canada—short fiction remains somewhere at the center of all literary preoccupation. How could it not? North America is home to some 800 graduate creative writing programs and more than 1,000 literary journals (both print and electronic) whose dedication to short fiction is unrivaled in any other English-speaking country. Supporting these journals are creative writing departments in more than 2,000 American colleges, as well as annual anthologies the likes of Best American Short Stories and The O. Henry Prize Stories . Tom Perrotta is an American novelist, short story writer, screenwriter and essayist. He’s the author of the novels The Wishbones (1997), Election (1998), Joe College (2000), Little Children (2004) and The Abstinence Teacher (2007), as well as a short story collection, Bad Haircut: Stories of the Seventies (1994). For him, the short story as a form “has gone in and out of fashion” in the face of publishing challenges. “The main role of the short story collection … is to introduce new voices,” he tells the WEEKENDER . “Publishers hope these new voices will follow with a novel … [because] only a handful of major writers – Raymond Carver, Alice Munro, Mavis Gallant – have managed to carve out distinguished careers writing only in the short form.” For Simon Van Booy, however, at the heart of all forms of writing is the story itself. The 2009 winner of the International Frank O’Connor Prize, arguably the most prestigious for short story writers, Van Booy is a British author who has penned two short story collections – The Secret Lives of People in Love (2007) and Love Begins In Winter (2009) – three books on philosophy and countless essays. His first novel is set for publication sometime next year. “I think some stories are just more suited to [the short story] format,” Van Booy writes to the WEEKENDER . “A few stories in my imagination are yet to find their mode of deliverance.” Ratih, though, believes the short story form is the equivalent of a beginner’s class for writers experimenting with and trying to find their own voice before eventually graduating to a novel. “Writing a short story is how writers begin their career,” she says. “It’s a training ground, and a difficult one at that, because not all writers can do it well.” Lori Ostlund agrees. A recipient of the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer’s Award, her collection The Bigness of the World (2009) has been hailed by critics as a remarkable debut. “Short stories are the way that young writers build up their résumé,” Ostlund says in an email interview. “But it isn’t always the case that someone who writes a short story can also write a novel. Some people are fundamentally novelists and others are short story writers.” Even so, on the point of short fiction as a literary commodity, most people tend to step back. While it’s true there are more literary outlets today than at any other time in history – taking into account the small presses and electronic-based journals around the world – there have also been a lot of financial cutbacks and loss of readership over the last few years. Will short stories ever be able to outshine the bulky magnum opuses penned by genre authors such as J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer? “I’m not sure I see the short story as an especially commercial genre,” says Perrotta. “Yes, a few story collections do well in the marketplace, but most reach a relatively small audience, though there have been some high-profile exceptions.” Among the special few is Jhumpa Lahiri, whose first collection, Interpreter of Maladies (1999), won the Pulitzer Prize and gave her an early taste of international fame. It was a groundbreaking volume, matched by her debut novel, The Namesake (2003), and second collection, An Unaccustomed Earth (2008). An Indian-American writer, Lahiri’s popularity marked an interesting juncture in the development of American short stories. Following her success, and perhaps unintentionally so, other writers of foreign backgrounds began to emerge and mold their careers in the United States, where the literary market is highly selective and, at times, impossible to penetrate. Notable foreign writers on this list, whose American identity is bound by geographic upbringing and education rather than heritage, include Nam Le (Vietnam-Australia), Uwem Akpan (Nigeria), Alexandar Hemon (Bosnia) and Yiyun Li (China). There were, of course, others before them: Russia’s Vladimir Nabokov, for one, whose controversial Lolita became the talk of the world back when it was first published in the 1950s, and whose short stories appeared in distinguished journals such as The Atlantic . The Atlantic , a monthly journal of literary and political commentary founded in 1857, is one of the first outlets many American short story writers turn to for publication and also to establish their reputation as masters of the form. Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain and Louisa May Alcott, among others, launched their careers through the magazine. And for the next 148 years, it continued to publish monthly fiction. Nevertheless, in 2005 the magazine changed gears. Fiction is no longer a part of its monthly editorial, though in its place is an annual collection of at least 10 short stories. “Our Fiction Issue is designed to function a bit like an anthology,” says Sage Stossel, an editor at The Atlantic . “With short stories, poetry and articles about writers and writing all gathered together in one place.” In December last year, The Atlantic began offering two short stories a month published exclusively through Amazon’s Kindle, priced at US$3.99 each – the first of its kind. If anything, it’s probably a sign that short stories are enjoying the kind of popularity to which they were previously unaccustomed. “ The Atlantic has historically served as an important outlet for short fiction,” says Stossel. “And it remains committed to publishing short fiction.” In Southeast Asia, publishers are only just beginning to warm up to short fiction. Kuala Lumpur-based Silverfish Books, for instance, commits itself to publishing short story volumes by Malaysian authors. And Singapore’s QLRS (Quarterly Literary Review Singapore) has, for the past decade, regularly posted up short stories, criticism, essays and poetry by local authors. Shih-Li Kow is a Chinese Malaysian whose debut short story collection, Ripples and Other Stories (2008), was shortlisted for the International Frank O’Connor Prize. Expounding on the notion that most readers are now responding better to short stories, Kow says the key rests with the publishers and not (strictly) with the readers. “I believe publishers are the ones who open up to different types of short fiction,” she says. “There can only be a potential readership if something is published.” Asked about what drew her to the short story as a medium, Kow says, “It wasn’t so much that I chose the medium. I felt I didn’t have a choice but to write short stories.” A similar sentiment is shared by Ostlund, who teaches creative writing at the Art Institute of California in San Francisco. Though currently at work on her first novel, Ostlund admits her heart belongs to the short story. “I think there are a lot of readers out there who … don’t always run toward the novel,” she says. “And I’m gratified by the number of really good short story collections that I’ve been coming across lately, hoping for more to come.” Overall, short fiction – individually and as a collection – does have its own irresistible appeal that puts readers and writers alike into a state of trance. The small moments of revelation contained within, the illuminating truth spoken by voices so familiar they sound like our own, as we mull over the quick yet subtle narrative, piercing dialogue, and often unpredictable ending. These are the winning points of the short story, which render the form arguably the most difficult to master, and the reason it continues to evolve. Europe, a continent best known for its novels, poetry, plays and essays, whose literary market for many centuries has been divided by language, culture and history, has now entered the fray by publishing, for the first time, an anthology of 35 short stories by authors hailing from Albania to Wales. The stories, selected by Hemon, a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation grant, are collected in a volume aptly titled Best European Fiction 2010 . Released in January, the collection is expected to serve as the new benchmark for short stories. Indonesia, by comparison, isn’t lagging far behind. Besides the weekly short stories in newspapers, some of which go on to be anthologized by the end of the year, there are also the prestigious Pena Kencana Award and Khatulistiwa Award, both of which recognize the contributions made by short stories to the Indonesian literary scene. But is it enough to boost a writer’s ambition? “Generally, [short story] writers aren’t well appreciated in Indonesia,” says Ratih. “And it’s understandable for our readers to choose novels over short story collections, because why go to the trouble of reading something that forces you to think hard rather than simply entertains?” Surely, though, that isn’t what short fiction is all about. “I think short stories have the sort of power that can seduce a reader,” says Van Booy. “The way you fall in love first and get to know the person later. A good story to me is something I can’t forget.” Perrotta, whose short story “The Smile on Happy Chang’s Face” opened the anthology of Best American Short Stories 2005 , credits fellow writers for preserving the form. “The short story continues to prosper because talented young writers haven’t abandoned