For the wives of American oil industry workers living in the insulated opulence of Jakarta’s Hotel Borobudur in 1976, the problems are many; and for the Indonesians who get to know them, the puzzlements are life-altering. In the hot house of culture shock, fears and conflicts can change lives in unexpected ways. Just as the shadow plays of Indonesia reveal new facets of old stories in each performance, so too the characters in this rich collection of interrelated stories discover new strengths and old weaknesses.
PRAISE FOR LADIES OF THE BOROBUDUR
“Barbara Haines Howett writes with the passion and grace of one who has traveled deep into other realms of perception and brought back a precious gift--her cycle of stories, Ladies of the Borobudur. It is a realm fraught with mystery and wonder. I was amazed and enthralled by the range of emotion.”
—Don Williams, Editor and publisher of New Millennium Writings
“A dazzling mosaic of interwoven stories that reflects a now-vanished world. The reader will remember these haunting women and their tales long after the lights go on and the shadows return to the dark.”
—Ruth Knafo Setton, author of The Road to Fez
“Howett explores and evokes astonishingly different points of view, and her post-colonial sense of irony is bracing.”
—DeWitt Henry, author of The Marriage of Anna Maye Potts
Barbara Haines Howett has published in Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul, Poet’s & Writers and numerous literary magazines. A play has been produced three times and won awards. She has a master’s degree in Creative Writing and has studied with such writers as Barbara Kingsolver and Bharati Mukerjee. She taught creative writing for a decade at the community college level and now is writing coach, presenter and facilitator of writing workshops regionally and nationally. Howett is the recipient of numerous writing fellowships and grants.