Andrea Hirata quotes:

I've backpacked to countries like Italy and Turkey and observed beautiful scenery, but then I realized that beauty was always very close to me. It is here in Belitung Island, where the rivers, beaches and the terrain captivate my attention most.

From a building right in front of my windows, I can observe the speed of the sunrises and sunsets. The voices of children playing, laughing, yelling, and crying on the playground crawl up to the eighth floor, where I write. Their voices sound so innocent from a distance.

I'm a simple hillbilly. I don't like eating modern, industrialized, fast food. I grew up eating home-cooked food. So when I'm traveling abroad, like when I recently received a six-month writing fellowship to Iowa in the U.S., I like to cook my own food.

Happiness is actually found in simple things, such as taking my nephew around the island by bicycle or seeing the stars at night. We go to coffee shops or see airplanes land at the airport.

The decision to write full-time meant I couldn't afford to buy a house. A friend kindly offered me the use of his apartment in a thirty-six-story building full of newlywed couples in the southern area of Jakarta. I didn't like my working space at first, but the scenery and everything going on outside have worked their magic on me.

I think what matters most in literary work is the context, not the text.

I am a working person. I always work, study or do research for my novel. I even work on Sunday.

Writing is taking a risk, and it is actually fighting invisible and invincible enemies. They are over-confidence, stupidity, expectation and narcissism.

When I was a child, I saw in the news that a person from Belitung had done well in sports in Jakarta, and I just couldn't imagine that it was possible for someone from here to become famous, and it's still very isolated out here.

Tuhan tahu tapi menunggu

I think writers of memoirs need to be respected for the bold decision they take to bare their lives open. That alone should be enough. The things I write about, if you notice, are sensitive issues for a lot of people. If I told you my age, they would get ideas. The next thing you know they'll be filing lawsuits against me.

It took me six novels before I felt confident of my voice as a writer.

As a writer, I can't really take days off. Writing is like creating an art. Once you stop writing, you can lose your rhythm and context, meaning that your writing may lose its power.

Aku tak habis mengerti, mengapa orang-orang gampang sekali mengata-ngatai pemerintah. Kalau bicara, sekehendak hatinya saja. Apa mereka kira gampang mengelola negara? Mengurusi ratusan juta manusia? Yang semuanya tak bisa diatur. Kalau mereka sendiri yang disuruh mengurusi negara, takkan becus juga!

I'm a small-town boy who comes from a traditional family on a tiny island called Belitung. I may not know where I'm going, but I'll always know where to come home to.

Bermimpilah, karena Tuhan akan memeluk mimpi-mimpi itu.

..kerja Tuhan tidak boleh diramal...nasib, usaha dan takdir bagaikan tiga bukit biru samar-samar yang memeluk manusia dalam lena.

It turns out that popularity is scary. I don't feel comfortable receiving so much attention from people; perhaps that's because I'm just a kampong boy.

Sering aku disiksa oleh pertanyaan: mengapa A Ling bisa begitu? Apa salahku sehingga ia begitu? Apa yang ada di kepala seorang perempuan? Apakah pertimbangan yang bijak? Kecemasan? Atau sekadar dengungan? Sungguh aku tak mengerti. NAmun, perlukah aku mengerti? Kurasa tidak. Yang kuperlukan hanyalah menghormati keputusannya, dan karena Tuhan telah menciptakan manusia dengan hati dan pikiran yang boleh punya jalan masing-masing, penghormatan seharusnya tidak memerlukan pengertian. (hlm. 237)

Namun, ternyata, jika seseorang hanya memikirkan seseorang, bertahun-tahun, dan dari waktu ke waktu mengenai isi hatinya sendiri dengan cinta hanya untuk orang itu saja, maka saat orang itu pergi, kehilangan menjelma menjadi sakit yang tak tertangguhkan, menggeletar sepanjang waktu. (hlm. 238)

Orang-orang itu telah melupakan bahwa belajar tidaklah melulu untuk mengejar dan membuktikan sesuatu, namun belajar itu sendiri, adalah perayaan dan penghargaan pada diri sendiri. (hlm. 197)

Semua taktik yang merugikan diri sendiri itu, jika boleh disebut dengan satu kata, itulah cinta.

Jika kau terjun, terjunlah kau sendiri. (Padang Bulan)

Tertawalah, seisi dunia akan tertawa bersamamu; jangan bersedih karena kau hanya akan bersedih sendirian.

Orang2 yg menang di hidup tidak selalu kuat, cepat, pintar.pada akhirnya yang menang adalah orang yang percaya pada dirinya sendiri.

Jika kita berupaya sekuat tenaga menemukan sesuatu, dan pada titik akhir upaya itu hasilnya masih nihil, maka sebenarnya kita telah menemukan yang kita cari dalam diri kita sendiri, yakni kenyataan, kenyataan yang harus dihadapi sepahit apapun keadaanya.

Aku benci pada diriku karena tidak bisa melupakan A Ling. Tapi aku juga benci pada diriku sendiri karena membenci diriku sendiri yang tak bisa melupakan A Ling.

Aku belajar menaruh hormat kepada orang yang menegakkan martabatnya dengan cara membuktikan dirinya sendiri, bukan dengan membangun fikiran negatif tentang orang lain.

Aku telah mengidap sakit gila nomor enam belas: yakni penyakit manusia yang membuat dunia sendiri dalam kepalanya, menciptakan masalah-masalahnya sendiri, terpuruk di dalamnya, lalu menyelesaikan masalah-masalah itu, sambil tertawa-tawa, juga sendirian.

Untuk sesuatu yang paling kuinginkan melebihi apa pun.

I am the only one who is not married among my siblings.

I am a writer who has a policy to allocate 90 percent of my time for research and the remaining 10 percent to write.

I changed the course of my life, from the rigidity of mathematics and the corporate rhythm to a more bohemian world.

It's hard to be a minority. People look at you a different way, like you don't belong, and I don't think many people realize just how difficult it is to live as a minority. Where I come from, we learn to tolerate one another. Whether one is of Chinese descent or Malay descent, what matters is we're part of the same country, the same world.

My story is the story of forgotten people and the voice of the voiceless.

It took me six novels before I felt confident of my voice as a writer,