Prize-winning author Eka Kurniawan’s latest novel Beauty is a Wound isn’t for the squeamish – but his writing is ‘the real thing’ Prize-winning Indonesian novelist Eka Kurniawan isn’t for the squeamish. Packed with semen, menstrual blood, excrement and urine, his tour-de-force, Beauty is a … [Read more...]
‘Semen, blood and excrement’: the Indonesian novel that’s like story-telling on acid
August 17, 2020 by
Anak Semua Bangsa (Child of All Nations) – Pramoedya Ananta Toer
August 9, 2020 by
Anak Semua Bangsa is the aftermath of Bumi Manusia, telling a story of how Minke and Nyai Ontosoroh picked up the pieces after their daughter/wife was taken away, and after their already-complicated-but-delightful life was shattered by the powerful meneer. Nyai was angrier than ever, while young … [Read more...]
It’s your Turn to (Re)Write the Story
August 5, 2020 by
You wake up disoriented. You’re in a New York City taxi, speeding toward JFK airport. In your hand is a one-way ticket to Berlin. But you look down and find you’re missing a shoe—only one foot is ensconced in a precious, ruby-red slipper. They were a gift from an infatuated devil—your Demon Lover, … [Read more...]
Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash (2017) by Eka Kurniawan
May 7, 2020 by
There is nothing better than opening up a new category of literature with a new country, language or perspective. Eka Kurniawan is the first Indonesian writer I've read, and the first writer translated from Malay. Indonesia's prior presence in the western canon is mostly limited to early 20th … [Read more...]
‘Pangeran dari Timur’ chronicles the tragic life of Raden Saleh
May 1, 2020 by
Indonesian authors Iksaka Banu and Kurnia Effendi have just launched a book they co-authored, a nearly 600-page historical novel called Pangeran Dari Timur that was more than 20 years in the making. The double-plot novel that centers on the life of the great painter Raden Saleh (1811-1880) and … [Read more...]
