The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Darma, Budi. People from Bloomington. Penguin Random House LLC, 2022.

Budi Darma's People from Bloomington is a collection of seven short stories translated from the Indonesian original for the first time. The stories collected herein are all set in the college town of Bloomington, Indiana, narrated by first person narrators, and told in the past tense.

In "The Old Man with No Name," the narrator moved to Fess Avenue after seeing an ad in the paper. Because there were only two other houses on the street, there was little for the narrator to observe from his window. When the weather turned bad, he devoted more attention to the street's goings on, eager to learn more about his neighbors, Mrs. Nolan and Mrs. Casper. Because the elderly women had such predictable routines, the narrator was immediately fascinated by Mrs. Casper's new attic room tenant.

The tenant was an elderly man who spent almost all of his time shooting a pistol out of the window. The narrator could never tell if the pistol was real or was a toy. Desperate to know more about him, the narrator did everything possible to make his acquaintance. Not long later, he began seeing the man wielding his gun in public areas. Then one day, he came home to find the man chasing Mrs. Casper, threatening to shoot her. Convinced the man was a threat because of rumors the narrator had spread about him, Mrs. Nolan shot and killed him.

In "Joshua Karabish," the narrator met Joshua Karabish at a poetry reading. The two soon became friends. The narrator was surprised to discover that Joshua's roommates disliked him. To the narrator, Joshua seemed gentle, kind, and refined. He soon invited Joshua to move in with him. Not long later, the narrator was horrified to discover that Joshua had a mysterious disease that made his ears leak mucus and his nose gush blood. Joshua assured him the condition was not contagious, and the narrator tried to be gracious.

For fall break, Joshua decided to return home to see his family. He left his best poems in the narrator's care. Not long later, Joshua's mother informed the narrator that Joshua had died. The narrator decided to keep his poems. Then one night, the narrator began exhibiting symptoms of Joshua's illness. Furious with Joshua for infecting him, he submitted Joshua's poems to a contest under his own name.

In "The Family M," the narrator developed a vendetta against two young boys, Mark and Martin Meek, when he noticed them playing near his car with a rusty nail. Convinced the boys had intentionally vandalized his vehicle, the narrator became determined to punish and hurt them. He tormented them tirelessly, constantly hoping that something terrible would befall them and their parents. Then one day, the narrator learned that the family had gotten into a car accident and been hospitalized. When they finally returned home, the whole family was crippled. Despite their tragedy, the Meeks remained loving and devoted to one another.

In "Orez," the narrator was shocked when his lover Hester refused his marriage proposal. Confused by her resistance, the narrator visited her father. Hester's father explained that Hester's mother had given birth to seven or eight children, all of whom had died of birth defects, except Hester. Afraid she would befall the same fate, Hester was reluctant to marry. Her father said that the narrator could marry her if he promised to put her welfare first.

Convinced that his and Hester's constant carnal desire for one another could sustain their relationship, the narrator married her despite the associated risks. Shortly thereafter, their child, Orez, was born. Orez was strong, but he had an oversized head and a diminutive body. The older he grew, the more wild and uncontrollable he became. Overcome by despair, the narrator took him into the woods and tried slaying him. When Orez ran away, the narrator realized that Orez was not to blame for his birth and thus deserved to live.

In "Yorrick," the narrator fell in love with a young woman named Catherine who lived on Grant Street. Despite his attempts to win her affection, Catherine showed no interest in the narrator. He was even more hurt when he realized she was growing closer with his roommate, Yorrick. The narrator became increasingly resentful of Yorrick, and did everything in his power to sabotage and hurt him and Catherine. He soon realized the authenticity of Yorrick's character.

In "Mrs. Elberhart," the narrator became irritated by neighborhood woman Mrs. Elberhart's unkempt house and yard. He sent her an anonymous note demanding she tidy up her property. After the elderly woman spent days in the yard, she fell ill and was hospitalized. Feeling guilty, the narrator started visiting her. They soon grew close and the narrator became attached to his new friend. After her death, the narrator inherited all of Mrs. Elberhart's assets. In an attempt to atone for his previous offenses against her and to memorialize her name, the narrator published his poems under her name.

In "Charles Lebourne," the narrator was shocked to discover that his father, Charles Lebourne, lived in the apartment building across the street. Remembering all of the negative things his late mother had told him about his estranged father, the narrator became determined to ruin Lebourne. He intentionally won the man's favor so as to wound him and thus avenge his mother and himself. However, once Lebourne finally fell ill, the narrator found himself powerless to abandon Lebourne.