it,” he says. Ratih Kumala. What’s wrong with sex? Of course, there is nothing wrong with it. For me, sex is just one of numerous human desires. But why is it considered taboo by several parties in Indonesia? Recently the Indonesian government issued a draft bill called “Rancangan Undang-Undang anti pornografi dan pornoaksi” [The anti pornography and pornographic action bills] or RUUAPP, which is comprised of 11 chapters and 93 sections. It defines pornography as “substansi dalam media atau alat komunikasi yang dibuat untuk menyampaikan gagasan-gagasan yang mengeksploitasi seksual, kecabulan, dan/atau erotika” [materials in the mass media which are created to deliver ideas which exploit sexuality, pornography and/or eroticism]. Pornographic action is “perbuatan mengeksploitasi seksual, kecabulan, dan/atau erotika di muka umum” [action which exploits sexuality, pornography or eroticism in public]. Sexual activity seems to be worse than any other crime in the eyes of the Indonesian government, as its regulation has been dominating the agenda of legislation for years. Why is this desire considered dangerous? A careful examination of the draft of RUUAPP and the fact that, if passed, it will lead to the arrest of some women with short skirts and the persecution of Inul, can only lead to the conclusion that what is considered problematical is women’s sexuality. This, I find, is also rather paradoxical. In Indonesia, the position of women as mothers ( ibu) is important. This means that women are expected to have children, but they should not enjoy the pleasure of making them (read: sex). However, the story in Indonesian literature is rather different as female authors who describe sexuality and female sexual pleasures openly are gaining popularity. The publication of Ayu Utami’s Saman in 1998 is considered to have been a turning point in the expression of female sexual identity in Indonesian literary tradition. After Saman , several Indonesian women authors such as Dewi Lestari, Dinar Rahayu, Djenar Maesa Ayu and Herlinatiens have been published. Most of them depict sex and female sexual pleasures much more boldly than previous Indonesian authors, and for their “bravery” they have received praise from several critics such as Barbara Hatley, Pamela Allen, Gadis Arivia and Julia Suryakusuma . These authors are known as “ sastra wangi” [the fragrant literature] group , although most of these authors expressed their discontent with this term, as they consider it sexist. On the other hand, another “trend” from a group of Islamic women has also come up. In 1997, Forum Lingkar Pena (FLP) was established by several female authors including Helvy Tiana Rosa, Asma Nadia and Maimon Herawati (Mutmainah). Helvy Tiana Rosa has been the Forum’s President. Forum Lingkar Pena and Helvy Tiana Rosa’s works have exemplified the emergence of the New Islamist literature in Indonesia through the promotion of what they identify as Islamic values. These Islamic values are considered as a means of ideological resistance to globalisation and the vast influence of the West. This new Islamist literature often quotes the Koran and the Hadith (the sayings and stories of the Prophet Mohammad) in their works. One of the ways in which they demonstrate their commitment is through their donation of the royalties of all FLP Islamic books to Palestinian children through MER-C (Rosa, 2002). Several FLP writers also address problems and/or oppression faced by Muslims in Aceh, Maluku, Chechnya, Bosnia and Palestine. The FLP writers’ intention to demonstrate a distinction between themselves and the so called sastra wangi writers is made apparent through their website which has published an article criticising “ sastra wangi ”. Written by Ahmadun Yosi Herfanda (a poet, journalist as well as editor of the newspaper Republika) , the article states that these “sastra wangi” authors “ ‘mempromosikan’ kebebasan seks dan cenderung anti-agama” (http://www.forumlingkarpena.net/sisi-gelap-dan-sisi-terang-sastra-indonesia) . On the other hand, the writings by FLP are “penuh rasa dan idealisme untuk mencapai tujuan yang luhur” [full of sensibility and idealism directed towards honourable purposes]. The “competition” for popularity was sharpened by the publication of the novel Ayat-ayat Cinta [Verses of Love], written by Habiburrahman El- Shirazy . First published in December 2004, Ayat-ayat Cinta is a love story about a devout Muslim man named Fahri. The emphasis on Islamic values is made obvious by the many quotations from Quranic verses and hadits, and the efforts of the main character to follow the texts quoted. The novel soon gained popularity amongst the Indonesian public and is considered to be a best seller, having sold 160,000 copies in three years. For this reason, several critics have compared its popularity with that of Ayu Utami’s Saman. The