The Redundancy of Courage explained
| The Redundancy of Courage |
| Author: | Timothy Mo |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Publisher: | Chatto & Windus |
| Release Date: | 1991 |
The Redundancy of Courage is a novel by Timothy Mo published in 1991.[1] It is set in the fictitious country of Danu in Southeast Asia, which is based on East Timor.[2] It is narrated by Adolph Ng, an ethnic Chinese businessman educated in Canada.[3] [4] It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction.[5]
Plot introduction
Like East Timor, Danu is a former Portuguese colony north of Australia.[6] It is invaded and occupied by its giant neighbour, which is not named, but is based on Indonesia.[7] The people of the occupying country are referred to throughout the book as the malai.[8] This similar to malae, the word for foreigner in Tetum, East Timor's main language.[9] Danu is annexed by the malai and declared their 'fifty-eighth province',[10] over which their green and white flag is raised.[11]
Allusions/references to actual history and geography
Although the characters are fictional, they are closely based on people involved in events in East Timor during 1975.[12] Osvaldo Oliveira, commander of the FAKINTIL guerilla army, is based on Nicolau Lobato, who became Prime Minister following the unilateral declaration of independence in 1975, and Xanana Gusmão, who later became the first President of East Timor in 2002.[13] FAKOUM, the pro-independence party, is based on Fretilin.[14] FAKINTIL is similarly based on Falintil.[15] [16]
Joaquim Lobato is based on exiled leader José Ramos-Horta (later Foreign Minister, Prime Minister and President).[17] Bill Mabbely is based on Australian journalist Roger East, who was killed by Indonesian troops in Dili on the day of the invasion. The date of the malai invasion of Danu, 7 December, is the same as that of Indonesia's invasion of East Timor.[18]
Balibo, the town where five Australian-based journalists were killed,[19] is depicted in the novel, as is the killing of the journalists.[20]
External links
Notes and References
- Book: Timothy Mo . Elaine Yee Lin Ho . . 2000 . xii. 9780719053900 .
- Book: Chinese Whispers . Nicholas Jose . . 1995 . 187. 9781862543362 .
- Book: Cosmopolitan Criticism and Postcolonial Literature . R. Spencer . . 2011 . 177. 9780230305908 .
- https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v13/n09/john-lanchester/ng Ng
- Web site: Timothy Mo British Council Literature. British Council. 9 July 2015.
- Eugene Benson, Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English, Routledge, 2004, p. 1032.
- Book: The Modern Library . Carmen Callil . Carmen Callil . Colm Toibin . Colm Toibin . . 2011 . xcix. 9781849018173 .
- Book: Contemporary British Novelists . Nick Rennison . Routledge . 2005 . 102. 9781134604708 .
- Book: Mai Kolia Tetun . Geoffrey Hull . Australian Catholic Relief . 1999 . 62. 9780646150710 .
- Timothy Mo, The Redundancy of Courage, Vintage, 1992, p. 361.
- Mo, The Redundancy of Courage, 1992, p. 343.
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/002198949302800204?journalCode=jcla Timothy Mo's The Redundancy of Courage: An Outsider's View of Identity
- http://vuir.vu.edu.au/26111/1/TAPOL105_compressed.pdf Tapol Bulletin
- Susanne Hagemann, Terranglian territories: proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on the Literature of Region and Nation, Peter Lang, 2000, p. 547.
- https://www.google.co.uk/search?tbm=bks&hl=en&q=fakintil+falintil Inside Indonesia: Bulletin of the Indonesia Resources and Information Programme (IRIP)
- Frédéric Durand, Timor, 1250-2005: 750 ans de cartographie et de voyages, Arkuiris, 2006, p. 462.
- "Listening for the echo": Representation and resistance in postcolonial studies . Robert Spencer . Journal of Postcolonial Writing . March 2009 . 45 . 1 . 76.
- Mo, The Redundancy of Courage, 1992, p. 3.
- News: New search for answers on Balibo Five . . 17 October 2005.
- Mo, The Redundancy of Courage, 1992, pp. 92–95.
