Intan is known as a prominent feminist, especially in Indonesia, and, as such, people often ask her opinion on literally everything. 'That's very important, the desire to move.' To her, 'her desire to move could only manifest in going to the traditional market wearing her favorite dress,' Intan explained. Her grandmother never had a chance to travel or see the world. She touches on it in a segment of The Wandering where the unnamed narrator returns back to Jakarta from overseas for her grandmother's funeral. 'So travel is also about checking your privilege.' 'That's a very normal amount for the white education system, but for our family who comes from a third world country, it's never that easy,' she said. By the end of the semester, the entire class was expected to go on a study tour of Japan, a trip that would've cost Intan about $2,300 USD. She told me about a time her daughter signed up for a Japanese language class. 'I mean, what about those who can't afford to 'get lost' in a faraway country?'

'Travel shouldn't be an achievement,' she said. The whole notion smacks of white privilege and the kinds of inward-looking idleness that wealth can afford. It’s a reminder that borders are real, and a playful experiment that turns the traditional adventure story on its head.Then you flip the book back to page one and start all over again.īut even though her book is about travel, and she's expected to appear at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival this week in the heart of Indonesia's 'find yourself' territory, Intan doesn't believe in all that 'get lost and rediscover yourself' bullshit. The Wandering is a novel about the highs and lows of global nomadism, the politics and privileges of travel and desire, and the freedoms and limitations of the choices we make, by one of Asia’s most exciting writers. As your paths cross and intertwine, you’ll soon realise that no story is ever new. The choices you make about which pages to turn to may mean you’ll become a tourist or an undocumented migrant, a mother or a murderer, and you will meet many travellers with their own stories to tell. To Berlin or Amsterdam? Lima or Tijuana? Or onto a train that will never stop? You’re forever wandering, everywhere and nowhere, but where is your home? A pair of red shoes to take you wherever you want to go. So you make a Faustian pact with a devil, who gives you a gift, and a warning. You’re desperate to escape your boring life teaching English in Jakarta, to go out and see the world. You’ve grown roots, you’re gathering moss. Publisher: Harvill Secker/ Penguin Random House

The wandering intan paramaditha