Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Newlywed Meddy Chan is looking forward to jetting straight from her European honeymoon with her beloved husband Nathan to her family’s hometown in Jakarta. She’s excited to introduce him to her motherland, accompanied, of course, by her own mother and her mother’s three sisters, collectively known as The Aunties. Nathan has been so amazing about not only Meddy’s past but also the chaotic and often exasperating Aunties who look out for her and harass her in turn, often in the same breath. Meddy is thus excited about showing off to him the very best of her culture, by bringing him to meet the rest of her clan–who are fortunately much more low-key than the Aunties–for Indonesia’s Chinese New Year festivities.

Things get weird though when Fourth Aunt springs a surprise on them shortly after arriving at their extended family’s enclave. She’d apparently gotten in touch with Second Aunt’s old flame, Abraham Lincoln “Abi” Irawan, and told him that they’d be in town. Abi knows how to make an entrance, rolling up to the house the next morning in a cavalcade of noise, lights and sleek black vehicles. Loudly and publicly, he announces his intention to re-woo Second Aunt. At first, Meddy is as impressed as the rest of her family… until she remembers where she knows him from:

I narrow my eyes as I scour my memories for a mention of his name. When the memory does resurface, it hits me like a tank filled with rifle-toting men. Because Abi is the freaking mafia lord that my mom and aunts had told me about back when we were in Oxford. Abraham Lincoln, the guy who was infatuated with Second Aunt when they were teens and joined the mafia to impress her. Oh my god. Why in the world is Abi, a literal gangster, here in our front yard? I look at the procession of black cars again, and this time, they stop being impressive and are instead terrifying. 

Unfortunately for Meddy, she’s the only one who seems to have a problem with Abi’s shady background. All the other Chans, and even Nathan, are quickly charmed by Abi’s friendly demeanor and generosity, as he lavishes them all with compliments and gifts. But when a gift that was meant for a “business” associate is accidentally given to the wrong person, Meddy, Nathan and the Aunties are all drawn in to help retrieve the missing gift as swiftly and discreetly as possible. 

What should be a simple retrieval turns into a comedy of errors that ends up putting them all in mortal peril. Unwilling to do any less for the Aunties who have proven time and time again that they would put their own lives on the line to save hers, Meddy soon finds herself in a series of increasingly comic but dangerous situations. Have the Aunties finally found themselves in a predicament that they can’t use their unique and often perplexing interests and abilities to get out of? What will Meddy be forced to do in order to save the day?

I freely admit to finding the screwball comedy crime caper parts of this series less engrossing than the depictions of Indonesian culture, whether they be at home or abroad. Meddy is the very relatable daughter of immigrants who are convinced that they always know what’s best for her, even when their advice is contradictory from one moment to the next. I absolutely both feel her pain and revel in her pettiness when she decides to go along with her mother’s entirely feigned insistence on not being brought any expensive gifts from Europe, as they would just be a waste of money anathema to Ma’s stated virtue of frugality:

“Yep, we won’t get you anything.” I bite back the smile that’s threatening to take over my face. Next to me, Nathan is giving me “WTF” looks, but I ignore him.

 

“Good, good,” she mumbles, looking like I’ve just punched her in the heart.

 

I’m torn between laughter and frustration. My whole life has been a series of mixed messages from Ma, and though I know it’s cruel to trick her, I want her to get a taste of what it would be like for her if I were to follow her every instruction.

More specific to Indonesia were the descriptions of the mouth-watering food the Chans ate in Jakarta, as well as the rapid development of the capital city. With just the right touch of local and global sociology, Jesse Q Sutanto deftly portrays both the good and the bad of the country, as lovingly as she does of the Aunties.

The series ends with this novel, and while fans will be sad to see it go, I feel that it happens at the perfect stopping point for the narrative. I personally adore Ms Sutanto’s other works, and am so pleased she’ll be able to spend more time and attention on the brilliant Vera Wong or on her psychological thrillers (or even on her Young Adult titles, though I’ve yet to find the time to dive into those.) She’s certainly showcased her versatility with these books, and done an excellent job of bringing Indonesian culture to the world stage. I’m very excited to see what she’ll write next!