THE BURNISHED SUN by Mirandi Riwoe

There are some exceptional stories here. In particular, I loved Annah the Javanese for the breadth of its research and the depth of its empathy.

We follow a migrant mother who yearns to feel welcomed at a kids’ party in a local park; a young skateboarder caught between showing loyalty and being accepted; and an Indonesian maid working far from home who longs for the son she’s left behind. Bookending this collection are two stunning novellas: Annah the Javanese re-imagines the world of one of Paul Gauguin’s models in nineteenth-century Paris, while the highly acclaimed The Fish Girl reworks a classic W. Somerset Maugham story from the perspective of a young Indonesian woman.