Indonesia, 1965. As General Suharto seizes power and the streets of Jakarta run with fear, 14-year-old Tari Budiardjo’s life is torn apart. Her Javanese father and Britis hmother – intellectuals and civil servants-turned-radicals in Sukarno’s government – are imprisoned without trial, leaving her to navigate adolescence in a city of soldiers, informers and whispered betrayals. Between crushes, curfews and secret errands for the resistance, Tari finds herself caught between childhood and revolution. My Neighbour, The Dictator is both an intimate memoir and a rare witness to Indonesia’s most turbulent years – a story of family, love and survival in the shadow of tyranny.About the authorTari Lang was born in Prague in 1951 to a British mother and Javanese father and grew up in Jakarta. At 14, she found herself at the epicentre of Indonesia’s 1965 coup, when her parents – both radical intellectuals in Sukarno’s government – were imprisoned without trial. As a teenager she worked in Indonesia’s underground movement before escaping to London in 1969. She went on to build an international career as a businesswoman and reputation management consultant, advising governments and global institutions, and serving as CEO of two major firms. Today she lives between Edinburgh and France, where she chairs the Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and sits on the boards of leading cultural organisations.Praise‘The most important and moving book I have read on the nightmare of the 1965 anti-communist bloodbath in Indonesia.’ Peter Carey, Fellow Emeritus, Trinity College, Oxford‘A fascinating account of revolution, seen from the wide-eyed view of an adolescent.’ Magnus Linklater, writer and journalist‘A moving depiction of adolescent innocence shattered by political upheaval.’ Jonathan Head, BBC Southeast Asia correspondent‘An intimate account of lives entwined with political menace. Enthralling.’ James Naughtie‘Illuminating and touching. A delightful book.’ Helena Kennedy KCPaperback 9781915310668 Ebook 9781915310675 Extent 288pp Category Nonfiction / Memoir
