Attention! Audio recording contains obscene language
Eka Kurniavan «Beauty is grief» is one of the brightest and most amazing novels in modern world literature.
One day in May, Devi Ayu rose from the grave where she had lain for twenty-one years, returned home and sat down at the table … So this book begins, in which the echoes of Nikolai Gogol and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mikhail Bulgakov and Herman Melville are clearly audible. The story of Devi Ayu, a beauty from beauties, and her daughters draws into a whirlwind of strange and amazing events directly related to the fate of Indonesia and the great epic «Mahabharata».
The epic novel by the Indonesian writer Eki Kurniawan is an amazing synthesis of history, myth, satire, family saga, romantic adventure and magical realism. Eki Kurniavan’s prose is fresh and unusual. In modern world literature, this is a huge and striking phenomenon.
Press about the book:
«An obvious contender for the Nobel Prize that no Indonesian has ever received.»
Le Monde
“The Kurniavan does not exploit magical realism, he does magic, creating his own promised land. His Halimunda is similar to Macondo Gabriel García Márquez and Yoknapatof Faulkner. This fictional edge allows him to show how the whirlwinds of history ruthlessly throw people away. «
The New York Times
“In his novel, Kurniavan combines utter seriousness with irreverent irony, historical facts with magical realism. His eclecticism is slightly reminiscent of the manner of Salman Rushdie. «
ArtReview Asia
“An incredible mix of history, myth and magic. The plot twists are so whimsical and twisting to even try to retell them, but Kurniavan never for a moment loses control over his story, he skillfully brings all the paths, paths and glades into a single highway. «
The New York Times
“Without a doubt the most original, imaginative, deep and elegant book. Eka Kurniavan is a swift and sudden meteorite in the literary horizon. «
The New Left Review
© Eka Kurniawan, 2002
© Marina Izvekova, translation, 2018
© A. Bondarenko, decoration, layout, 2018
© LLC «Publishing House Phantom Press», edition, 2018
Recorded by Vimbo Production Center
© & ℗ LLC «Vimbo», 2019
Producers: Vadim Bukh, Mikhail Litvakov
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