Eka Kurniawan was the first Indonesian writer long-listed for the Man Booker International, and he continues to be translated into English as his star rises. There isn't much else rising, however, in this novel, which focuses on its antihero's flaccid penis. Ajo Kiwar witnessed the rape of a widow … [Read more...]

There’s a novel that I have been encountering again and again on Amazon – Beauty is a Wound by Indonesian writer Eka Kurniawan (Website, Facebook). An article on The Economistfrom July 2017 calls him “Indonesia’s finest novelist”. For his use of magic realism and surrealism, he is frequently … [Read more...]

Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash is the third Eka Kurniawan novel to be published in English (all by Speaking Tiger in India). The first, the magical realist family epic Beauty is a Wound, was rapidly acclaimed as an Indonesian answer to One Hundred Years of Solitude, and Kurniawan has become … [Read more...]

Both Indonesia and India share the Mahabharataas a common text, but with differences. The Amba episode in India results in the creation of the first epic transgender Shikhandi whose task is to kill the man who ruined her life. Bhisma remains the common target for revenge, but in the Indonesian … [Read more...]

Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash, by the Indonesian author of Beauty Is a Wound, is a surreal, poignant account of a teen attempting to become a man. The novel Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash opens simply, by stating its premise: The teenager Ajo Kawir has a bit of a hardware … [Read more...]