Map of the Invisible World

Praise

“Reminiscent of Graham Greene . . . powerful and mesmerizing . . . haunting and memorable.”—The Guardian (U.K.)

“Full of immense intelligence and empathy.”—Time

“Beautifully written . . . The tension of the lives of Aw’s characters, the frayed fabric of Jakarta . . . the dichotomies of beauty and squalor, the mobs, the menace, the impending crisis—all of this is captured in Map of the Invisible World with a fidelity that can’t be faulted.”—The Washington Post

“Exquisite . . . What makes [Map of the Invisible World] brilliant are its rootless main characters. These fully formed individuals and their relationships transform [this] novel into a moving meditation on identity, memory, and art.”—Time Out New York
 
“Exquisitely and subtly rendered . . . Aw’s haunting writing and his detailed evocation of 1960s Indonesia are both masterly.”—The Christian Science Monitor

“[A] vibrant narrative . . . enveloping the reader in several haunting personal journeys.”—The Denver Post
 
“Engrossing . . . plunges the reader into another time and place, and both are alluring.”—The Plain Dealer
 
“Well-paced and gorgeously written, this epic story of loss and identity mirrors the struggles of the young Indonesia in which it takes place.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)