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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'The charismatic god-king Sukarno has brought Indonesia to the edge of chaos - to an abortive revolution that will leave half a million dead. For the Western correspondents here, this gathering apocalypse is their story and their drug, while the sufferings of the Indonesian people are scarcely real: a shadow play. Working at the eye of the storm are television correspondent Guy Hamilton and his eccentric cameraman Billy Kwan. In Kwan's secret fantasy life, both Sukarno and Hamilton are heroes. But his heroes betray him, and Billy is driven to desperate action. As the Indonesian shadow play erupts into terrible reality, a complex personal tragedy of love, obsession and betrayal comes to its climax.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Adaptations
-
form
y
The Year of Living Dangerously
( dir. Peter Weir
)
Australia
:
McElroy and McElroy
,
1982
Z1684198
1982
single work
film/TV
Set in Indonesia, The Year of Livingly Dangerously is based on the real events that occurred in the country in 1965. The story revolves around Guy Hamilton, who has arrived in Jakarta on his first overseas posting for the Australian Broadcasting Service. Having had no time to build relationships or contacts, he stumbles around the city, attempting to cover the political tensions that are daily increasing. He is eventually taken under the wing of a small but well-connected Chinese-Australian cameraman, Billy Kwan, who recognises great potential in Hamilton. Hamilton is groomed by Kwan, who then sets up exclusive interviews for him while also engineering a romance with Jill Bryant, the young assistant at the British Embassy. Bryant warns Hamilton that violence is about to break out between right-wing factions and the Communist Party of Indonesia, but he pursues the story anyway. Billy Kwan, disheartened by all the people he once believed in, decides to make a public protest against President Sukarno. When the situation eventually escalates into violence, Hamilton is caught between his career ambitions, his conscience, and his feelings for Jill Bryant.
- The Year of Living Dangerously 1999 single work drama
Notes
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Dedication: To my wife and my brother with love and gratitude.
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Published simultaneously in Melbourne and London in 1978.
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Study guides available.
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Adapted for the 1998 stage production The Year of Living Dangerously directed by Andrew Ross. Adaptation by Dickon Oxenburgh.
Affiliation Notes
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This work is affiliated with the AustLit subset Asian-Australian Children's Literature and Publishing because it has been recommended as an Asia Literacy resource for young adults by the Dept of Education and Early Childhood, Victoria.
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Writing Disability in Australia:
See C.A. Cranston's dissertation 'Deformity as Device in the Twentieth-century Australian Novel'.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
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Australia and the Post-Colonial Novel
2015
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Quadrant , October vol. 59 no. 10 2015; (p. 70-73) -
Books That Changed Me : Geoffrey McGeachin
2014
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 24 August 2014; (p. 16) -
Master Class
2013
single work
autobiography
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian Magazine , 9-10 November 2013; (p. 30-31) 'Greg Sheridan on his long friendship with Christopher Koch - and the writer's bitter row over the film of his greatest novel.' - y The Year of Living Dangerously by Christopher Koch Essendon North : Radiant Heart Publishing , 2011 9026686 2011 single work criticism
- y The Year of Living Dangerously, Christopher Koch Essendon North : Radiant Heart Publishing , 2011 8996293 2011 single work criticism
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Exploring the Territory : Some Recent Australian Novels
1979
single work
review
— Appears in: Meanjin , Winter vol. 38 no. 2 1979; (p. 225-233) Oceanic Literature , no. 5 1983; (p. 332-345)
— Review of An Imaginary Life : A Novel 1978 single work novel ; The Year of Living Dangerously 1978 single work novel ; Bitter Bread 1978 single work novel ; Idlers in the Land 1978 single work novel ; Tirra Lirra by the River 1978 single work novel ; The Bitter Lotus 1978 single work novel ; Where the Queens All Strayed 1978 single work novel ; Silent Reach 1978 single work novel -
The Year of Writing Skilfully
1980
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland , July no. 80 1980; (p. 51-54)
— Review of An Imaginary Life : A Novel 1978 single work novel ; Passenger 1979 single work novel ; The Year of Living Dangerously 1978 single work novel ; A Cry in the Jungle Bar 1979 single work novel ; 1915 : A Novel 1979 single work novel -
[Review] The Year of Living Dangerously
1978
single work
review
— Appears in: The National Times , 23 December 1978; (p. 40)
— Review of The Year of Living Dangerously 1978 single work novel -
A Struggle Between Light and Darkness
1978
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 26 December vol. 99 no. 5141 1978; (p. 39)
— Review of The Year of Living Dangerously 1978 single work novel -
[Review] The Year of Living Dangerously
1978
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 2 December 1978; (p. 15)
— Review of The Year of Living Dangerously 1978 single work novel -
Christopher Koch Speaking
David Kerr
(interviewer),
Phillip Edmonds
(interviewer),
1985
single work
interview
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Magazine , 6-7 April 1985; (p. 4) -
Return to Jakarta
2003
single work
autobiography
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 23 February 2003; (p. 20-25) -
Colonial and Postcolonial Images of Indonesia in Dutch, British and Australian Literature from 1618 to 1992
1995-1996
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Commonwealth Review , vol. 7 no. 2 1995-1996; (p. 46-77) The article traces the changes in European and Australian images and perceptions of Indonesia. -
The Metaphors of Quests, Labyrinths and the Dance of Kali in Christopher Koch's 'The Year of Living Dangerously'
2002
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Etropic : Electronic Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in the Tropics , vol. 1 no. 2 2002; -
Marlow in Jakarta : Conrad's Narrative Voice in 'The Year of Living Dangerously'
2004
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Journal of Evolutionary Psychology , March vol. 25 no. 1 2004; (p. 89-93) Discusses literary influences of Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
Awards
- 1979 winner National Book Council Award for Australian Literature
- 1978 winner The Age Book of the Year Award — Imaginative Writing Prize
- 1978 joint winner The Age Book of the Year Award — Book of the Year Award shared with Patsy Adam-Smith, The Anzacs
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cIndonesia,cSoutheast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
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Jakarta,
Java,
cIndonesia,cSoutheast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
- 1965