If Fortune Does Not Favor

If Fortune Does Not Favor offers a unique perspective on the complex situation of Indonesian women, particularly Minangkabau women, during the pre-independence period of Indonesian history. First published in 1933, this novel is considered the first Indonesian novel written by a woman. Selasih, the author, was a fighter working to liberate the homeland during the era when this novel was written. Both to Selasih and within If Fortune Does Not Favor, liberation constituted freedom from everything that shackled happiness.