Man Tiger: A Novel

Name: Man Tiger: A Novel
Author: Eka Kurniawan
ISBN: 1781688591

by Eka Kurniawan

An unforgettable tale of literary magical realism from a critically acclaimed Indonesian writer who has been compared to Salman Rushdie, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Mark Twain Longlisted for the International Man Booker, this “supernatural tale of murder and desire fascinatingly subverts the crime fiction genre” as it tells the story of a half-man, half-magical female white tiger (Huffington Post). A wry, affecting tale set in a small town on the Indonesian coast, Man Tiger tells the story of two interlinked and tormented families and of Margio, a young man ordinary in all particulars except that he conceals within himself a supernatural female white tiger. The inequities and betrayals of family life coalesce around and torment this magical being.…

Recommended by

Dee Lestari

"It’s about a boy, Margio, who was raised in poverty and a dysfunctional family. He later takes revenge upon a man that had hurt his mother. This book depicts familiar facets of Indonesia, and yet those facets can be totally unique for an international audience. Eka’s writing has a distinct, masculine voice. I admire his seriousness in crafting his story. The supernatural phenomenon of half man, half animal (we call it ‘jadi-jadian’), poverty, rural setting. These are tales we hear via our oral tradition. That’s what I meant by familiar ‘facets’, for most Indonesians."

The Best Contemporary Indonesian Literature · fivebooks.com