APT9 Book Club: 'Cigarette Girl' (2016)
10.30AM Thu 28 Mar 2019
QAG | Members lounge | Sold Out
Take a step out of your comfort zone this season as we delve into a five-part focus on writing from across Asia and the Pacific, linking to themes and histories presented in APT9.
Book 3: Cigarette Girl (2016), Ratih Kumala
Cigarette Girl follows the evolution of a family’s kretek (clove cigarette) business through three generations of Indonesian history, from its birth during the Dutch colonial era to the Japanese occupation, the struggle for independence and the bloody coup of 1965, in which half a million Indonesians were hunted down and killed. Rich in detail, with characters who struggle to right the wrongs of past generations, their relationships torn apart by the viciousness of revolution and politics, Cigarette Girl introduces readers to the history of Indonesia.