A Little Bit One O'clock

It is an amusing, light-hearted account of a couple's life with a Balinese family. Certainly offers western readers valuable insight into Balinese culture. Great for a visitor or even an armchair traveler, but is pretty much de rigeur reading amongst expatriates in Bali and the rest of Indonesia.

Reader sees Ingram making the jump from long-term backpacking visitor to full-on expat, a transition that many have made, albeit with great culture shock. Ingram and his wife make the compromises and changes with admirable patience and refreshing good humor. Lesser mortals can find a welcome bit of comfort in this text. Never condescending (neither towards the Balinese nor towards bumbling westerners), this series of stories are told with a gentle, smiling tone. Not exactly a page-turner, but delightful and bright.

The author and his wife have gone on to found a truly marvelous charitable concern which is contributing to the rebirth of textile weavers and dyers in the Indonesian archepelago. Their warm attitude toward the people of Indonesia lives on in this work. When visiting Bali, do not miss a visit to Jean's gallery in Ubud, named Threads of Life.


Good Neighbors   August 23, 2003
murni@murnis.com (Ubud, Bali)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

I am Balinese and William, and his wife, Jean, live just down the road from me in Ubud.

They are exactly the sort of neighbors we like to have. They have joined in and contributed to village life.

As is evident from the stories in this book, they have participated in and gained an understanding of our complex, but fascinating, culture. When they first arrived, they stayed with a Balinese family in the village, and many of the stories relate to incidents in the family's life. Many of them are typical, so it's a very good introduction to Balinese life for anyone visiting Bali.

It is clearly and beautifully and sympathetically written and the photographs are good. Recommended.