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''The Year of Living Dangerously'' is a 1978 novel by Christopher Koch in which an
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
n journalist, a Chinese-Australian photojournalist and a British diplomat interact in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
in the summer and autumn of 1965. Set primarily in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta, it also describes a partly fictionalized version of the events leading up to the coup attempt by the
Communist Party of Indonesia The Communist Party of Indonesia ( Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in Indonesia during the mid-20th century. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its violent disbandment in 1965 ...
on September 30, 1965. The novel's title refers to the
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
phrase ''
vivere pericoloso ''Vivere pericoloso'' (or in another source, ''vivere pericolosamente'' {{IPA-it, ˈviːvere perikoˌlozaˈmente}) is a phrase in the Italian language, which means "to live dangerously". Usually, the phrase is used for dangerous things, such a ...
''. It is roughly translated into
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
as "living dangerously". Indonesian President
Sukarno Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of ...
used the phrase for the title of his
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Many ...
speech of 17 August 1964.


Plot introduction

The novel is narrated by "Cookie", a
news agency A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and radio and television broadcasters. A news agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswir ...
reporter. Cookie is an older man who acted as a
father confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Shintoism Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shint ...
and
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
offer new ways to approach old problems. Billy the dwarf's telling of the Indonesian ''
wayang , also known as ( jv, ꦮꦪꦁ, translit=wayang), is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. refers to the entire dramatic show. Sometimes the leather puppet itself is referred to as . Perfor ...
'' shadow puppet play of the Buddhist legend of Prince Arjun and Princess Skrikandi illustrates the
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
belief that there is no right or wrong and there are no final answers—one of the ideas raised by Eastern religions.


Plot

The novel opens as Guy Hamilton, a foreign correspondent for the
Australian Broadcasting Service Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...
, arrives in Jakarta on assignment. He meets several members of the close-knit community of British and Australians in the city, which includes journalists and diplomatic personnel. Among them is Billy Kwan, a Chinese-Australian dwarf of high intelligence and moral seriousness who is a
photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...
. Hamilton's predecessor departed Indonesia before Guy arrived, and did not introduce Hamilton to any of his news contacts. Hamilton receives only limited support from the other foreign journalists in Jakarta, who compete for information from the Sukarno government, the
Indonesian Communist Party The Communist Party of Indonesia (Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in Indonesia during the mid-20th century. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its violent disbandment in 1965 ...
(PKI), and the
Indonesian National Armed Forces , founded = as the ('People's Security Forces') , current_form = , disbanded = , branches = , headquarters = Cilangkap, Jakarta , website = , commander-in-chief = Joko Widodo , ...
. Believing Hamilton to be a moral person, Billy (who is exceptionally well-connected) helps him obtain interviews. Hamilton's reputation as a journalist soars. Billy keeps photographs and notes about the people he knows, recording his observations of their character and their lives and making up stories about their possible motivations. Hamilton is alarmed to discover that Billy is keeping a file on him, too, but decides to trust Billy anyway. Hamilton and others frequently confide in the narrator, Cookie, who intersperses the story with details from Billy's files, such as that Billy is supporting a local woman, known only as Ibu, and her children living in Jakarta's slums with food and money. Billy introduces Hamilton to Jill Bryant, a beautiful young diplomat at the British embassy. Billy and Jill are close friends, even to the extent that Billy poses as her boyfriend so she can avoid unwanted attention, and Billy subtly manipulates events so that Hamilton and Jill continue to encounter one another. Hamilton quickly falls in love with Jill, and their relationship starts soon after a trip to the port of Priok. Hamilton also learns that Billy is a strong supporter of the Sukarno regime but is very concerned with the extreme poverty afflicting Indonesia. Jill's diplomatic work is a cover for her real job as an
intelligence officer An intelligence officer is a person employed by an organization to collect, compile or analyze information (known as intelligence) which is of use to that organization. The word of ''officer'' is a working title, not a rank, used in the same way ...
at the British embassy. She discovers that the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
is apparently sending a shipment of weapons to Indonesia to arm the PKI. Jill tells Hamilton this in confidence, to explain the reason for her spending time with Colonel Henderson, a British diplomat and her former lover. But Hamilton, now focused almost completely on his career, decides to verify the story and
scoop Scoop, Scoops or The scoop may refer to: Objects * Scoop (tool), a shovel-like tool, particularly one deep and curved, used in digging * Scoop (machine part), a component of machinery to carry things * Scoop stretcher, a device used for casualt ...
the other journalists. His assistant Kumar, a PKI member, suggests they holiday in a Dutch colonial villa in the mountains, but brings along Vera, a suspected KGB officer. Hamilton visits central
Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...
to cover a PKI protest known as a Long March. His car is surrounded by a hostile crowd of PKI sympathizers. Although he escapes without harm, he is shaken by the close experience with death. On his journey back to Java he attends a village
wayang , also known as ( jv, ꦮꦪꦁ, translit=wayang), is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. refers to the entire dramatic show. Sometimes the leather puppet itself is referred to as . Perfor ...
show, a recurring plot element. At the village he encounters Vera, who later seemingly drugs him at a hotel in Bandung. Billy discovers this, and informs Jill who has become pregnant, causing her to end her relationship with Hamilton, and Billy to reject him as well. Billy is ostracised by the other journalists after Wally, a respected correspondent, is forced to leave the country, with reasons given about his opposition to the regime and unspecified immoralities. Cookie knows about Wally's homosexuality, the rumour uncovered by officials. Billy had made a cutting comment earlier in the week about Wally's homosexuality, and some journalists suspect he revealed this to the régime, although Cookie doubts this. Increasingly sensitive to the poverty of the average Indonesian, Billy is outraged when the child he has been supporting dies of malnutrition and disease. Deciding that Sukarno has betrayed the revolution which put him in power, Billy toys with the idea of assassinating Sukarno. When Sukarno is due to arrive at the Hotel Indonesia, where foreign journalists stay, an altercation occurs where Billy seemingly falls to his death. According to the secret police he had a pistol, and jumped from the window after unfurling a banner reading 'Sukarno Feed Your People'. Hamilton and Cookie doubt this, but prefer to not let Billy be tarnished as an assassin. Cookie rushes to Billy's bungalow in order to retrieve his files, which allow for the story to be told. The PKI attempts a '' coup d'etat'' on 30 September 1965. Hamilton and Kumar drive to the Presidential Palace, where Hamilton attempts to gain entry by boldly walking past the guards. An Army officer strikes Hamilton in the face with his rifle butt. Badly injured, Henderson rescues Hamilton and takes him to British Embassy property. A physician tells Hamilton that he has a suspected
detached retina Retinal detachment is a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. Initial detachment may be localized, but without rapid treatment the entire retina may detach, leading to vision loss and blin ...
, and must lie still for a month or risk losing sight in his eye. Hamilton tries again to convince Kumar to leave the party, but Kumar says he is fighting for a better Indonesia. Hamilton decides to risk losing his eye, and flies to London to take up an ABS posting there, in order to meet Jill who has been posted in Singapore. She meets him on the plane, and the novel ends with them together on the way to London.


