The Redundancy of Courage is a novel by British-Asian writer Timothy Mo published in 1991. It is set in the fictitious country of Danu in Southeast Asia, which is based on East Timor. It is narrated by Adolph Ng, an ethnic Chinese businessman educated in Canada.Ng, John Lanchester, London Review of Books, Vol. 13 No. 9, 9 May 1991 It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction.
Plot introduction Like East Timor, Danu is a former Portuguese colony north of Australia.Eugene Benson, Encyclopedia of Post-Colonial Literatures in English, Routledge, 2004, p. 1032. It is invaded and occupied by its giant neighbour, which is not named, but is based on Indonesia. The people of the occupying country are referred to throughout the book as the malai. This similar to malae, the word for foreigner in Tetum, East Timor's main language. Danu is annexed by the malai and declared their 'fifty-eighth province',Timothy Mo, The Redundancy of Courage, Vintage, 1992, p. 361. over which their green and white flag is raised.Mo, The Redundancy of Courage, 1992, p. 343.
Allusions to actual history and geography Although the characters are fictional, they are closely based on people involved in events in East Timor during 1975.Timothy Mo's The Redundancy of Courage: An Outsider's View of Identity, The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, June 1, 1993, page 28 Osvaldo Oliveira, commander of the FAKINTIL guerilla army, is based on Nicolau Lobato, who became Prime Minister following the unilateral declaration of independence in 1975, and Xanana Gusmão, who later became the first President of East Timor in 2002.Tapol Bulletin, Issue 105, June 1991, p. 24. FAKOUM, the pro-independence party, is based on Fretilin.Susanne Hagemann, Terranglian territories: proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on the Literature of Region and Nation, Peter Lang, 2000, p. 547. FAKINTIL is similarly based on Falintil.Inside Indonesia: Bulletin of the Indonesia Resources and Information Programme (IRIP), Issues 22-33, 1990, p. 33.Frédéric Durand, Timor, 1250-2005: 750 ans de cartographie et de voyages, Arkuiris, 2006, p. 462.
Joaquim Lobato is based on exiled leader José Ramos-Horta (later Foreign Minister, Prime Minister and President). Bill Mabbely is based on Australian journalist Roger East, who was killed by Indonesian troops in Dili on the day of the invasion. The date of the malai invasion of Danu, 7 December, is the same as that of Indonesia's invasion of East Timor.Mo, The Redundancy of Courage, 1992, p. 3.
Balibo, the town where five Australian-based journalists were killed, is depicted in the novel, as is the killing of the journalists.Mo, The Redundancy of Courage, 1992, pp. 92–95.
References
External links Timothy Mo's The Redundancy of Courage, Meridian, BBC World Service, 25 April 1991