Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
Eka Kurniawan
Translated by Annie Tucker
Told in short, cinematic bursts, Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash is gloriously pulpy. Ajo Kawir, a lower-class Javanese teenage boy excited about sex, likes to spy on fellow villagers in flagrante, but one night he ends up witnessing the savage rape of a beautiful crazy woman. Deeply traumatised, he becomes impotent, turns to fighting as a way to vent his frustrations.
Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash shows Eka Kurniawan in a gritty, comic, pungent mode that fans of Quentin Tarantino will appreciate. But even with its liberal peppering of fights, high-speed car chases, and ladies heaving with desire, the novel continues to explore Kurniawan’s familiar themes of female agency in a violent and corrupt male world.
andVengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash
‘An unforgettable, all-encompassing epic of Indonesian history, magic, and murder—every detail seems essential to depicting Indonesia’s tragic past. Upon finishing the book, the reader will have the sense of encountering not just the history of Indonesia but its soul and spirit. This is an astounding, momentous book.’
‘Thrilling…an engrossing, emotionally rankling speed-read…original and sure-footed.’
‘Habitually drives his narratives between the extreme poles of the crass and the sublime, the tragic and the comedic, the surreal and the real.’
‘It’s funny, enraging, and touching.’
‘I believe the phrase is ‘page-turner.’
‘A pulpy, visceral tale of sex, violence and comeuppance…It is hard not to be caught up by the book’s bold ideas and rambunctious energy.’
‘[Kurniawan] habitually drives his narratives between the extreme poles of the crass and the sublime, the tragic and the comedic, the surreal and the real.’
‘It’s funny, enraging, and touching.’
‘I believe the phrase is “page-turner”’
‘Kurniawan gives the reader an original plot while managing to include a good helping of black humour, plenty of irony, corruption and a man who talks to his penis (which occasionally answers him)…Funny and a bit crazy.’
‘A charming novel.’
‘Eka Kurniawan’s English-language debut, Beauty Is a Wound, was released to much acclaim in 2015, introducing the Indonesian writer to a whole new audience. Told in short, cinematic bursts, his follow-up is gloriously pulpy as it continues to explore familiar themes of female agency in a violent and corrupt male world. Kurniawan is not for the faint-hearted, but his gritty, comic style will definitely be appreciated by fans of Quentin Tarantino.’
‘An unusual and provocative novel…A page turner, and well worth your attention.’