novel was made into a film, directed by Hanung Bramantyo, which premiered in Indonesia on 28 February 2008, enjoying a strong box office performance. In comparison with these two different literary trends, Ratih Kumala is like a little wild flower. She is rather lonely, but astonishing. While she has a style of her own, her works of fiction are not as sexually detailed as the so-called “ sastra wangi ” writers, but nor do they indicate any aversion to sexuality or sexual pleasure. Somehow her works cannot be classified. But who needs classification? It is her difference from most other writers that has attracted me to Ratih as an author. Although there is a line uniting her stories, the fourteen stories in this collection are also quite complex and offer different perspectives. In her short story, “The Full Moon in Borneo”, Ratih creates Angga, a Javanese man working in the forest of Kalimantan, who is chasing an enchanting but somewhat dangerous lady. The traditional depiction of a femme-fatale is what comes up in this story. She is Pongga, the lady with wings and gowns the colour of leaves, the creature who can make him fly, but also the one who brings him to doom. Because of her he is completely broken hearted and can no longer work properly. As a result of this, Angga decides to go home to Java, but soon after he arrives his nose is bleeding heavily. This also explains the fate of his father who got a job in the same place, and returned with a bleeding nose. The bleeding was getting heavier and heavier, and in the end his father died from it. Thus both men have been adventurers who were later victimised by femme-fatales. On the other hand, Angga’s mother is depicted as a pure woman who waits. She does not get remarried after the death of her husband, despite the gossip that he had betrayed her. She dedicated her life to the two men, her husband and her son, one of whom she has already lost and the other whom is about to be lost. In “Schizophrenia”, Ratih creates a character who is a female doctor in a mental hospital. In the story she conducts interviews with several patients. In the end, the reader finds out that she is actually not a doctor, but one of the patients. She is able to deceive several people in the hospital and make them believe in her “game”. However, the main party being deceived is actually the reader. Unlike “The Full Moon in Borneo”, the deception lies not in the physical charms of the character but in her clever wit and talented discourse which make the reader wonder whether her apparent sanity is also deceptive, like her intelligence. Genius and madness are indeed mixed up in Ratih’s texts. It is through Angga’s delirium that the reader can experience the beauty of his imagination in “The Full Moon in Borneo”. The schizophrenia of the character depicted in the story takes the reader into its own world: the world of “extreme” or abnormal sensations. The short story, “Coffin For Sale”, is another example. It starts with a description of how the coffin seller wants to sell his coffins to make a profit. However, the coffins become both alive and more and more powerful, and are able to control human beings. Indeed, it is the desire and greed of human beings which somehow reverses the roles, and so the coffin seller becomes the object of the desires of the coffins. In the short story the seller is thus controlled by the object he is selling, the coffins. He belongs to his desires. Another reversal (though of a different kind) also happens in the process of translating “Larutan Senja” or “The Potion of Twilight”. As I told Ratih, this is my favourite short story in the collection. In “The Potion of Twilight” the main characters are god (written with a lower case letter ‘g’) and an anonymous creator, referred to as “dia”. In Indonesian, the third person pronoun “dia”, can be used in both male and female contexts. Indeed, the English language is more gendered than Indonesian. The third person pronoun in English is more capable of gender discrimination. For example, the word “he” used to be and in some cases is still considered to be the general pronoun for male and female. God is still often referred to as a “he”, demonstrating that the highest substance of all is male. Although in the original version the gender of the character called god cannot be defined clearly, in the English translation I refer to this character as a “he”. The character called god in this short story is an ambitious creator whose intention is to get admiration from others. His creation, which is named as the world, is considered to be a masterpiece. However, god’s masterpiece is in fact not original, some of the components in it are stolen from another much smaller and anonymous creator. Yes, god paid the small creator a small fee, but he never acknowledges that his masterpiece has been enriched by