Iwan Simatupang

Drought Iwan Simatupang

Drought is a joyous celebration of life and human commitment. Its hero is an ex-student, ex-soldier and ex-bandit, who decides to transmigrate to one of the outer islands of Indonesia in order to start life again as a farmer. He almost fails, but so in so doing he is involved with a wonderful range of inspired madmen - bureaucrats, bandits, psychiatrists, religious teachers, and the beautiful woman known simply as the V. I. P. The outsiders humorously combine to question the normality of conventional society.

Iwan Simatupang's earlier novel, The Pilgrim, has been hailed as the first really modern Indonesian novel and the beginning of a completely new path in Indonesian writing. Drought shows Simatupang writing at the height of his powers and is a lyrical testimony to the strength - and the unpredictability - of the human character.