‘Lost and Found’ on Planet Dani

Book excerpt: An improbable adventure sprung from the true account of ‘wabah babi’, or ‘swine plague’, in the far eastern reaches of the Indonesian archipelago, bordering with Papua New Guinea. Home to the Dani people who live much as they have for the past 2000 years. The two leading characters, an American naval officer and ‘disease chaser’, and an Indonesian government doctor, undertake an arduous expedition to investigate the outbreak against a backdrop of a hostage-taking-crisies that has caught the world’s attention. Making for a story that could not have been dreamt up. Their journey takes on a fantastical turn, the stuff of fiction, when they find themselves fighting for survival in the remote jungle highlands. Their interactions with the Dani highlight the fragility and resilience of the human spirit. Theirs is an amazing trek treated with guile and humor. The author takes liberties in borrowing from factual accounts of reported events associated with a ‘very real’ and ongoing insurgency, adding authenticity and context to the narrative. He reveals himself by invoking images from the storied cinema and delving into tangents: passions revealed in primitive art and the 'natural world' - the sublime to grotesque, and beyond bizarre.