‘The Wandering’: Intan Paramaditha’s magical red shoes

In the novel The Wandering, the protagonist gives into temptation and makes a deal with the devil. He gives her a pair of magical red shoes that allows her to fulfill her greatest desire: to travel the world. The devil’s gift, however, comes with a stern warning: “Adventure, or more precisely, wandering, will be your eternal lot. You will find shelter, but never home.” So begins the protagonist’s – and the reader’s – journey. Written in an interactive format similar to the “Choose Your Own Adventure” children’s series, The Wandering, which was first published in 2017 in the original Indonesian as Gentayangan, moves from one place to the next, be it Berlin, New York, Lima or Amsterdam.