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screen, subtle structures and metaphors the appropriate, ambiguously public/private sphere for
perceiving and dealing with reality in the novels of C. J. Koch.
7.3. Billy Kwan and the Heroic Protagonists of the Wayang Kulit
Billy Kwan begins Koch’s second Asian novel with a reintroduction into Indian
philosophy and its development in Java. When Guy Hamilton shows interest in the wayang
puppets adorning the walls of Kwan’s bungalow, Kwan tells him bluntly, ‘If you want to
understand Java, Ham, you’ll have to understand the wayang’ (YLD, 80-81), then launches into
a quick introductory lesson in the philosophy of the wayang kulit. To properly understand the
novel, one must pay close attention to Kwan’s explanations, not that they are always accurate
interpretations of Javanese thought, but they are necessary in evaluating the various
characters—Kwan most particularly. Kwan begins with two important incarnations of the
great god Vishnu:
‘Here’s King Kresna—Kresna the Black: he’s obviously Krishna, who’s one of
the incarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu. Vishnu comes to earth as many
things: as Krishna, who acts as charioteer to the hero Arjuna—and also as a
dwarf, in Hindu myth.’ He looked arch, as though he had passed on some
titillating gossip … .’ (YLD, 81)
Billy, who identifies with many mythological and real figures in the novel, is giving
Hamilton his first hint that dwarfs—like Billy—are not just physically stunted humans but are
very special beings indeed. As an imagined reincarnation of Vishnu, Billy has more important
information to pass on to Hamilton, who he sees as his Arjuna who needs counsel.
‘Arjuna’s a warrior; but he causes a turmoil in nature just by meditation: by
building up his spirit-power—his sakti. But to build up that power, he first has
to battle his own weaknesses. Have you read the Bhagavad Gita? No? In the
Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna how to master himself before he can master others.
Nothing’s in black and white, you see. Arjuna’s a hero, but he can also be
fickle and selfish—that’s his weakness.’ (YLD, 81)
Billy imagines his relationship with Hamilton to be like that of Kresna to Arjuna. Koch
confirms that he found in the wayang kulit play The Reincarnation of Rama the necessary
structure for his novel, including the ‘distinct correspondences’ between Hamilton and Kwan,
and Arjuna and Semar (Koch, 1987, 25). It is hard to argue with the authority of the author,
but there are problems in not doing so, not the least of which is accepting Hamilton as an
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