Frolova Marina

Reality and Irreality in the novel «Beauty is a Wound» (2002) by Indonesian author Eka Kurniawan

ЮГО-ВОСТОЧНАЯ АЗИЯ: АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ РАЗВИТИЯ, 2016, №32, 186-203

 
Annotation: The article deals with the first published novel by the Indonesian writer Eka Kurniawan (born in 1975), “Beauty is a Wound” (2002). A brief insight of the modern literary look in the history of the Republic of Indonesia is given in its contamination of local myths and the certain facts. Considering the vivid novel by the Sundanese author, the main roots of his inspiration are determined: the Indonesian realistic classics of the 20th century written by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, the Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ “One Hundred Years of Solitude” and last but not least, mass literature of Indonesia, horror-stories, erotic novels etc. Due to recollection of plots and images from three basics mentioned above, Eka Kurniawan manages “to create a monster” of surreal and alternative reflections of Indonesian’s past from the times since Dutch Colonization till the fall of Soeharto in 1998.

Keywords: EKA KURNIAWAN, MODERN INDONESIAN LITERATURE, MAGIC REALISM, “BEAUTY IS A WOUND”