Love and Vengeance is Eka Kurniawan‘s third novel, originally published in Bahasa Indonesia in 2014 by Gramedia under the title Seperti Dendam, Rindu Harus Dibayar Tuntas. At the Pontas Agency we are now delighted to announce that film rights to adapt the novel into a feature film have been acquired by Jakarta-based company Palari Films. The film will be produced by Muhammad Zaidy and Meiske Taurisia; and Eka Kurniawan has been attached as co-scripwriter together with filmmaker Edwin (director and writer of Indonesian film Postcards from the Zoo, which was in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival 2012).
English language rights of the novel have already been acquired by New Directions (US & Canada), Pushkin Press (UK & Commonwealth) and Text Publishing (Australia & NZ). Told in short, cinematic bursts, Love and Vengeance is populated by a range of characters from Java’s urban underworld and liberally peppered with fights and high-speed car chases. West Java comes alive with a gritty pungency that fans of Quentin Tarantino and Denis Johnson will appreciate. Yet mixed in with the violence, this is also a novel of warm humor, friendship and love.
Eka Kurniawan has become an unstoppable rising star of Indonesian literature and the global literary panorama. His debut novel Beauty is a Wound was first published in English last year. Eka Kurniawan was also longlisted for the International Man Booker Prize 2016, and he has received global critical acclaim, including praise from The New York Times, Financial Times and The Guardian, among many others. His debut novel Beauty is a Wound is being translated into more than 28 (twenty-eight) languages at the moment: check the full list of international publishers here.