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Praise for
JALAN JALAN
“MIKE STONER HAS STYLISHLY REINVENTED AND REBOOTED THIS PARTICULAR ‘EXPAT IN ASIA’ GENRE—THE ENGLISH TEACHER IN A FOREIGN LAND BREAKING HEARTS AND HAVING HIS HEART BROKEN ALL WHILE SAILING INTO HEARTS OF STARLESS, MIDNIGHT DARKNESS. IT'S A GREAT, ROLLICKING READ AND STONER HAS LIVED IT, LOVED IT AND RETURNED TO REGALE US WITH IT.”
—KARL TARO GREENFELD, AUTHOR OF THE SUBPRIMES
“JALAN JALAN CAPTURES PERFECTLY WHAT IT IS TO BE YOUNG AND ADRIFT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA. BY TURNS RIBALD AND TENDER, AND WITH MANY MOMENTS OF STRANGE MAGIC, THIS IS A NOVEL SUFFUSED WITH HEARTBREAK, HUMIDITY, AND THE SCENT OF CLOVE CIGARETTES.”
—TIM HANNIGAN, AUTHOR OF A BRIEF HISTORY OF INDONESIA
“TENDER AND ACCOMPLISHED, FUNNY AND SAD, STONER’S TALE, A COLLISION OF CULTURE, GEOGRAPHY AND SEX, IS A VERY IMPRESSIVE DEBUT.”
—DAVID FLUSFEDER, AUTHOR OF THE GIFT
Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.
Copyright © 2016 Mike Stoner
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.
Library of Congress cataloging is in process.
ISBN 978-0-8048-4629-5
ISBN 978-1-4629-1830-0 (ebook)
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First edition
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For Dad, Andy, Linda,
and everyone else who is still there,
living in those moments.
CONTENTS
‘And I asked myself about the present: