Viva Indonesia
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The Gay Archipelago
by Tom Boellstorff
Princeton University Press. 282 pages, $24.95

IN THE GAY ARCHIPELAGO, anthropologist Tom Boellstorff of the University of California, Irvine, sets out to define, interpret, and reflect upon what it means to be gay in Indonesia. Considering the tapestry of nationalism, family, history, language, profession, sexuality, and gender that constitute that country, the challenge is enormous. To Boellstorff’s credit as a scholar and writer, his book is a cogent and well-argued examination, and one that may remain applicable to Indonesian social life for many years.