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Sustenance
The Elsewhere Hotel in Bali has dreamy villas, a sparkling pool and lush gardens – Find Yourself, promises the hotel’s brochure. The Elsewhere also has Perpetua de Mello weaving her mother’s wisdom with her own multicultural heritage to prepare sumptuous meals for tired Western guests.
It should be the perfect holiday getaway for the newlyweds on their first trip overseas; for the French family in shock; for food writer Rex Broadfoot, who may have more than a professional interest in Perpetua de Mello.
But this paradise has a dark side, and discontent simmers barely beneath the surface. When the peace of the Elsewhere is shattered, it is Perpetua who emerges as an unlikely heroine. As she nourishes them all with her food and compassion each of her guests, unsure if they still have a future, is compelled to look within and consider the real worth of the life they’ve lived so far.
It should be the perfect holiday getaway for the newlyweds on their first trip overseas; for the French family in shock; for food writer Rex Broadfoot, who may have more than a professional interest in Perpetua de Mello.
But this paradise has a dark side, and discontent simmers barely beneath the surface. When the peace of the Elsewhere is shattered, it is Perpetua who emerges as an unlikely heroine. As she nourishes them all with her food and compassion each of her guests, unsure if they still have a future, is compelled to look within and consider the real worth of the life they’ve lived so far.
300 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
1 person is currently reading
28 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 18, 2024
As I wrote when I posted an excerpt from this novel as a Sensational Snippet, (see http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/201...) Sustenance ought to be compulsory reading for blithe travellers to holiday resorts in other cultures.
We’ve all seen them – they’re everywhere these days because tourism is the life blood of nearly every economy in the world. Tourists tramping through places of worship as if they’re shopping centres; tourists proclaiming their ignorance of history and culture with their loud remarks and inappropriate dress; tourists gabbling about how friendly the locals are when they haven’t bothered so much as to learn to how say thanks in the local language and in fact they only ever meet locals being paid to be friendly. I’ve seen tourists demanding bargains from traders so poor they can barely feed their families; I’ve met tourists angry about being pestered by beggars because they expect to be insulated from anything unpleasant, and I’ve heard tourists demanding to be provided with exactly what they have at home because dammit they’re paying to have a good time and if they want butt’r on their bread in a Venetian restaurant then some waiter had better get some from somewhere. If there’s one characteristic that defines most tourists it’s the overwhelming sense of entitlement that we have. (And yes, I say we, because I’ve been guilty of all these things myself from time to time even though I spend months reading up on the places I’m going to and always try to learn a bit of the language).
Sustenance is set in the Hotel Elsewhere on the Indonesian island of Bali, a holiday destination so popular with Australians and so good at insulating its tourists from the locals that Aussies of a certain type actually think it’s part of Australia. Luxurious holiday resorts there are little different to those at Port Douglas, Cairns or those on the secluded islands of the Great Barrier Reef. For the less well-heeled, Kuta has been so colonised by Aussies, that young people on a shoestring holiday feel right at home. (And behave that way, much to the embarrassment of some of us.)
Perpetua, the central character in Sustenance, is alert to all the nuances of the culture of the hotel. She is both a local and an outsider, for she is of mixed-race and although she has been at the hotel for many years, her origins are elsewhere. She speaks Indonesian well, but only token Balinese; she has a western sensibility but a deep understanding of Balinese culture and its differences from the dominant Javanese culture.
This is a compelling novel, accessible and enjoyable to read, but with a significant theme. To see the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/201...
We’ve all seen them – they’re everywhere these days because tourism is the life blood of nearly every economy in the world. Tourists tramping through places of worship as if they’re shopping centres; tourists proclaiming their ignorance of history and culture with their loud remarks and inappropriate dress; tourists gabbling about how friendly the locals are when they haven’t bothered so much as to learn to how say thanks in the local language and in fact they only ever meet locals being paid to be friendly. I’ve seen tourists demanding bargains from traders so poor they can barely feed their families; I’ve met tourists angry about being pestered by beggars because they expect to be insulated from anything unpleasant, and I’ve heard tourists demanding to be provided with exactly what they have at home because dammit they’re paying to have a good time and if they want butt’r on their bread in a Venetian restaurant then some waiter had better get some from somewhere. If there’s one characteristic that defines most tourists it’s the overwhelming sense of entitlement that we have. (And yes, I say we, because I’ve been guilty of all these things myself from time to time even though I spend months reading up on the places I’m going to and always try to learn a bit of the language).
