From Indonesia to Germany: The story of Nuril Basri (The Jakarta Post)



Author Nuril Basri comes from a very small village in Tangerang, Banten, where his father had a job as a janitor and his mother worked in the rice fields.
His childhood was simple and modest — there wasn’t much time or money for reading books.
“One day, when I was 4 or 5 years old, my dad came home with a graphic novel, and apparently I asked my mom to read that story to me every day,” Nuril recalls. “She told me that even though it was always the same story, I never got bored listening to her.”
While reading material was scarce, Nuril was always a good listener and had a rich imagination. But it was only in university — he studied English at the Islamic State University in Jakarta — that he discovered a passion for writing.
“In my family, we didn’t even know the definition of a real writer and always wondered, what is it that they actually do all day long?” Nuril says with a laugh. “Even today, my parents seem to be confused about the fact that I became a writer, but even though they may not fully understand, they always give me their full support.”  Read more...