A "rich" novel in which readers can find local wisdom, social issues - not only drama but also humor and action, and at the same time many social issues are raised including honor, blood feud and even homosexuality and obstacles for migrant workers in neighboring countries. Social issues are woven into the atmosphere of a village that is slowly moving towards modernization so that readers feel they are living in a charming and ancient setting.
In another direction, it seems that this novel is trying, in one way or another, to touch the conscience of the reader as well as to question the logic that exists in daily life. It is indeed a dark and sad story, however, this sadness is not presented in a monotonous way as the story is interspersed with romance, humor and revenge, and the plot at the end of the story may make the reader return again to some of the events of the novel to absorb
What happened in the end.
Mahfouz Ikhwan is an Indonesian writer, born in 1980. He began writing since graduating from university. He works as an editor and journalist, in addition to his work as a facilitator of writing workshops in the Indonesian literacy movement. His short stories have been published on cultural websites and in many independent short story anthologies. He has ten books ranging from short stories to novels. His third novel, The Goat and the Rain, won the 2014 Jakarta Arts Council Novel Competition.
