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EKA KURNIAWAN breaks through in the Netherlands
Book talk: Maya Sutedja-Liem (from left) reads Schoonheid is een Vloek as the book’s author, Eka Kurniawan, along with writers Joss Wibisono and Barney Agerbeek listen during the Tong Fair in Amsterdam
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Book talk: Maya Sutedja-Liem (from left) reads Schoonheid is een Vloek as the book’s author, Eka Kurniawan, along with writers Joss Wibisono and Barney Agerbeek listen during the Tong Fair in Amsterdam.
Fourteen years after Eka Kurniawan’s debut novel first came out, it was finally translated in the Netherlands. This was puzzling, as the author had expected the Dutch to be the first ones to discover his book.
“Violence, cruelty, misogyny, mass killings — not easy ingredients for a writer who wants to tread lightly and bring to life some 40 years worth of history. It’s a small literary miracle that Eka Kurniawan succeeded in doing this,” said the glowing review of Eka’s book Cantik itu Luka (Beauty is a Wound) in the prominent Dutch daily, the Volkskrant.
Another main national daily, Trouw, dubbed the book a “phenomenal family saga and a critical comment on history”. Trouw echoed the accolade that has been given to the writer by other reviewers: “Eka Kurniawan treads in the footsteps of (Salman) Rushdie and (Gabriel García) Márquez.”
Main evening daily NRC said the “mix of genres succeeded thanks to its dark melancholy and intelligence on the one hand, and humor and absurdity on the other”.
(Courtesy of Lebowski Publishers/Cover design by Dog & Pony Amsterdam, 2016)
Eka was in the Netherlands last month for the publication of his book, released here as Schoonheid is een Vloek, and to take part in the Tong Tong, an annual festival celebrating the Indo-European culture and heritage. Other prominent Indonesian writers have been guests at the Tong Tong Festival in past years, including Leila Chudori, Ahmad Tohari and Iksaka Banu.
This was Eka’s second visit to the Netherlands.
“My visit to The Hague in 2006 was actually the first time I ever travelled outside of Indonesia,” he recalled.
He had been a guest at the Winternachten literary festival a decade ago, when he was practically unknown to readers in either Indonesia or abroad. Wh en asked what the difference was between his first and current visit, he flashed his toothy grin: “Last time it felt more like a paid vacation. Now I come as a writer.”
A lot has indeed happened between the two visits: His book, published in English last year as Beauty is a Wound, appeared on many best books lists of 2015, including in The New York Times, The Financial Times and Publishers Weekly.
Earlier this year, his second novel, Man Tiger (Lelaki Harimau), was long-listed for the Man Booker International Prize — the first Indonesian author to be nominated for one of literature’s most coveted honors.
His work has been translated into 24 languages. “Even into Slovenian,” Eka remarked in wonder.
Eka — who looks much younger than his 40 years — wasn’t sure why it had taken 14 years for his book to finally find its way to a Dutch audience.
“I had expected that the Netherlands might be the first country to translate my book because of its historic ties with Indonesia.”
The book travels through crucial decades of Indonesia’s history — from the last throes of the Dutch colonial era well into the 1990s — seen through the lives of Dutch-Sundanese prostitute Dewi Ayu and her family in the fictional village of Halimunda.
Maya Sutedja-Liem, one of the translators for the Dutch version, already fell in love with the book years ago.
“I met Eka at Winternachten and he left me some copies of Cantik itu Luka. I was immediately taken by it.”
Maya is one of the most productive translators of Indonesian literature into Dutch, with works including books of Pramudya Ananta Toer, Ahmad Tohari, Ayu Utami and Nukila Amal.
One of the reasons why it took so long to find a Dutch publisher, Maya thinks, is that Eka’s book was not immediately successful in its home base. “For example, Ayu Utami’s books quickly became popular in Indonesia,” she said.
She said a whole report is made before publishers decide to translate a book: story line, characters, literary style and why the book would be interesting for a Dutch readership.
“And often the following question is asked: ‘Has the book already been translated into another language?’ This becomes especially important for publishers when the book wasn’t an instant hit in its domestic market,” Maya explained.
Eka, who grew up in a remote area in West Java where there were hardly any books available, is the first one to admit that his books only found a wider audience in recent years.
He wrote Cantik itu Luka when he was 25 and it was first released by a small publisher in 2002, then picked up by Gramedia in 2004.
“Many reviewers panned it when it came out. I think they found it difficult to put the book into existing categories.”
In Indonesia’s literary circles, however, Eka was already a name to be reckoned with since the publication in 1999 of his first non-fiction book, Pramoedya Ananta Toer dan Sastra Realisme Sosialis.
Ironically, it was his critical success in the US early last year that finally established him on the world literary map. “I got a call in spring 2015 about translating the book,” Maya recalled.
In front of an audience of some 100 people during the Tong Tong Festival, he was asked about Dewi Ayu, the main character in his novel.
“I guess you could see her as a metaphor for Indonesia as a nation with its dynamic identity: Dewi Ayu is a native and at the same time she is of mixed heritage.”
Asked further if the book was a comment on Indonesian society, he said: “Aren’t most Indonesian books comments on Indonesian society?” Again he gave that toothy grin. “I try to balance between seriousness and playfulness. After all, books should entertain their readers.”
Research for his novel, he said, included reading many books about the Dutch colonial era, both fiction and non-fiction.
“I was mostly interested to know how people lived: what they ate, what they wore, their daily activities. I read with great interest, for example, about how the automobile made its way into the Dutch East Indies.” He paused, then added: “Sometimes we get the essence of things through trivia.”
Asked if the book’s explicit sexual content raised criticism or protests in Indonesia, he surprisingly said: “In general people didn’t talk too much about it.” Comments from his friends or family? “My mother doesn’t read my books,” he laughed.
Eka had a simple answer when someone inquired about what he hoped Dutch readers would get out of his book: “I’d be happy if you just read the story. Enjoy it. I would like people to know me as a writer, not just an Indonesian writer.”
Reflecting on the discussions in The Hague, Eka pointed out that it differed from similar occasions in other countries as the audience seemed more familiar with Indonesia.
“They don’t just see my book as a literary work, but also in a social and political context. In other countries similar questions may arise, but they were more general.”
Theo Stucken, who attended the discussion, said afterwards that he was “impressed” by Eka. “He is able to express himself in a light, simple manner. He is intelligent, but far from pedantic.”
Stucken, who was born in the Dutch East Indies but has lived most of his life in the Netherlands, said that he likes to keep up with current Indonesian literature. He was ordering Laksmi Pamuntjak’s book online when he saw Eka’s novel on the same page. “So I ordered both. I am looking forward to reading them!”
