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A Dark Tale from Cottonwood Grove
Mahfud Ikhwan
Written by Geeta Doctor, originally published in Hindu
Jan 27, 2025
A Dark Tale from Cottonwood Grove
Mahfud Ikhwan
Written by Geeta Doctor, originally published in Hindu
Jan 27, 2025
Mahfud Ikhwan’s novel blends love, murder mystery, and sociopolitical intrigue rooted in Indonesia’s colonial and postcolonial history.
The silky filaments of cottonwood seeds float across the dark Javanese landscape of Mahfud Ikhwan’s mysterious account of a murder foretold with teasing tenderness and underlying savagery. It is a tale of revenge and betrayal that sometimes brings to mind Gustave Flaubert’s masterpiece, Madame Bovary.
Just like Mme Bovary trapped in her petit bourgeois fantasies in mid-19th century France, Inayatun, a beautiful woman from the small farming community of Cottonwood Grove, is a creature of flesh and blood always reaching out for something beyond her grasp. As the daughter of the Muslim head of the community, she is doubly bound—as much by the hopes of her father, Pak Imam, as by her own desires.
The silky filaments of cottonwood seeds float across the dark Javanese landscape of Mahfud Ikhwan’s mysterious account of a murder foretold with teasing tenderness and underlying savagery. It is a tale of revenge and betrayal that sometimes brings to mind Gustave Flaubert’s masterpiece, Madame Bovary.
Just like Mme Bovary trapped in her petit bourgeois fantasies in mid-19th century France, Inayatun, a beautiful woman from the small farming community of Cottonwood Grove, is a creature of flesh and blood always reaching out for something beyond her grasp. As the daughter of the Muslim head of the community, she is doubly bound—as much by the hopes of her father, Pak Imam, as by her own desires.
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