Bali Blues chronicles life in Kuta, Bali in the months following the devastating terrorist bomb attack on two nightclubs in October 2002, providing an intimate glimpse of an Indonesian community that, in a generation, has grown from impoverished seaside village into a cosmopolitan tourist resort. Besides depicting a community in crisis as residents struggled to survive in the sudden absence of the tourists who provided their livelihood, the book also examines the background of the attack itself, the growth of a fanatical form of Islam that gave birth to the terrorists, and the open, tolerant Balinese society that allowed the perpetrators to operate undetected in their midst, culminating in a riveting, minute-by-minute reconstruction of the planning, execution, and aftermath of the Bali Bomb.
What others have said about Bali Blues:
Jeremy Allan's warm and energetic prose helps us see through the story of the Bali bombings to an underlying conflict between neocolonizers and the marginalized poor. His tale becomes an emblem of the global conflicts we create and face today. —Shauna Singh Baldwin, author, What The Body Remembers
Bali Blues looks beyond the 2002 tragedy to the lives of those most affected by it. It's the real story of survival and rebirth and you won't find it any place else. —Ryan Ver Berkmoes, author, Lonely Planet Bali & Lombok
Allan’s sharp wit and eye for absurdity managed to find humor during the darkest days, making Bali Blues an easy and entertaining read despite the gloomy subject. —Pak Bill, Bali Advertiser
[Allan] has the knack of appealing to those in the know, as well as the totally uninitiated: Much of the detail that unfolds is like a light shining through a gauzy cultural veil, explaining why things are as they are in Bali in a way that will draw both nods of recognition from long-time expats and hold the interest of one-time and armchair tourists alike. —Jim Read, The Jakarta Post
