One of Indonesia's most celebrated authors, Budi Darma, resided in Bloomington, Indiana in the 1970s while attending college there. His experiences served as the inspiration for the celebrated collection of short stories The People from Bloomington, a portrayal of small-town America that provides a sharp look at the West and the people who live there. Apartment buildings and gaping attic spaces cast a shadow over overgrown yards, deserted streets, and distances that can only be travelled by car in Darma's America. His stories revolve around the lonely, the untidy, and the strange: enigmatic old men and poets who are horribly ill, kids with weird proportions, and women who are waiting for letters that never come. One of the best pieces of Indonesian literature from the 20th century, The People from Bloomington is tense, subtly strange, and consistently disturbingly humorous.