“I’d tell the 20-year-old me to keep a good diary’

Whatever she does during the rest of her life, author Ayu Utami will forever be associated with her groundbreaking novel, Saman. Published in 1998, the bestseller was widely acclaimed for confronting many of the social and sexual taboos that shackled Indonesia during the New Order era and also, unwittingly, spawned the nation’s own “chick-lit” movement (which, in the hands of other less talented writers, became decidedly chic-lite). A former journalist, the 42-year-old Ayu remains a free-thinking free spirit or, as she calls herself, a “critical spiritualist”.

My mood right now …

I’m in a happy mood but I have a box inside my heart to keep my sadness.

As a child, I was …

Happy.

I would never …

Leave my friends when they are going through bad times.

I am proudest of …

Never having thrown my childhood toys into the garbage bin.

My biggest regret …

I’ve lost my pre-language memory.

The unforgiveable to me is …

Any abuse of minors, minorities or the weak.

I laugh at …

Seeing my cat jump when my boyfriend startles it.

And cry at …

Finding my cat has fallen off the roof.

The love of my life is …

Always the man I am with.

I am bored by …

Repeated novelties.

I wish I could …

Sing.

My greatest fear …

To have my love die.

I am happiest …

When I fall asleep with the man I love at my side and with the moon hanging in the open sky.

My best trait …

I’m honest, always.

And my worst ..:

No sense of urgency, sometimes.

The person I admire the most …

Mother Teresa.

I am angered by …

Hatred.

My biggest everyday annoyance …

Noise pollution, you know ...

The most attractive thing about a man …

Well, his torso and his humor.

And a woman …

Well, her torso and her humor.

If I could have lived in another era …

It would have been during the construction of Borobudur.

My piece of advice to the 20-year-old me …

Keep a diary, and a good one.

The best part of being a writer …

Being able to travel through time and space.

And the worst ...

Honestly, I don’t know.

When it comes to my critics, I say …

Thank you.

In tough times, I try …

To be happy.

Favorite food …

Japanese, because the dishes are so simple yet so complex.

And music …

Indian classical, because it’s so complex to play and yet so simple to listen to.

Favorite place in the world …

My own home, because I’m pragmatic and I have to be the happiest in the place I am most of the time.

Getting older to me is about …

Not losing your childhood.

The most important thing in life is …

Love.

My life motto …

“Be as honest as a dove and as cunning as a snake” (hey, it’s from the Gospel!)

Remember me as …

Someone who rewrites stories.

+ Bruce Emond

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