Sustenance is set in the Hotel Elsewhere on the Indonesian island of Bali, a holiday destination so popular with Australians and so good at insulating its tourists from the locals that Aussies of a certain type actually think it’s part of Australia. Luxurious holiday resorts there are little different to those at Port Douglas, Cairns or those on the secluded islands of the Great Barrier Reef. For the less well-heeled, Kuta has been so colonised by Aussies, that young people on a shoestring holiday feel right at home. (And behave that way, much to the embarrassment of some of us.)
Perpetua, the central character in Sustenance, is alert to all the nuances of the culture of the hotel. She is both a local and an outsider, for she is of mixed-race and although she has been at the hotel for many years, her origins are elsewhere. She speaks Indonesian well, but only token Balinese; she has a western sensibility but a deep understanding of Balinese culture and its differences from the dominant Javanese culture.
This is a compelling novel, accessible and enjoyable to read, but with a significant theme. To see the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com/201...
April 4, 2020
‘The Way to Elsewhere’
The Elsewhere Hotel in Bali provides more than a promise of a peaceful oasis for its Western guests. It has beautiful villas, gardens, a sparkling pool, and delicious food prepared by Perpetua de Mello.
The guests include a French family, coming to terms with an uncertain future, Australian newlyweds, an older discontented Australian couple, and others. Each have their own reasons for seeking to ‘find yourself’ as the hotel’s brochure promises.
Ms Lazaroo’s story contrasts Western privilege with local reality. The ignorance of history and tradition, the disrespecting of customs and the values of others is uncomfortably clear. The expectation that every need will be met, the selective blindness applied to obvious local poverty. The locals, they tell each other, are so friendly. They don’t stop to consider why.
Perpetua de Mello has her own story, which we learn aspects of, as she prepares dishes for the guests. Perpetua is not Balinese: she is of a mixed racial heritage. She is both a local and an outsider.
But why does a luxury hotel require security guards? And what happens when the guards are not there?
As the guests gather for dinner, simmering external discontent erupts into a hostage situation. The guests are taken by surprise. Should they be? Arguably not, if they were more aware of the local situation, of the rise in religious fundamentalism, of the impact of the privilege they assume by right.
The hostage situation causes individual reflection. Perpetua wants to avoid tragedy, but opportunities to seek help require difficult choices. Will the hostage takers find what they want? Will the guests survive?
‘Fear made you feel incapable of going on.’
Thanks to Lisa for recommending this novel to me. It’s an uncomfortable read because I recognise that Western sense of privilege, have encountered people whose belief in their own cultural superiority discounts others, whose desire to extract a bargain at any cost so often ignores the poverty of those with whom they are bargaining. And then there are characters such as Perpetua de Mello, straddling multiple cultures, belonging both nowhere and everywhere. Sustenance is a universal need, and this is a beautifully constructed novel. Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
The Elsewhere Hotel in Bali provides more than a promise of a peaceful oasis for its Western guests. It has beautiful villas, gardens, a sparkling pool, and delicious food prepared by Perpetua de Mello.
The guests include a French family, coming to terms with an uncertain future, Australian newlyweds, an older discontented Australian couple, and others. Each have their own reasons for seeking to ‘find yourself’ as the hotel’s brochure promises.
Ms Lazaroo’s story contrasts Western privilege with local reality. The ignorance of history and tradition, the disrespecting of customs and the values of others is uncomfortably clear. The expectation that every need will be met, the selective blindness applied to obvious local poverty. The locals, they tell each other, are so friendly. They don’t stop to consider why.
Perpetua de Mello has her own story, which we learn aspects of, as she prepares dishes for the guests. Perpetua is not Balinese: she is of a mixed racial heritage. She is both a local and an outsider.
But why does a luxury hotel require security guards? And what happens when the guards are not there?
As the guests gather for dinner, simmering external discontent erupts into a hostage situation. The guests are taken by surprise. Should they be? Arguably not, if they were more aware of the local situation, of the rise in religious fundamentalism, of the impact of the privilege they assume by right.
The hostage situation causes individual reflection. Perpetua wants to avoid tragedy, but opportunities to seek help require difficult choices. Will the hostage takers find what they want? Will the guests survive?
‘Fear made you feel incapable of going on.’
Thanks to Lisa for recommending this novel to me. It’s an uncomfortable read because I recognise that Western sense of privilege, have encountered people whose belief in their own cultural superiority discounts others, whose desire to extract a bargain at any cost so often ignores the poverty of those with whom they are bargaining. And then there are characters such as Perpetua de Mello, straddling multiple cultures, belonging both nowhere and everywhere. Sustenance is a universal need, and this is a beautifully constructed novel. Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
February 24, 2011
Full of cliches, stereotypes and unsympathetic characters.
