February/March, 1998
No. 033/VI/98
cover story
Galleries Galore
The boom in
contemporary Balinese
art
A Matter of Taste
Why bourgeois Balinese
are collecting art
beyond
bali
From Toraja to the
Togians
Sulawesi's most seductive
parts
Treading Lightly in
Lombok
Tips to being a green
tourist
regular
features
Weekender
The Saltmakers of Amed
Home Grown
Legian's Legend,
Made Kasim
Health and Beauty
The Ubud-based
Bali Utama Spice
The search for the Great
Bali Novel continues
Cuisine
Bumbu Bali cooking
school
Fiction
Marni's Ride by
K. Landras Syaelendra
Jungle Drums
advertising index for
Bali Echo web site
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Their missions are vague and to this reader essentially patronising and misguided. Nick writes a postcard home. "We want to film the women of Bali except we'll pretend they are Vietnamese. We'll shoot them in the rice fields, doing the rituals and with their babies. This images will sensitize Americans and they will appreciate a rice-based culture. Maybe this will help stop the (Vietnam) war." I rather doubt it, Nick. Eddie, in contrast, sees the solution is "to use guerella tactics. We could kidnap the most influential people and make them stay in a village and experience Balinese life... They'll give up their pampered, destructive lifestyles." Just as you and Nick have? Eddie also wants to built a generator - perhaps so he and Nick don't have to spend so much on batteries for their tape player to torment the people with more full volume vacuous rock music.
Given Nick's intentionto film the women of Bali it's disturbing that his references to women are such that even the mildest of feminist's would feel her hackles rising: "We pass the women's bathing hole. My God! I take several pictures. They smile good-naturedly." They do? or what about "two Japanese girls in halter tops that barely support their mango-shoped breasts ... we can see where the brown tan line meats the pale skin and pink nipple!" Even the women in the warung doesn't escape ... "she leans on the counter. We get a good look down her blouse!"
There is much that is deeply offensive in their perceptions of the Balinese, who they harangue humourlessly about what they should and shouldn't do.
In their defence it has to be said Nick and Eddie are products of their time — the 70's and culture west coast America; a period characterized by drug-addled fuzzy idealogy and poor personal hygeine. However, one can only wonder at quite what Mr Wiese is trying to acheive with this novel. Character development is non-existant, narrative cohesion and original insights are minimal and the overall message that tourism is bad but it's O.K for right - on types like us to be here is an irritating, pompous cliche.
Moreover, Mr. Wiese's prose is prosaic and riddled with inaccuracies. Early on the informs us that "Bali is Paradise!", sunsets, ceremonies, women are all beautiful/great/amazing. A durian is a fruit with a snake-like skin (sorry, that's a salak you have there). 'Tidak besar' means 'no it can't be done' (sorry it means 'not big'). He has a tin ear for dialogue and burdens his poor Balinese characters with a sort of 'Me, Tarzan, You, Jane' baby talk. Perhaps this is understandable given Nick and Eddie inability to express anything other than platitudes and hippie-speak cliches.
Despite the promising subtitle, there is sadly little magic in this book, and even Eddie's madness fails to cut the mustard. Wayan Linah 'the most powerful dukun (traditional healer) in Bali' is summoned to exorcise Ed's demons. None respond, Linah is adamant "not Balinese black magic, maybe from America". I couldn't agree more.
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