Under the Volcano: The Story of Bali

by Cameron Forbes

Under the Volcano is dramatic history written by a master storyteller. Travellers come to Bali looking for paradise. Nehru called it “the morning of the world”. Yet this small island has seen much bloodshed – from the ritual suicides of Balinese warriors fighting the Dutch, to the massacres of 1965-66 and the bombings of 2002 and 2005. In Under the Volcano, Cameron Forbes looks at the blood and beauty of Bali through interviews, legends, reporting and history. He tells the stories of explorers, colonisers, surfers, artists, jihadists and drug-runners and above all of the Balinese themselves. In doing so he brings the island paradise into vibrant and disturbing focus.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Travel

285 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2007

Reviews

[Christel Keijzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

a little bit haphazard storytelling - but an interesting glimpse into all the different historical genocides, colonial cruelties, political, fundamental religion, drugs and current problems that the island of Bali has been subjected to through time and still manages to retain it's beauty

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I grabbed this book as I was looking for one about Bali's history. Why is it a Hindu island in the biggest Muslim country? How did it develop? What are the origins of the people and their beliefs?

At first, this book seemed to give me what I wanted: more information on Bali, especially at the very beginning. But quickly it became a very difficult, annoying read.
Yes it did provided answers to some of my questions, but in such a quick, uninformative way, I was always left wanting for more.

But more than anything, the style was horrible. I understand this was written by a journalist, a quite renowned one. But this is, in my opinion, a massive failure of trying to make a book that's half history, half journalism.

He wants to tackle every subject, show how many people and things he knows. So it makes the whole thing incredibly messy. He makes questionable comparisons with South Africa, Rwanda, or other societies. When spending more time on Balinese sources would be much more profitable to the book and the discourse.

Very little is said on the origins, and quite too much on the bombing and the terrorists. This would be fine for a book about the contemporary history of Bali and the terrorist issue. But it's supposed to be a history of Bali, not only the drugs, bombings, and excesses of the last 20 years. Bali is more than that and the author seems to forget it sometimes.

Also constantly going back and forth between subjects and timeline makes it tiring to follow: starts the chapter about the drug problems, 2 pages later cover the genocide in Rwanda and the chapter ends by going back in time to speak about communists... And Balinese names can be difficult to remember and are often similar, it's easier for me as I've been living here for a little while, but for someone unfamiliar with them, it's probably even harder to follow.

If I didn't really want to know more about Bali, it would have been a DNF for sure.

[MargeryK · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after a visit to Bali where I felt that I only scratched the surface of its culture and I wanted to find out more. First, I read a detective novel set on the island, but then I wanted to learn more.

This book is really well written and covers Bali's recent history by looking at international trends which really puts the island into a larger context. I enjoyed this approach. It joined lots of metaphorical dots in my knowledge and I am keen to learn more - both about Bali, but also about Indonesia.

[Suzanne Yoder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. Written by a journalist it winds vast amounts of history into a lively narrative. I am traveling to Bali later this year and this book gave me a compact but valuable introduction to the cultural fabric and historical landmarks that will hopefully make me a less offensive American tourist. I got bogged down a bit in Part II, but worth sticking through to the end.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this while traveling in Bali, and while I never figured out the structure of the book, I learned a lot about the history and culture of Bali. I appreciated the inclusion of darker aspects to of Bali’s history.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhere between a fever dream and literary journalism. Meanders but very educational. Great accompaniment for a trip to Bali.

[Maureen Buckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful

I chose this book to give me some background before my first trip to Bali. It really was helpful in providing context. I was able to connect ideas and experiences. Thanks for helping me to begin to understand Bali.