Kitchen Curse

I haven't ready many short story collections, so have no idea how to review or critique these. I felt like the collection was uneven. A few stories stood out as enjoyable, or at least graspable. Some were flatly gross and I didn't really get them (the first two, in particular, which are also the most scatalogical).

There were plenty of times when I could detect satire, but knowing essentially nothing of the sociopolitical situation in Indonesia, the punch was lost on me.

This is a collection of short stories by the renowned Indonesian author Eka Kurniawan. The stories are translated from Bahasa Indonesia, and were published in assorted journals.
While the tales were written across a few years, what is a common thread is disgust, distrust, and outright revolt against the government of the day. In the first story, “Graffiti in the Toilet”, these emotions are expressed via graffiti in the toilet (the author describes bodily functions in excruciating detail in this story so be forewarned) while in others they are expressed via characters or - as in “Rotten Stench” - via a breathless, pages-long sentence describing the putrid smell of dead bodies, the result of government action.
Another recurring thread is women, and their oppressed status - whether they are underaged girls promised to lecherous old men (Dimples), former Dangdut girls (My Lipstick is Red, Darling) or someone's “Aunt” (Auntie).
The stories provoke discomfort, with a few being slyly humorous (Caronang) or absurd (Making An Elephant Happy, The Stone's Story). In any collection, you will have favourites. The Stone's Story - told from the POV of a stone - is one of my favourites, as are Kitchen Curse, Aunties, and Easing into a Long Sleep.
This is not a book to read for enjoyable escape; rather, the stories tell - simply and wryly - of the brutality and ugliness of real life.