This is a really good book. I know I'm very late to party. So at the beginning I really thought the setting w4.5 rounded 5
"This can happen to anyone."
This is a really good book. I know I'm very late to party. So at the beginning I really thought the setting was in US West Coast, and one or two characters there remind me of The Housewives of Beverly Hills. Turned out, it's in Australia, and it just seems a lot better.
Some people might call it murder mystery, honest might call it a book about abusive relationship, other genres, but this amazing book really has a big room for all of us. Good read....more
Read this book after the whole "defund the police" thing. Well, I got my stance now.
This book is separated into various types of crimes: murder, arsoRead this book after the whole "defund the police" thing. Well, I got my stance now.
This book is separated into various types of crimes: murder, arson, product tampering, assassination, and bombing. We will be revealed about the criminals' motives and backgrounds. John Douglas worked as a behavioral expert from FBI. He is a pragmatist and far from political.
So why is this book fascinating and challenging to read? Well, Douglas was there. He saw what happened, he didn't compromise with criminal behaviors, and he doesn't hesitate to raise important point-of-view about death penalty. I've come to realize that it's easy to go against death penalty after reading press release from Amnesty of ACLU, but you'll think differently after reading of what happened to the victims.
This book also presents a good case against popular whiny criminal like "Joker". Many heinous criminals (dubbed as "losers" by Douglas) also liked to offer various boo-hoo excuses: everything was the society's fault, they're just victims, blablablablablah. Douglas cited a law expert in this book how such case may be "unfortunate" but it's not an excuse for their behaviors.
And in this "AOC-generation" where knowledge is incredibly simplified into some sassy tweets and stupid ideas become catchy slogans, it's important for young people to learn from the past: We must avoid buying old stupid ideas in new packages. This book is a good start....more
Amazing and convincing. I'm looking forward to read the two sequels. This first book covers some economics history, and, as the title suggests, gives Amazing and convincing. I'm looking forward to read the two sequels. This first book covers some economics history, and, as the title suggests, gives explanations on why capitalism and bourgeois society are not incompatible with our ethics.
Deirdre quotes numerous philosophers in this book, she tells us how the seven virtues thrive in capitalism (and how capitalism needs them), and she completes the arguments with her knowledge on the world's economy.
Deirdre McCloskey does not give the "what-if" scenario. She elucidates the history which we misunderstood, which we made to believe as bad (due to the popular populist views), analyzing it carefully, and reveals us the full story.
If you are intuitively alarmed by the arguments from some viral politicians who believe the governments and billionaires are secretly hiding magic money vineyard (and not using them to free this, free that), you must read this book to understand how their good intention could harm the society in the long run.
And, most importantly, The Bourgeois Virtues explain how our societies thrives within freedom (which includes the freedom of trade and innovation), and how capitalism contributes in achieving that....more
The Witches Review: From Salem to #BelieveAllWomen
OK, so we have a lot to unpack here. But first, the 3 stars here mean: liked it.
Is it a good book? The Witches Review: From Salem to #BelieveAllWomen
OK, so we have a lot to unpack here. But first, the 3 stars here mean: liked it.
Is it a good book? No, it is a great book. I would give 5 stars for the topics about Salem hysteria about this book, it becomes 3 instead because this book provides what I did not buy which are the history of Salem citizens and the British colonies.
The Witches contains a lot of characters, more than the accusers, the witchcraft victims, and their families. Readers also find about the judges, their previous jobs, their political journey, sometimes their businesses.
And more often than not, those topics are elaborated together when the writer is explaining about a certain event.
Imagine reading Harry Potter when he was encountering the Death Eaters in the Department of Mystery. Along the way, we were told about Lucius Malfoy's family and his manor, also his marriage to Narcissa Malfoy who was related to the Black families, and their disagreeable court records, and there was a little bit history of Luna Lovegood and her father who ran a newspaper. It just all happened together. Needless to say, The Witches demands strong focus.
This book shows us the banal miscarriage of law during the Salem Witch Trial in which the inept judges simply believed the accusers. (Interestingly, one of the judges was related to Nathaniel Hawthorne.)
A woman was summoned to the court because she allegedly tried to recruit one accuser as a devil's spawn. That woman was a grandmother in her seventies. Among other "witches" were a beggar, a slave, a 4 years old kid, another woman in her seventies, a few men, and so on ("witch" used to be a gender-neutral term).
