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INDONESIA STORIES

The Man Behind the Music

Sixteen years of life in Java and Bali, gathered in one place — the marriages, the music, the misunderstandings, and the people who made it home. This collection grows as new stories are added.

Books

The Illustrated Soul: Stories from the Songs of Time, book cover

Advance Reading Edition

The Illustrated Soul

Stories from the Songs of Time

Seven stories about people caught at the strange intersections of love, loss, belief, desire, death, friendship, and chance. They begin in America and Indonesia — in guest houses and villages, at weddings and funerals, in moments of intimacy, confusion, danger, and unexpected grace.

Some are funny. Some are unsettling. Some are difficult to explain. Together they form a portrait of a life lived far from where it began, and of the people who crossed its path.

Best phone experience: After downloading, open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader and select Liquid Mode for a comfortable, full-screen reading view.

Viewing Options

Desktop / Tablet — The full-quality illustrated edition is best experienced on a desktop, laptop, or tablet using a PDF reader such as Adobe Acrobat.

Web / Mobile — A smaller optimized edition is available for faster downloading and easier viewing on phones and smaller screens.

The Influence of Javanese Music on Early Jazz, Hear2Ear Journal cover

Hear2Ear Journal

The Influence of Javanese Music on Early Jazz

The Story of Éva Gauthier

The remarkable story of Éva Gauthier (1885–1958), the Canadian soprano who discovered Javanese gamelan music and helped bring it — and jazz itself — to the concert stage.

“Jazz has borrowed from other genres of music and also has lent itself to other genres of music.” — Herbie Hancock

Featured Story

Mr. Bean's Big Javanese Wedding — book cover, a documentary memoir by Arlo Hennings.

FROM THE COLLECTION

Mr. Bean’s Big Javanese Wedding

A true story about love, culture, bureaucracy, and discovering that marrying someone from another world means marrying into an entirely new way of seeing life.

READ FEATURE →

More Indonesia stories, photos, and audio are added here over time.

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