Gula, Gula, Gula

 

Gula, Gula, Gula 

Indonesian, ISBN 13: 9789797753276

Indonesia Tera, 2022

Synopsis:

Since the time he was orphaned at a young age, Yusuf lived at a pesantren whose only focus was religion but at the public high school he attended a classmate and friend opened his eyes to a less proscribed world where people were free to be themselves — gay, straight, lesbian, transsexual, or otherwise. For a time he was happy, he was OUT, but then, traumatized by the death of his friend, retreated to the pesantren’s safe but rigid confines. Now 21 years of age but still suffering from depression, he decides to flee the pesantren and find a new way of life.

Yusuf finds work as a shoe salesman in a department store and meets another young gay man by the name of Jajang. Both wanting better lives, the two go to Bali in hope of attracting older foreign men who will care for them, become their sugar daddies, and invite them to live abroad. Yusuf succeeds in this endeavor and Volker, the man he meets, sends him a ticket after his return to Germany.

Upon Yusuf’s arrival in Berlin, he discovers that Volker is not the sugar daddy of whom he dreamed and Germany is not the place he imagined it to be. Forced to rely on his own skills and business acumen to get by alone and in a foreign land, he becomes a masseur.

Gula, Gula, Gula is a story about the stigmatization of Indonesia’s LGBT community; a comment on pressures the community faces; a reflection on the plight of young gay men whose trafficking is disguised as affection; a remark on the immorality of moral police; but, finally, and most importantly, a tale of empowerment. As a sequel to the novel, Not a Virgin, and written in the same witty style, humour not desperation drives the story along.

Much like Zachary Zane, author of Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto, Nuril Basri in this work focuses on sexuality, gender, identity politics, and relationships — but in a very different cultural context which generates plentiful fodder for thought including the very different notions of sex and sexuality between East and West.

(Synopsis by John H. McGlynn)

 

"Gula, Gula, Gula" (Sugar, Sugar, Sugar) is a story about Indonesian boys brought to Germany by their sugar daddies. A tragicomedy tale of persecution faced by the working-class queer community in Indonesia with intrigue and jealousy within the circle.

"Gula, Gula, Gula" is the sequel to "Not A Virgin".  

Note: Currently available in Indonesian & Malay language. The English translation sample (trans by John H. McGlynn) is available (please contact me).

"... kami kembali ke Berlin dan aku balik menjalani hari seperti biasa. Tinggal di hostel, beli makanan di kedai Turki, dan terus mempromosikan jasa pijatku melalui aplikasi-aplikasi. Ketika hari benar-benar sepi dan aku tidak mendapatkan satu pun booking-an, aku menghubungi kembali para pelanggan lamaku dan menawarkan apakah mereka tidak merindukan pijatan dariku?"

Gula, Gula, Gula merupakan sekuel dari novel Bukan Perjaka dan terjemahannya Not A Virgin (2019). Adalah sebuah kisah mengenai golongan minoritas kelas pekerja di Indonesia.

Malay edition, Buku Fixi, 2023

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