Thursday, July 23, 1998

'Kalimantaan' a rich, well-researched fiction of colonization in 19th century Borneo

KALIMANTAAN

By Susan Oleksiw

In the first part of the last century European governments turned a blind eye on the exploits of their traders in lands far from home, occupying themselves with other matters until the exploited land forced itself on the home government's consciousness, either by the extent of its wealth or the egregious behavior of its Western rulers. Much of Asia was brought into the orb of Western states as colonies shaped by wildly ambitious second sons, or just wildly ambitious sons. "Kalimantaan" is the tale of one state created by an ambitious Englishman on the island of Borneo in the Malay Archipelago. A work of fiction, the story draws on historical records of this area and a kingdom that collapsed under the weight of its own evil and opportunism.

Gideon Barr invests his inheritance in a schooner and sets sail for the East, folding inside him an enduring love for his mother, who died in the East while he was still a child. His turn with the East India Co. readied him for the venture. Further, his mercurial personality combined with a rare opportunity to penetrate the interior of Borneo, where Barr set himself up. His forays deeper into this territory were facilitated by tribes willing to help in exchange for the right to continue the custom of collecting heads. This ungodly bargain eventually triggered Barr's downfall, but before that happened he created out of the jungle a state boasting churches, businesses, gardens and all the accouterments of a tidy English village. Godshalk follows the history of such a community, tracing its growth in pointed vignettes.

Although Rajah Barr's life shapes the story, it is his wife, Amelia, with her complex nature who gives the novel its heart and depth. With her arrival in Barr's life, first as an unexpected prospect in England and then in Kalimantaan as his wife, the story gains cohesion and a sense of direction. She sees the native Dyaks, the Malays, the immigrant Chinese through very personal eyes, unlike Barr, who rarely steps outside his role as a 19th century empire builder.

Her experiences of life in a strange and dangerous tropical land are powerful and vivid, as are her attempts to remain in command of her destiny. In the end, both she and her husband are outstripped by the nation they created, and the established governments of the West stand ready to claim it, in the name of responsible government. Godshalk is a superb storyteller with a gift for both minute characterization and broad strokes of history.

The text is supplemented with a (too-short) glossary and notes on historical sources, as well as a map of the area on the end papers.

Susan Oleksiw is a fiction writer, editor and freelance writer who lives in Beverly.