The Dancer – Ahmad Tohari

Title: The Dancer
Author: Ahmad Tohari
Publisher: The Lontar Foundation
Format: Paperback
Edition: 2003 English translation edition
ISBN: 9789798083495
Condition: Second-hand. Good. Covers show moderate rubbing, surface marks and edge wear, with creasing and small scuffs at the corners and spine edges. The binding is intact and pages show light handling and age-related toning. Please see photos for the exact copy available. We think this is a photocopy of the english first edition that has been privately bound.  

Set amid the political upheaval of Indonesia in the mid 1960s, this trilogy follows Srintil, a village dancer drawn into the region’s leftist propaganda network, and Rasus, her childhood companion who later enters the army. Their lives unfold against social change, political conflict and the aftermath of the 1965 coup.

Translated into English by René T. A. Lysloff, Ahmad Tohari’s novel combines intimate village life with a wider account of Indonesian history, examining shame, desire, faith, loyalty and the collision between tradition and political power.