AbstrakThis essay constitutes the first step in solving an enigma of Indonesian letters, one that islittle noticed but unfathomable: the absence of crime fiction from the canon of the nationalliterature. This is surprising for two reasons, the widespread popularity of crime in popularculture, both literature and film, and the g high esteem that the genre is held in other EastAsian national traditions (Japan; Thailand; South Korea). This paper argues that contemporaryIndonesian writers would be well advised to familiarize themselves with the various strandsof crime fiction, in particular the American variant known as Noir, and adopt these traditionsto local conditions. When Noir is examined closely, the attentive student will realize that the political and aesthetic concerns of American Noir writers are essentially those of Indonesianauthors the social depredations of neo-colonialism and the traumatic effects of international Cold War politics.