Set in the dying throes of the Sukarno era in Indonesia, it tells of the Western journalists coming together as they sense the slow motion implosion of the country.
In the midst of it all, is Guy Hamilton, and his dwarf cameraman Billy Kwan.
The eccentricities of Kwan and Hamilton's nose for a story moves the story along like the Wayang Kulit. Shadowplays of light and darkness abound in this book as a slow motion impending tragedy unfolds (you can feel it happening) amongst the characters in the book, as the slow motion impending tragedy unfolds in the country.
At the end, is a climax which leaves the reader almost breathless.
Banned in Indonesia until recently, it was called "essential reading" for all Indonesian expatriates.
Recommended. 4 out of 5