Anak Agung Pandji Tisna: Sukreni Gadis Bali (The Rape of Sukreni)

The latest addition to my website is Anak Agung Pandji Tisna‘s Sukreni Gadis Bali (The Rape of Sukreni), the first Balinese novel on my website. Men Negara owns a food stall in a small Balinese village and uses her very attractive daughter, Ni Negari, to attract male customers. The police chief, Madé Tusan, who has come to charge Men Negara for illegally slaughtering a pig, falls for Ni Negari and forgets the charge, to the disgust of his local spy, brother-in-law of the owner of a rival food stall. Madé Tusan continues to woo Ni Negari but she is more interested in Ida Gdé, supervisor of the coconut pickers, who frequent Men Negara’s stall. However, when Sukreni, a relative of Ida Gdé, arrives, Madé Tusan finds her even more beautiful and, eventually, as the title tells us rapes her, with the connivance of Men Negara. The rape is devastating not just for Sukeni but has an effect on several of the main characters and eventually we end up with a Shakespearean battle royal, leaving most of the main characters dead, apparently an effect taken from traditional Balinese theatre. It is a simple but enjoyable tale of the price to be paid for greed, lust and treachery.