“Mrázek’s book, which is a continuation of his research that began in the 1990s, turned out to be an excellent commentary on what I observed during each of the performances I watched at that time— it shows how wayang found its place in radios, cassette players, television sets, laptops and mobile phones of modern Indonesians.”
— Marianna Lis, SOJOURN
“Wayang & Its Doubles is without a doubt a brilliant book and this review can only suggest the depth and richness of Mrázek’s study. It is a wonderful and witty read, a valuable addition to the body of scholarly knowledge of wayang, and a must-read for anyone interested in wayang.”
— Sadiah Boonstra, Bijdragen tot de taal-, land- en volkenkunde
"Insightful and engaging."
— Ward Keeler, SOJOURN
“This book is a relevant read for students and academics of ethnomusicology, cultural studies, media, and technology who are interested in changes and tensions in performance between tradition, modernity, and media. . . . This monograph succeeds in presenting an original historiography of Central Javanese shadow puppetry as it negotiated the age of television and the internet.”
— Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
“[The book] should also attract the attention of researchers interested in how mass media and digital platforms are changing culture. Many books—indeed, large academic fields—are concerned with what happens to culture as the world moves online. . . . This book offers a lesson on the importance of sustained ethnographic and historical attention. It is a careful reading of conversations and their gaps, of artifacts and their doubles, where history is circular and discontinuous rather than linear and evolutionary, and where contradictions and mismatched expectations are presented in their full spectrum.”
— Indonesia
“It is a resourceful book and contributes significant inputs to studies about interactions between traditional and modern arts, as well as to studies of traditional performance in general. . . . The book guides us in exploring issues in the contemporary televised wayang scene through long-term observation of different sites: television studios, control rooms and executives’ offices, cultural companies, production companies, live performances sites, spectator areas, and so on.”
— Journal of Southeast Asian Studies