Interview: Eka Kurniawan on “Beauty Is a Wound”

Indonesian author Eka Kurniawan has been hailed as the successor to Pramoedya Ananta Toer. His 2002 novel, Cantik Itu Luka, has been superbly translated into English by Annie Tucker and was launched in Australia last week by Text Publishing. Beauty Is a Wound tells the story of a prostitute, Dewi Ayu, who rises from the grave after being dead for 21 years. The book follows Dewi Ayu and her four daughters, traversing Indonesia’s history from the colonial period, through the Japanese occupation, to the independence era. Incorporating elements of Indonesian folklore and magic, it is at times violent and sexually explicit, and quite often hilarious. Indonesia at Melbourne spoke to Eka before his appearance at the Melbourne Writers Festival on 28 August.