The judge was asking questions such as: "what evil spirit have you familiarity with?" or simply administer "Touch Test" (if the victim recovered when you touched them, it indicated you were a witch). Alternatively, you could also be a witch if the victims became hysterical when you met them in the courtroom.
Another interesting point is that I read this book after the #BelieveAllWomen movement, which arose during the Brett Kavanaugh nomination process. It's hard for me not to remember that case from 2018.
Brett Kavanaugh was accused by five women (one anonymous) right after he was nominated by President Donald Trump to Supreme Court. To be fair, Kavanaugh has good reputation as a judge, and then suddenly accusations came, and the wild Twitter trial began.
We know Brett Kavanaugh was finally appointed by the Senate in an extremely divisive voting, but for what? Attorney Rachel Mitchell who oversaw the Senate hearing process (she has a long career as a sexual assault prosecutor) determined she couldn't support to file a charge against Brett Kavanaugh ("I do not think that a reasonable prosecutor would bring this case based on the evidence"), another accuser could not actually confirm that Kavanaugh assaulted her in a college party (The New Yorker published this story while did not find any single eyewitness after contacting dozens of people who attended the party), and next was an anonymous person who claimed she had 4 witnesses of sexual assault yet none came forward, and another accuser (from that Michael Avenatti) was so dubious that the FBI did not even bother to interview her, and there was another woman who admitted she lied as a "tactic".
I bet so many people have no idea about those facts. But the simple truth is always best to remember: It's "innocent until proven guilty", not "guilty until proven that you don't use witchcraft to make the girls crawled in the courtroom" like in Salem 1692.
For the record: the main accusers in Salem hysteria were women who accused other women. Fortunately for the accusers, the judges simply #BelieveAllWitchcraftVictims. As a result, some of the accused women were hanged, while dozens of others had to spend months in a ghastly jail.
The hysteria Salem Witch Trial took place in a small village. Now we live in a highly connected world and hysteria travels fast. And when the hysteria reaches us, we could join the bandwagon and point fingers like the accusers in Salem or we can be wiser than that....more
The war setting was promising, so did the first chapter, especially its last paragraph. And then suddenly it became a story of "passion" between the The war setting was promising, so did the first chapter, especially its last paragraph. And then suddenly it became a story of "passion" between the main character and a nurse.
Reading this felt like looking at photos of Instagram couple. The story didn't really show us why they loved each other, we hardly knew anything about the lady, but hey, they took photos at nice tourist spots in Europe.
Personally, when it comes to prose, I think Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are more engaging. Remember the part when Injun Joe was trapped in the cave, and he had to eat bats and candles? How is that not astounding that a prose in a children literature could brilliantly picture such horror in a small town story?
A Farewell to Arms got a lot, but it couldn't process it. ...more
The young Snow is the star of this book ("Snow lands on tops") and he has to keep the spotlight from many other interesting characters. Tigris Snow isThe young Snow is the star of this book ("Snow lands on tops") and he has to keep the spotlight from many other interesting characters. Tigris Snow is a great addition in this book. Watching The Hunger Games from the perspective of mentors is quite thrilling (some of the mentors are fascinating), and Dr. Gaul is one of the best villains in modern literature. I like how this book is written with third-person PoV. If there is a sequel, I will definitely read it just to find out about her fate....more
Review The Buried Giant: Haruskah Sejarah Kelam Dilupakan Demi Kedamaian?
"Pikirkanlah, tuan, jika napas naga ini berhenti, apa yang akan terbangun di Review The Buried Giant: Haruskah Sejarah Kelam Dilupakan Demi Kedamaian?
"Pikirkanlah, tuan, jika napas naga ini berhenti, apa yang akan terbangun di seluruh penjuru negeri setelah bertahun-tahun lamanya? Benar, saya mengaku kami membantai banyak orang tanpa pandang yang kuat atau lemah. Tuhan mungkin tak tersenyum pada perbuatan kami, tetapi kami membersihkan negeri ini dari perang."
Novel The Buried Giant (Raksasa yang Terkubur) mengakhiri ceritanya dengan kompleksitas yang disederhanakan dan membuka diskusi yang selama ini takut-takut dibahas: Haruskah sejarah kelam suatu negara dikubur saja agar situasi tidak gaduh?Â
Novelis Kazuo Ishiguro mengawali novel ini dengan menampilkan Inggris pada zaman kuno, era Raja Arthur, dan ketika masyarakat hidup dalam lanskap pastoral sederhana. Saat itu belum ada Menara London atau Manchester, tetapi hanya kaum Briton dan Saxon.