this small creator. In the Indonesian version, the gender of this small creator also cannot be defined clearly. I decided to refer to this character as a “she”. This she- creator is different from god and enjoys the process of creation rather than the result. She loves the journey itself, not the destination. She never pays attention to promoting the result of her work. For this reason, she does not get applause like god does. Could it not be argued that most women in Indonesia could be compared with this small creator somehow? Many Indonesian women support their men (be they their father, husband of brother), and rarely get recognition for their work. It is men who get applause and fame, while women stay behind the screen. It is ironic that in the language in which the third person pronoun often discriminates against women (English), that the feminist theme in this short story becomes more obvious. In my discussion with Ratih, she told me that she indeed intended the gender of this anonymous creator to be female, and the god to be male. She also mentioned that amongst the critics who have written about this collection of short stories, only Triyanto Triwikromo argued that this is a feminist story, and she agrees with this opinion. Not only does Ratih challenge the supremacy of patriarchy in this short story, she also questions the idea of any monotheistic supremacy or absolute power. Ratih turns God, who is usually considered to be the highest and the all knowing one, into “god” ( written in lower case) and this god’s genius is in fact not supreme and pure, but adulterated with his tricks on and treacheries against a woman. The small creator finally decides to keep everything secret from him, especially after she created “The Potion of Twilight”, which certainly makes the world of god more beautiful. However, god finds out about this potion and wants her to surrender her creation without intending to acknowledge her name. Because of her persistence not to give up her creation, god finally steals her potion of twilight. Because of this potion, god’s world wins “ the most outstanding invention” by the inventors’ group . It is considered as, “the most wonderful invention ever. The perfect invention”. However, the small creator finally rebels against god by claiming ownership of her work in front of the inventors’ group. As god keeps denying her share in his work, she spoils god’s “perfect” creation by pouring a bottle of dark potion into it. As a result of this the twilight in god’s world will no longer be forever peaceful. Humans will experience thunder and catastrophes, not because of their sins, but because of God’s sin. Somehow the experience of humans in “The Potion of Twilight” is parallel to those of the characters in Ratih’s stories. Most of the characters in this collection have been disappointed by life: their existence is somehow meaningless. The characters experience catastrophes and tragedy, not because of their faults but because the world is somehow chaotic. The woman in the short story “ The Woman with a Disfigured Face” has to live like an animal, chained and caged. She dies of neglect, hunger and loneliness in the end. The story, “In a Cul-de-Sac”, also portrays the cruelty that arises from poverty and the economic gap between rich and poor in big cities in Indonesia. Ratih does not confine herself to writing only about Indonesia. She also travels to Europe and explores the dreadful fate of several East Germans who try to cross the Berlin Wall in the story, “Nach Westen”. Her characters are victims of injustice and oppression, who strive hard in their lives, but who ultimately meet a meaningless death. And why is the world so unfair and cruel? This makes me wonder: what kind of God (if there is one) has created this world? Who can guarantee that our God is indeed the greatest and the most holy? The short story “Larutan Senja” can provide some possible explanations to all of these questions. Like the story of god in “Larutan Senja”, if the story of our creation is indeed rather bleak, if our God is dishonest and scapable of betrayal, what can we do about it? Writing seems to be the answer for Ratih Kumala. In writing, Ratih gives meaning to these people’s lives and deaths. As an author, she also has the opportunity and capability to create God in her image: she reveals his true character, she belittles him and somehow she takes revenge on him. Imagination is indeed boundless! Soe Tjen Marching. “Descriptions of Female Sexuality in Ayu Utami’s Saman.” Journal of Southeast Asian Literature Vol. 38, No.1, February 2007, Singapore: The National University of Singapore, p. 135. Dewi Candraningrum, “The Unquestioned Gender Lens in the Contemporary Indonesian Sharia-Ordinances (Perda Sharia)” in Al Jamiah Vol. 45, No. 2/2007, Yogyakarta: Universitas Islam Negeri Sunan Kalijaga, p.110.