Metamodern in Indonesian Literature: A Night of 1,000 Traitors by Intan Paramaditha (2023)

Abstract

Looking at contemporary Indonesian literature through the lenses of the novel A Night of 1,000 Traitors by Intan Paramaditha (2023), one can explore the further development of so-called late postmodernism. The novel demonstrates a comeback of forms, techniques, and aspirations inherent in realism, modernism, and postmodernism at the same time. According to the metamodern theory, meta- means the simultaneous presence of these elements in contemporary art. The novel is a post-deconstruction, redeconstruction of the national culture, and rehabilitation of metanarratives (mythology and traditional Islam Nusantara). Postmodern autobiography, or autofiction, focuses on women’s destinies and relationships of the characters with patriarchy, colonialism, and Islam. The novel’s structure is logical and overcomes postmodern rhizome, and the images and symbols have clear referents. The novel continuously quotes the grand style of a European gothic novel but uses realistic narrative techniques that reveal hidden irony: reading of the novel oscillates between the poles of seriousness and non-seriousness, and the mystical plot calls into question the very realism of the novel, which makes it possible to determine the writing method as “postmodernist realism.”