Media release – Mark Heyward, 23 January 2024
AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON LOMBOK – BALI’S EXOTIC, LAID-BACK NEIGHBOUR
Fast becoming the go-to destination for Australian travellers in the know, the island of Lombok is just one hour east of Bali by boat. For those who are tired of Bali’s commercialisation and traffic-choked roads, Lombok offers a peaceful, laid-back alternative.
Lombok is the subject of a new book by travel writer, Mark Heyward. The Glass Islands: A Year in Lombok offers a highly entertaining and informative account of life in Lombok and Indonesia, one of Australia’s nearest neighbours. Having lived in the country for over thirty years, Heyward knows Lombok and Indonesia better than most.
Indonesia is so rich, so incredibly diverse,” said Heyward at a recent launch of The Glass Islands in his hometown of Hobart. “We have 280 million people, 780 languages. The distance from Aceh to Papua is twice the distance from London to Istanbul! I wanted to capture some of that diversity. In Lombok, we have the Sasak Muslim tradition and the Balinese Hindu tradition, we have Arabs, Chinese, Bugis, Javanese – and now Western expatriates. So many stories!”
Heyward is a frequent contributor to newspapers and magazines in Indonesia and Australia. His long-anticipated second book comes ten years after his first travel memoir, Crazy Little Heaven: An Indonesian Journey, described by veteran journalist Tim Bowden as “the best book on Indonesia I have read.” Now in its second edition in English and Indonesian, Crazy Little Heaven was a best seller in Indonesia.
According to travel writer, Tim Hannigan, the wait was worth it. “What raises The Glass Islands far above other expat memoirs is the depth of Mark Heyward’s commitment to the country and the subtlety of his observations on its culture, society and history – a heartfelt love song to the place he has made his home, and to his own Indonesian family.”
As Indonesia prepares for a presidential election in February 2024, the spectre of radical Islam is once again in the news. “I became a Muslim to marry my Javanese wife,” said Heyward. “I also wanted to tell a story about a gentle, peaceful form of Islam; the religion as practiced in a mixed family and in the community in Lombok, while of course, acknowledging the struggle that’s going on within Islam at this time.”
The Glass Islands is published by Monsoon Books and is now available in bookshops across Australia and the region. Mark Heyward is currently based in Indonesia, where he is Program Director for INOVASI, a large education development program funded by the Australian government.
View of Lombok mountains and high plateau, Sembalun. Image courtesy Mark Howard.
