Indonesian · English · C1–C2
Advanced Indonesian stories, with the English alongside (C1–C2)
Poe, Bierce, Hawthorne, Melville and Twain in Indonesian: dense, stylish prose, with the English original there for the sentences worth a second look.
13 free advanced stories in Indonesian
Each one opens in your browser with no account, the Indonesian and the English side by side, paragraph by paragraph, shortest first. Every story is also a free Indonesian–English ebook for Kindle, Kobo or any e-reader: downloading needs a free account, no payment (which file to pick).
Open the advanced Indonesian–English stories in the library, where you can search them and switch to another level or pair.
- C1
Potret Oval
The Oval Portrait
Edgar Allan Poe · Indonesian · 5 min
- C1
Detak Jantung yang Mengaku
The Tell-Tale Heart
Edgar Allan Poe · Indonesian · 10 min
- C1
Tong Amontillado
The Cask of Amontillado
Edgar Allan Poe · Indonesian · 10 min
- C1
Topeng Kematian Merah
The Masque of the Red Death
Edgar Allan Poe · Indonesian · 10 min
- C2
Katak Pelompat Termasyhur dari Calaveras County
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
Mark Twain · Indonesian · 15 min
- C1
Tobermory
Saki · Indonesian · 15 min
- C1
Peristiwa di Jembatan Owl Creek
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
Ambrose Bierce · Indonesian · 20 min
- C1
Kucing Hitam
The Black Cat
Edgar Allan Poe · Indonesian · 20 min
- C1
Eksperimen Dr. Heidegger
Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment
Nathaniel Hawthorne · Indonesian · 20 min
- C1
Putri Tidur di Tengah Hutan
The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood
Charles Perrault · Indonesian · 20 min
- C1
Wallpaper Kuning
The Yellow Wallpaper
Charlotte Perkins Gilman · Indonesian · 30 min
- C1
Legenda Sleepy Hollow
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Washington Irving · Indonesian · 1 h
- C2
Bartleby, sang Juru Tulis
Bartleby the Scrivener
Herman Melville · Indonesian · 1 h 15 min
What advanced Indonesian stories are like
Advanced stories are dense on purpose: Poe’s narrators circle their own guilt, Bierce bends time, Melville’s Bartleby prefers not to. The Indonesian carries that style with long sentences, rare words and a literary register.
At this level you rarely need the English for the plot. It is there for the phrases that are hard to pin down, and for comparing how the same effect is achieved in two languages.
How to read Indonesian at C1–C2
Read the Indonesian as literature
Read at your normal pace and let unfamiliar words go when the meaning is clear. Stop only where the style or a turn of phrase interests you.
Use the English for nuance
When a word could mean two things, the English shows which one the story needs. That is where advanced readers still learn the most.
Read aloud
Literary Indonesian has rhythm. Reading a paragraph aloud, then checking its English, trains your ear as well as your eye.
More on the method in how to read a parallel text.