Home | What's New Headlines | Writer Spotlights | Book Chronicles | Translations | Story Directory Writers | Contributing Authors | Books | Publishers | News Sources
If you are a writer yourself, help us grow the database? Get listed! — A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

Vogue Singapore / All Things Books
Mar 17, 2024

Aniko Press / All Things Books
Feb 28, 2024

TFR / As Seen On
Feb 15, 2024

Magical double

Book Chronicles / Review


In this article:
Kitchen Curse


Written by Lara Norgaard, originally published in Mekong Review

Jan 01, 2020

"My Lipstick Is Red, Darling”, from Eka Kurniawan’s new collection of short stories, Kitchen Curse, begins with a woman’s arrest at a brothel. She tells the police she is merely a housewife, not a prostitute, but her husband asks for a divorce when she finally gets home. The pages that follow delve into the husband’s perspective on how the couple met and fell in love — it turns out the woman had in fact been a prostitute in the past — and then switch to the wife’s view of the same events. On the one hand, Kurniawan is telling the story of a husband who becomes increasingly unfaithful, convinced his wife must be cheating because she continues to wear bright-red lipstick. On the other, he is narrating the experience of a woman who puts on make-up each day in order to win back the love of her wayward spouse, until she finally returns to the brothel, trying to catch her husband in the act.

Read the full article here. / Subscription may be required.



About Us

Ready to dive into the magic of our writer's directory? It's not just a cool space for writers to connect; it's like the ultimate toolkit for event hosts, lit organizers, artsy souls, librarians, book nerds, and everyone curious about Indonesian writers. Think of it as the cozy HOME for INDONESIAN WRITERS, where we're on a mission to smash those pesky language barriers holding back Indonesian books and lit from taking over the world. Read more!

Got burning questions, awesome comments, juicy articles, or just some cool info to drop? We're all ears! Shoot us an email, give us a shout on X, Facebook, or Instagram, or hit us up using the contact form. Let's make this a conversation!