Resorted to skimming to the end.
Resorted to skimming to the end.
February 8, 2014
I feel I missed the story in this book didn't really grab me at all!!
September 11, 2022
Set at a quiet resort in Bali, Sustenance looks at the use of food as a means of both spiritual and physical comfort when all hope is gone.
A warning; hotel chef Perpetua de Mello will have you drooling over the pages so try not to ruin your book, especially if it’s from the library!
On a different level, Sustenance tackles the big themes of family, love, self-worth and what remains when death comes knocking.
“Find yourself at The Elsewhere Hotel” the brochure claims, and this is what the host of characters in Simone Lazaroo’s new novel have come to Bali to do. The Bali bombings are in the past and the travellers from Australia and France have ventured to the Elsewhere Hotel to escape from their real lives for a while.
It is a picture-perfect holiday destination – a pool with a bar and private villas set amongst lush tropical gardens at the foot of the mountains away from the hustle and bustle of life. To top it all off, Perpetua is a chef who can take one look at a guest and know what it is that they need.
Amongst the mix are a range of couples including newlyweds and those trying to escape the reality of affairs and depression; a single career girl who really needs to “chill out” and stop worrying about what everyone thinks of her; a food writer named Rex Broadfoot who has an interest in Perpetua and a French family reeling from the shock of a recent health diagnosis.
When the guests are taken hostage and an overnight siege ensues, it is Perpetua who emerges as the heroine as she calms both the guests and their captors in the only way she knows how – through food.
Not knowing if they will live through the night, the siege affects each character differently as they reflect on the true worth of their life that they have lived.
Characters in Sustenance
Perpetual de Mello is one of the most compassionate and likeable characters I have come across in literature in recent years. She hails from a mixed multicultural background and her Australia father Oswald is part-owner of the hotel, though his health is deteriorating. Her deceased mother Mercedes is responsible for her passion and knowledge of food.
Perpetua lost her son Manuel when he was very young and when her husband cheated on her and all hope was gone, she travelled back to Bali from Perth to find her father who had left when she was only young.
Perpetua’s love and respect for food will have the reader looking at what they put in their mouth with a new appreciation.
A warning; hotel chef Perpetua de Mello will have you drooling over the pages so try not to ruin your book, especially if it’s from the library!
On a different level, Sustenance tackles the big themes of family, love, self-worth and what remains when death comes knocking.
“Find yourself at The Elsewhere Hotel” the brochure claims, and this is what the host of characters in Simone Lazaroo’s new novel have come to Bali to do. The Bali bombings are in the past and the travellers from Australia and France have ventured to the Elsewhere Hotel to escape from their real lives for a while.
It is a picture-perfect holiday destination – a pool with a bar and private villas set amongst lush tropical gardens at the foot of the mountains away from the hustle and bustle of life. To top it all off, Perpetua is a chef who can take one look at a guest and know what it is that they need.
Amongst the mix are a range of couples including newlyweds and those trying to escape the reality of affairs and depression; a single career girl who really needs to “chill out” and stop worrying about what everyone thinks of her; a food writer named Rex Broadfoot who has an interest in Perpetua and a French family reeling from the shock of a recent health diagnosis.
When the guests are taken hostage and an overnight siege ensues, it is Perpetua who emerges as the heroine as she calms both the guests and their captors in the only way she knows how – through food.
Not knowing if they will live through the night, the siege affects each character differently as they reflect on the true worth of their life that they have lived.
Characters in Sustenance
Perpetual de Mello is one of the most compassionate and likeable characters I have come across in literature in recent years. She hails from a mixed multicultural background and her Australia father Oswald is part-owner of the hotel, though his health is deteriorating. Her deceased mother Mercedes is responsible for her passion and knowledge of food.
Perpetua lost her son Manuel when he was very young and when her husband cheated on her and all hope was gone, she travelled back to Bali from Perth to find her father who had left when she was only young.
Perpetua’s love and respect for food will have the reader looking at what they put in their mouth with a new appreciation.
May 20, 2011
Sensusous and interesting about the tourist/ local divide. Read this after reading Ann Patchetts Bel Canto which I'm afriad it is too much like. Enjoyed it but. A solid piece of story telling. Reads a lot like a book thats been throughly workshopped.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews