Blitar Magic Garage

For readers of Beauty Is a Wound (Eka Kurniawan) and The Garden of Evening Mists (Tan Twan Eng) – a darkly compelling tale of magic, corruption and resistance in Suharto’s Jakarta, as a former political prisoner and his neighbours fight to save their kampung from developers, the army and the relentless forces of “progress”.

Munin, a former political prisoner, runs Blitar Magic Garage in Setiabudi, a makeshift settlement in central Jakarta. When whispers of redevelopment threaten Setiabudi’s fragile balance, Munin and his neighbours are forced to confront a dark web of corruption, greed and political manoeuvring. While they grapple with their pasts and futures, alliances are strained in their efforts to defend the kampung against the developers and the army. Will the vision of Suharto’s relentless progress overshadow the dreams of Soekarno’s little people? As Munin repairs cars belonging to Jakarta’s elite with magic, spirit warnings suggest to him that trouble is brewing. Could it be the land clearance or is it something more sinister?

Blitar Magic Garage is a darkly compelling tale of corruption, greed and magic in Suharto’s Indonesia.