Two Novels
The Witch Doctor's Daughter , by Kathrina Mohd Daud. A richly observed coming-of-age tale set in Brunei. If the plot is quite simple and straightforward, I still like the slight twist of having the adoption of a child, and not the choice of a husband, be the trigger for maturation. It's a different take on the age-old marriage plot. Man Tiger , by Eka Kurniawan. I read a story collection by Eka Kurniawan, and enjoyed it very much, and so I was looking forward to reading this novel by him. It's very different. The supernatural element is here too, and so are the richly observed details of life in a small rural town in Indonesia. But the novel forgoes wit and invention in favor of simplicity, and it is all the more affecting for that reason. At the start, we know only that the young protagonist has killed a man, and the novel unfolds slowly to explain why. The revelations are planted smartly along the way to deepen our understanding of that horrific act. A masterly novel.