Dua karakter utamanya juga sederhana: sepasang Briton tua bernama Beatrice dan Axl. Keduanya pergi dari desa untuk mencari anak laki-laki mereka, serta ingatan yang hilang.
Axl merasa semua orang sedang melupakan sesuatu di tengah pekatnya kabut di negerinya.
Dalam perjalanan, Axl dan Beatrice bertemu ksatria muda bernama Winstan yang ditugaskan untuk membunuh seekor naga betina bernama Querig. Pasutri tua itu juga bertemu ksatria tua bernama Sir Gawain (keponakan Raja Arthur) yang juga memburu Querig. Dua ksatria lintas generasi itu cekcok karena Sir Gawain merasa Winstan merampas tugasnya.Â
Di sini sudah ada dua tujuan di The Buried Giant. Pertama, Axl dan Beatrice yang mencari sesuatu yang hilang. Kedua, ada dua ksatria yang ingin membunuh naga.
Ksatria muda Winstan mengantar Axl dan Beatrice dulu untuk mencari putra mereka dan tibalah mereka ke sebuah biara tua. Niat mereka mengunjungi biara itu untuk mengobati Beatrice yang sakit, namun orang bijak di biara membocorkan sebuah rahasia terkait ingatan yang hilang.
Orang bijak itu bercerita ingatan masyarakat hilang akibat ulah si naga Querig. Naga betina itu bisa menghembuskan kabut yang melenyapkan ingatan manusia.
Tekad ksatria Winstan untuk membunuh naga itu semakin kuat, sebab naga itu melenyapkan ingatan masyarakat tentang pembantaian massal saat Briton dan Saxon berperang.
(view spoiler)[Axl pun perlahan mengingat masa lalunya sebagai seorang prajurit muda. Ia sadar bahwa naga Querig sebetulnya hanya tumbal sihir. Penyihir agung Merlin menjadikan Querig sebagai fondasi sihirnya, yakni kabut yang bisa melenyapkan ingatan masa lalu.
Merlin melakukan itu demi melindungi reputasi Raja Arthur dan Briton ketika membunuh massal warga Saxon. Tujuannya agar tak ada balas dendam dan masyarakat di negerinya bisa hidup dengan damai tanpa perang.
Sir Gawain juga terkuak sebagai pelindung Querig. Ia ingin melindungi naga tua itu agar ingatan masyarakat tetaplah terkubur. (hide spoiler)]
The Truth Dilemma
Konflik tidak berpusat pada "action" untuk membunuh Querig, melainkan pada perdebatan antara Winstan dan Sir Gawain.Â
Sir Gawain meminta pada Winstan untuk berpikir ulang: Apakah bijak membunuh Querig dan membangkitkan ingatan masa lalu yang kejam dan bisa membuat kegaduhan bahkan perang?Â
"Pikirkanlah, tuan, jika napas naga ini berhenti, apa yang akan terbangun di seluruh penjuru negeri setelah bertahun-tahun lamanya? Benar, saya mengaku kami membantai banyak orang tanpa pandang yang kuat atau lemah. Tuhan mungkin tak tersenyum pada perbuatan kami, tetapi kami membersihkan negeri ini dari perang."
Winstan membalas:
"Tuhan macam apa, tuan, yang ingin kesalahan dilupakan dan tidak dihukum?"
"Pertanyaanmu bagus, Master Winstan, dan saya tahu tuhan saya kurang senang terhadap perbuatan kami hari itu. Namun itu sudah lama berlalu dan tulang-tulang sudah diselimuti di bawah karpet hijau yang indah ... Biarlah Querig menyelesaikan tugasnya. Satu atau dua musim lagi, itu paling lama ia bisa bertahan hidup. Namun bahkan itu cukup lama agar luka-luka lama terobati, dan kedamaian abadi bisa kita genggam."
Sedikit melihat konteks, Kazuo Ishiguro merupakan penulis Inggris keturunan Jepang. Ia pasti paham kalau Jepang memiliki masa lalu yang cukup kontroversial di Asia Timur. Isu wanita penghibur (jugun ianfu) masih menjadi sumber cekcok politik antara Jepang dan Korea Selatan.
