Take Me to Paradise

Marilyn wakes up one morning and instead of catching the bus to work, catches the 'I don't like Mondays' flight to Bali. But is she too late to indulge her paradise dream? How many western women have arrived before her and fallen headlong for the lush green island, its exotic culture, and their attractive driver?
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Set in the artisan hill town of Ubud, Bali, in the aftermath of the bombing that rocked Bali's famed peace and serenity, Jan Cornall's novel explores notions of paradise and a modern woman's quest for meaning in an increasingly hostile world.
Travelling the tourist sites with her driver Bagus, after hearing how his life was changed by the bombing, Marilyn has time to reflect on her own life: her marriage break- up, life as a single mother, and the work–life treadmill she has just escaped from.
While her spirit responds to the sensuality of everyday Balinese life, Marilyn becomes aware of a longing for something more: perhaps creative and spiritual fulfillment, perhaps an affair with Bagus. But what of his wife? How can Marilyn even consider entering the same triangular dynamic that ended her marriage, yet how else can she find expression for the deep arousal of mind, body, and soul she is experiencing.
Take Me to Paradise shows how different the paradise dream can be: for a western woman, for a Balinese man, for a Balinese wife, and the many characters Marilyn meets. Cornall reminds us, as the Balinese do, that while the painful events of our lives leave their mark, if we are to go on living, we have no choice but to let them go.

Jan Cornall is a writer, performance poet and singer based in Sydney Australia. Awarded a number of grants and fellowships, she has written fifteen plays and musicals, a feature film, a published novel, a poem/song collection, short stories and three CDs of songs. With a strong interest in Asia, Jan collaborates regularly with writers, musicians and artists from the region. She has performed her work at a number of literary festivals including Ubud Writers Festival (Bali), Utan Kayu Biennale(Jakarta), Hong Kong International Literary Festival, Northern Kingdoms Poetry Festival (Cambodia), Darwin's Wordstorm, Irrawaddy Literary Festival (Burma) and Open Arts Festival (Beijing). Jan leads international writers retreats and is currently working on a literary memoir set in Vietnam, which traces the footsteps of the French author Marguerite Duras. Her novel Take Me to Paradise was launched at the Ubud Writers Festival in 2006 and her recent book Archipelagogo - Love Songs to Indonesia, is a delightful collection of poems, songs and stories penned during a decade of travel in Indonesia.