Beauty is sorrow
19.99 €
In stock
Beauty is sorrow
19.99 €
World Readers' Award 2016.
Indonesian Eka Kurniawan's epic novel is an amazing synthesis of history, myth, satire, family saga, romantic adventure and magical realism. The life of the beautiful Devi Ayu and her four daughters is a series of terrifying, unbelievable, sensual, loving, crazy and touching episodes that add up to one big story filled with many meanings and levels. One May afternoon, Devi Ayu rose from the grave where she had lain for twenty-one years, returned home and sat down at the table... Thus begins one of the most amazing novels of our time, in which echoes of Nikolai Gogol and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, of Mikhail Bulgakov and Herman Melville can be heard. The story of Dewi Ayu, a beauty of beauties, and her daughters, three of whom were even more beautiful than their mother, and the fourth more terrible than death, draws you into a whirlwind of strange and wonderful events directly connected with the fate of Indonesia and the great epic "Mahabharata". Eka Kurniawan's prose is fresh and unusual, a huge and vivid phenomenon in modern world literature.
Press about the book
In his novel, Kurniawan combines extreme seriousness with irreverent irony, historical facts with magical realism. His eclecticism is slightly reminiscent of Salman Rushdie's manner. ArtReview Asia
A daring, incredibly funny, fierce novel by Asia's most ambitious writer. The Economist
An incredible mix of history, myth and magic. The plot twists and turns are so whimsical and convoluted that it would be hard to even attempt a retelling, but Kurniawan never loses control of his story for a moment and masterfully brings all the paths, lanes and slices into a single highway. The New York Times
This knave saga is equally close to The Canterbury Tales and The Mahabharata. A charming and stunningly intense book. Kirkus Reviews
Without doubt the most original, imaginative, profound and graceful book. Eka Kurniawan is a swift and sudden meteorite in the literary firmament. The New Left Review
Kurniawan tells the story of Indonesia through the story of a beauty rising from the grave. Critics are comparing his book to The Canterbury Tales and One Hundred Years of Solitude, and with good reason. Sydney Morning Herald
Transparent, sometimes lyrical, sometimes burlesque prose makes an incredible impact. SF Chronicle
Kurniawan doesn't exploit magical realism, he precisely makes magic, creating his own promised land. His Halimunda is like Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Macondo and Faulkner's Yoknapatofa. This fictional land allows him to show how the whirlwinds of history ruthlessly scatter people. The New York Times
Kurniawan paints a portrait of Indonesia that is both admiring and mocking. He is not afraid to laugh at even the most tragic stories, displaying a true bloodthirstiness for satire. The New Yorker
A mesmerizing combination of romance, tragedy and comedy. Harper's Bazaar
A polyphonic epic in which the voices of satire, the grotesque, the parable, tragedy and the big story are equally strong. Brooklyn Magazine
An obvious contender for the Nobel Prize, which no Indonesian has ever won. Le Monde
The literary child of Gunter Grass, Gabriel García Márquez and Salman Rushdie. New York Book Review
Indonesian Eka Kurniawan's epic novel is an amazing synthesis of history, myth, satire, family saga, romantic adventure and magical realism. The life of the beautiful Devi Ayu and her four daughters is a series of terrifying, unbelievable, sensual, loving, crazy and touching episodes that add up to one big story filled with many meanings and levels. One May afternoon, Devi Ayu rose from the grave where she had lain for twenty-one years, returned home and sat down at the table... Thus begins one of the most amazing novels of our time, in which echoes of Nikolai Gogol and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, of Mikhail Bulgakov and Herman Melville can be heard. The story of Dewi Ayu, a beauty of beauties, and her daughters, three of whom were even more beautiful than their mother, and the fourth more terrible than death, draws you into a whirlwind of strange and wonderful events directly connected with the fate of Indonesia and the great epic "Mahabharata". Eka Kurniawan's prose is fresh and unusual, a huge and vivid phenomenon in modern world literature.
Press about the book
In his novel, Kurniawan combines extreme seriousness with irreverent irony, historical facts with magical realism. His eclecticism is slightly reminiscent of Salman Rushdie's manner. ArtReview Asia
A daring, incredibly funny, fierce novel by Asia's most ambitious writer. The Economist
An incredible mix of history, myth and magic. The plot twists and turns are so whimsical and convoluted that it would be hard to even attempt a retelling, but Kurniawan never loses control of his story for a moment and masterfully brings all the paths, lanes and slices into a single highway. The New York Times
This knave saga is equally close to The Canterbury Tales and The Mahabharata. A charming and stunningly intense book. Kirkus Reviews
Without doubt the most original, imaginative, profound and graceful book. Eka Kurniawan is a swift and sudden meteorite in the literary firmament. The New Left Review
Kurniawan tells the story of Indonesia through the story of a beauty rising from the grave. Critics are comparing his book to The Canterbury Tales and One Hundred Years of Solitude, and with good reason. Sydney Morning Herald
Transparent, sometimes lyrical, sometimes burlesque prose makes an incredible impact. SF Chronicle
Kurniawan doesn't exploit magical realism, he precisely makes magic, creating his own promised land. His Halimunda is like Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Macondo and Faulkner's Yoknapatofa. This fictional land allows him to show how the whirlwinds of history ruthlessly scatter people. The New York Times
Kurniawan paints a portrait of Indonesia that is both admiring and mocking. He is not afraid to laugh at even the most tragic stories, displaying a true bloodthirstiness for satire. The New Yorker
A mesmerizing combination of romance, tragedy and comedy. Harper's Bazaar
A polyphonic epic in which the voices of satire, the grotesque, the parable, tragedy and the big story are equally strong. Brooklyn Magazine
An obvious contender for the Nobel Prize, which no Indonesian has ever won. Le Monde
The literary child of Gunter Grass, Gabriel García Márquez and Salman Rushdie. New York Book Review
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books by the author