Dear Mr Buckingham,

Just writing to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed Cargo Fever and feel that I am very fortunate to have read such a treasure.

I learned about your first book a year or two ago when I was brainstorming for fiction ideas set in Eastern Indonesia. It just so happens that I was intending to write a novel that includes the Orang Pendek and is set somewhere in Tanimbar, and somehow I just stumbled upon your website on Tanimbarese sculpture. It was rather eerie that someone else had written a novel with themes I thought were unique enough! I have since shelved the idea and am currently planning to work on another novel set in Papua–where I lived for six years as a child and early teen–but I never forgot your Cargo Fever. I was actually rather upset that Indonesian bookstores don’t have it.

Finally, this past Christmas, I got your book as a generous Christmas present from relatives who searched it for me in imported book dealers in the US. I have found it a pleasant read, with messages I think I’ll ponder upon for a long time.

I am a freelance features writer and former TV journalist based in Jakarta, writing mostly for the Jakarta Globe and Jakarta Expat. I am originally from Yogyakarta, peppered with Chinese and Rotinese ancestries. I produced one documentary film, The Shoemaker’s Elf (on child labour in the West Javan footwear industry, viewable on vimeo.com/gracesusetyo ) and intend to make more this year. The current novel which I am currently blueprinting is about six young professionals battling moral dilemmas in a fictional mining town in the remote Papuan mountains.

I think your other books seem interesting and hope to read them one day. In the meantime, I hope we can stay in touch, and I wish you all the best with your pursuits.

Kind regards,
Grace Susetyo