I’ve picked this book as one of my Kindle First in January, partially because I’m doing Reading Challenge at The Fiction Cafe Book club and the first one was to read a book with a food item on the cover. I’ve had few book contestants for this challenge but as soon as I saw this cover, I knew I had … [Read more...]

You yearn to travel, but never have. It’s too expensive, so you’re stuck here — in Indonesia, at your boring job teaching English, despite never having stepped foot in an English-speaking country. You’ve tried to find fulfillment in romance, but your boyfriends have all been losers. Meanwhile, … [Read more...]

It’s easy to mistake Eka Kurniawan’s pulpy third novel, Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash, for a fun read of little substance. The main plot centres on the protagonist’s inability to get hard. Graphic sex abounds, as do brawls, shootings and slapstick. Take the part where Ajo Kawir, the main … [Read more...]

Eka Kurniawan is the author of four novels as well as a number of short story collections. In 2016, he became the first Indonesian writer to be longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, for his first novel, Man Tiger. Overall, his works have been translated into more than 20 languages. Most of his … [Read more...]

First impression is crucial. It may make or break a deal; forge or destroy a friendship; kill or start a bond. The first impression an author makes, with his any book, on his reader can either earn him a fan or a cynic. That book need not be his best creation, but it has to tempt the reader to pick … [Read more...]