In his earliest work, Eka Kurniawan—the inventive Indonesian writer whose novel Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash has just been translated into English by Annie Tucker—made time his plaything. Single sentences squeezed the present next to the distant past and future; entire books revolved … [Read more...]

Eka Kurniawan tells a story of a great rage. The Indonesian author Eka Kurniawan reverts to old folk beliefs in the novel ‘Man Tiger’. It covers not only a psychological drama but also many layers of his native culture. One day the young Margio jumps to his neighbor Anwar Sadat and bites him … [Read more...]

There’s something very appealing about translated fiction these days.  Whether it’s because more amazing novels from other languages are being translated than ever before, or whether the quality of those translations is better than it is ever has been is something an expert would need to weigh in … [Read more...]

Someone asked me if the book was about love story, unrequited one or something like that. I said no way. It was much more deep and personal than that. /laugh/ I actually cannot read poetry book that is too cliche. I read the three books of Lang Leav. Eventhough I finished it all but I just skimmed … [Read more...]

Despite the efforts of organisations like the The Lontar Foundation, and the position of guest of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair a couple of years back, Indonesian literature as a whole hasn’t really made much of a splash in translation.  However, one writer who has had some success is Eka … [Read more...]