Rainbow Troops

Published in Indonesia in 2005, The Rainbow Troops, Andrea Hiratas closely autobiographical debut novel, sold more than five million copies, shattering records. Now it promises to captivate audiences around the globe. Ikal is a student at the poorest village school on the Indonesian island of Belitong, where graduating from sixth grade is considered a remarkable achievement. His school is under constant threat of closure. In fact, Ikal and his friendsa group nicknamed the Rainbow Troopsface threats from every angle: skeptical government officials, greedy corporations hardly distinguishable from the colonialism theyve replaced, deepening poverty and crumbling infrastructure, and their own low self-confidence. But the students also have hope, which comes in the form of two extraordinary teachers, and Ikals education in and out of the classroom is an uplifting one. We root for him and his friends as they defy the islands powerful tin mine officials. We meet his first love, the unseen girl who sells chalk from behind a shop screen, whose pretty hands capture Ikals heart. We cheer for Lintang, the classs barefoot math genius, as he bests the students of the mining corporations school in an academic challenge. Above all, we gain an intimate acquaintance with the customs and people of the worlds largest Muslim society. This is classic storytelling in the spirit of Khaled Hosseinis The Kite Runner: an engrossing depiction of a milieu we have never encountered before, bursting with charm and verve.