The Dog Meows, The Cat Barks
Sato Reang enjoys an idyllic childhood of cricket fighting, soccer, and mischief in his small Javanese town–until the day he is circumcised and his observant father forces him into a life of Islamic piety. For years, Sato outwardly obeys his father and even tries to understand him. But all the while the boy chafes at the strictures of his religious routine, longing for everyday pleasures and the freedom to develop his own identity.
Mysterious portents build, as dreams and the tales of fellow villagers seem to offer Sato hazy clues to some form of release. After a series of humiliations at his father’s hand, including being forced into friendship with Jamal, an earnestly pious boy he despises, Sato starts to scheme. His first victory: finding clandestine catharsis in setting the town movie theater on fire.
But it’s not enough. Even after his father dies suddenly, Sato can’t escape. His muscle memory can’t shake the embodied rhythms of observance and his physical likeness to his father leaves him feeling involuntarily possessed by the man’s power from the beyond. Meanwhile he is expected to step up and assume his father’s place in his family and community.
By the time Sato Reang realizes he has the agency to liberate himself from his father’s rules and worldview, the intuitive joy he once took in his existence has curdled. His freewheeling pranks are now tinged with malice. While ditching school and plotting his next act of arson, he starts stealing and pissing on cars and buildings like a feral dog.
He takes it upon himself to spread his newfound enlightenment and to take on a new project: to similarly liberate Jamal. But his half-earnest and half-vengeful proselytizing ends in tragedy when Jamal ends up dead.
Fans of Kurniawan will recognize his signature spiky, funny, and shockingly frank style in this odd and unique work.
Request more informationCovers
Original Language
BAHASA INDONESIA | Gramedia
Translation Rights
ENGLISH (NA) | New Directions
ENGLISH (UK & Commonwealth excl. Canada) | Pushkin Press
ENGLISH (Indian subcontinent) | Speaking Tiger
ENGLISH (SE Asia) | Monsoon Books
FRENCH | Sabine Wespieser
GERMAN | Unionsverlag
POLISH | Yumeka
TURKISH | Domingo
Reviews
A Lit Hub Most Anticipated Book of 2026
A PEN America Book in Translation We're Looking Forward to Reading in 2026
"Kurniawan flips effortlessly from first to third person, creating a fun and textured style, which blends a clear-eyed perspective with moments of visceral emotion. This brims with humor and heart." Publishers Weekly, starred review
"A pensive portrait of rural anomie. ... A memorable look into a delinquent mind, one with little hope for any future other than hell." Kirkus Reviews
"Mischief and the wild side of childhood." Jawa Pos (Indonesia)
"Eka Kurniawan returns with a gripping work of fiction." Media Indonesia