Reception

Although not even on the short list for the
Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–1 ...
(Australia's top literary prize),Vernay, p. 59. the novel won the Age Book of the Year Award in 1978 and the National Book Council Award for Australian Literature in 1979. The novel turned Koch into a household name in Australia, and cemented his reputation as one of the nation's top novelists. As of 1995, ''The Year of Living Dangerously'' was considered Koch's finest work. The novel was not widely reviewed in the U.S. at the time of its publication. In one of the few reviews, ''
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...
'' was less than laudatory, concluding that the political story required too much historical knowledge on the reader's part and dominated the story at the expense of the characters. The book was banned in Indonesia during the Suharto regime. The ban was lifted after the post-Suharto reform era began in 1998.


Film adaptation

The novel was made into a 1982 film, '' The Year of Living Dangerously''. The film was directed by
Peter Weir Peter Lindsay Weir ( ; born August 21, 1944) is a retired Australian film director. He's known for directing films crossing various genres over forty years with films such as '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), ''Gallipoli'' (1981), ''Witness ...
and written by Koch, Weir, and
David Williamson David Keith Williamson AO (born 24 February 1942) is an Australian dramatist and playwright. He has also written screenplays and teleplays. Early life David Williamson was born in Melbourne, Victoria, on 24 February 1942, and was brought ...
. Actress
Linda Hunt Lydia Susanna "Linda" Hunt (born April 2, 1945) is an American actress of stage and screen. She made her film debut playing Mrs. Oxheart in ''Popeye'' (1980). Hunt portrayed the male character Billy Kwan in '' The Year of Living Dangerously'' ...
won an
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
for her portrayal of Billy Kwan. While the novel focuses on the political atmosphere in Indonesia in 1965 and the moral choices faced by the characters, the film focuses more heavily on the love affair between Guy and Jill.Goldsmith and Lealand, p. 50.


References


Bibliography

*Duiker, William J. and Spielvogel, Jackson J. ''The Essential World History.'' Boston, Mass.: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2011. *Goldsmith, Ben and Lealand, Geoffrey. ''Directory of World Cinema: Australia & New Zealand.'' Bristol, U.K.: Intellect Books, 2010. *McGregor, Gaile. ''Eccentric Visions: Re-Constructing Australia.'' Waterloo, Ont.: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1994. *Ousby, Ian and Abbott, Michael. ''The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English.'' Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1995. *Vernay, Jean-Francois. ''Water From the Moon: Illusion and Reality in the Works of Australian Novelist Christopher Koch.'' Youngstown, N.Y.: Cambria Press, 2007.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Year Of Living Dangerously, The (novel) 1978 Australian novels Australian adventure novels Novels set in Indonesia Australian novels adapted into films Novels set in the 1960s