“Jakarta Tails : The Continuing Adventures of Soyabean and Tofu” by Pallavi Aiyar

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Newcomers to Jakarta are wont to complain about the heat and rain. Pallavi Aiyar’s new novel, Jakarta Tails, begins as one of the protagonists gripes about the thunder and lightning that have sent him under the bed for cover. Not unusual, then, except that the two main characters are a couple of house cats. 

Soyabean was raised by a Beijing grandma before he was adopted by a family of expats. Mr A is a Spanish diplomat and Mrs A is an Indian journalist (professions which bear no small relation to the author’s reality). They and their two young sons—third culture kids—now live in Jakarta. When the family moved to Indonesia, they took along Soyabean as well as Tofu, a former dustbin cat the family rescued when they lived in Beijing. The journey from China to Indonesia was not pleasant for the two felines, locked in a cage and stowed in the cold cargo hold of the airplane.

Jakarta is warmer and more humid than what they were used to in Beijing, but the life of a cat is pretty easy and the two make do. Soyabean observes the variety of bugs he comes across in his new home.

 

I’ve met juicy caterpillars inching about, and spindly centipedes scuttling on their scores of feet. I tried holding one down to count how many feet exactly, but it nipped my nose when I came close. The butterflies are the best of all, so fluttery and tempting. I hide behind the frangipani tree sometimes, waiting and waiting for one to land on a branch, so I can leap out and catch it. But they always shimmer out of reach. The strange thing is that inside I’m a tiny bit glad that they escape.

 

 

Jakarta Tails : The Continuing Adventures of Soyabean and Tofu, Pallavi Aiyar (HarperCollins India, December 2020)
Jakarta Tails: The Continuing Adventures of Soyabean and Tofu, Pallavi Aiyar (HarperCollins India, December 2020)

The cat’s-eye view also extends to social and political issues. Mrs A is working on a story about an atheist activist who fights against religious extremism. She also tries to find cases in which people actively work together in Indonesia, no matter their background. Part of the story is told in the third person through Mrs A’s perspective. She travels to Lombok to celebrate a special festival that is held each November.

 

Called perang topat, literally the rice cake war, the festival involved locals from different religious communities pelting each other with rice cakes before putting their ecclesiastical differences aside to worship jointly at the temple.

 

But trouble is brewing next door with a group of internet trolls that tries to inculcate their religious superiority to internet users through clickbaiting. There’s a flashback to trouble back in Beijing when Tofu was kidnapped before the family moved to Jakarta. Sure enough, Tofu again falls into the wrong hands in Jakarta and the family, including Soyabean, worry themselves trying to find her. Tikus (which means rat in Bahasa Indonesia), is a friendly rodent that learns Tofu’s whereabouts: next door with the internet trolls. Tikus and Soyabean plan a rescue mission and also talk about religious tolerance. They can see why humans can be so close-minded. Tikus explains:

 

Some tikus believe in the Boss Tikus up there; but to be honest, I’m an atheist. It’s not the most popular opinion among the tikus, but then I’ve always been a cashew amongst candlenuts. I mean, my best friend is a cat!

 

With the help of a group of rats, Soyabean and Tikus bring Tofu home, but that’s not the end of the trolls or the story.

The book is 270 pages and includes several illustrations of the cats and rats. It’s a delightful story and although it can certainly be read by children 12 and up, it would be a light read for adults. The book’s message of tolerance resonates well coming from two non-humans, and is something of a balm in times that continue to be trying.


Susan Blumberg-Kason is the author of Good Chinese Wife: A Love Affair with China Gone Wrong.