Tetapi masalah itu bukan hanya milik Jepang. Banyak negara Asia lain tanpa malu-malu tutup mata atas sejarah kelam masa lalu: pembasannya kontroversial, narasi "tidak resmi" diharamkan, bahkan diskusi sampai ditakuti. Ini berbeda dari negara-negara barat yang lebih berani jujur terhadap masa lalu kelam mereka.
Sir Gawain yang merupakan representasi generasi tua meminta agar biarlah sejarah terkubur dengan damai, dan Winstan dari generasi muda tidak terima dengan argumen itu. Yang jelas, dua ksatria itu memiliki niat baik.
Bisa dipahami mengapa Sir Gawain tak ingin membuka luka masa lalu, sebab si ksaria tua paham luka masa lalu bisa menjadi motif bagi kelompok oportunis untuk memulai perang. Namun, argumentasi Sir Gawain itu kurang lengkap.
Musuh Sir Gawain bukanlah Winstan yang ingin menjujurkan masa lalu. Musuh Winstan bukanlah Sir Gawain yang ingin membalut luka lama. Si naga Querig pun bukan musuh, ia hanyalah "tumbal" sejarah.
Bisa dibilang, antagonis sebenarnya di novel ini adalah sosok oportunis yang siap mengeksploitasi sejarah dan memakainya sebagai justifikasi untuk memenuhi kepentingan pribadi. Sosok itulah yang dikhawatirkan Sir Gawain, dan sosok itu jelas tidak peduli pada niat baik Winstan dalam mengungkap sejarah.
The Buried Giant Penulis: Kazuo Ishiguro Tahun terbit: 2015 Penerbit: Faber & Faber...more
Read this great book. It's demystifying the financial sector. (Bonus: After reading this this you can also further appreciate the film The Big Short.)Read this great book. It's demystifying the financial sector. (Bonus: After reading this this you can also further appreciate the film The Big Short.) ...more
The Little Friend's Review: Donna Copperfield Twist
Pengetahuan paling tipis yang bisa diambil tentang perkara-perkara tertinggi adalah jauh lebih diinThe Little Friend's Review: Donna Copperfield Twist
Pengetahuan paling tipis yang bisa diambil tentang perkara-perkara tertinggi adalah jauh lebih diinginkan ketimbang pengetahuan yang lebih pasti tentang perkara-perkara lebih rendah. - Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica
Sedikit belajar adalah perkara yang berbahaya. Minumlah yang banyak, atau jangan mencicipi Mata Air Pieria: Meneguknya sedikit dapat membuat pikiran mabuk. Dan meminumnya banyak-banyak akan menyadarkan kita lagi. - Alexander Pope, An Essay of Criticism
Masalah umum menulis novel lewat sudut pandang orang pertama (first person point-of-view) adalah melahirkan prasangka, atau patut diduga, atau kesan bahwa protagonis adalah potret diri si penulis. Anggapan menguat bila si tokoh protagonis tampak paling cantik, seksi, super, gagah, atau jadi bahan rebutan tokoh lain yang tampan atau cantik.
Penulis yang lebih kreatif bisa menyisipkan diri mereka ke dalam novel tanpa terlihat obstruktif. Caranya bisa dengan menonjolkan aspek lain dari cerita, sehingga pembaca bisa menikmati hal lain selain si penulis yang menyamar sebagai protagonis; atau penulis memakai trik inovatif seperti memakai karakter lain untuk menceritakan diri mereka sebagai protagonis; atau si penulis adalah sosok sastrawan luar biasa hebat sehingga pembaca merasa maklum jika si protagonis adalah si penulis sendiri.
Voltaire memakai cara pertama. Joan Didion pernah memakai cara kedua. Charlotte Brontë pada novel terakhirnya menggunakan trik ketiga. Donna Tartt juga menggunakan cara pertama, namun juga cara kedua dan ketiga di dalam novelnya The Little Friend.
The Little Friend adalah novel sophomore Donna Tartt yang terbit pada tahun 2002. Novel pertamanya berjudul The Secret History terbit sepuluh tahun sebelumnya. The Little Friend bisa dibilang meroket karena terbantu popularitas The Secret History yang masih menjadi sensasi dunia sastra hingga kini.
The Secret History dibuka dengan kasus pembunuhan yang dilakukan sekawan mahasiswa sastra Yunani klasik. Sepanjang novel, pembaca diajak berkilas balik untuk mengetahui mengapa pembunuhan bisa terjadi (whydunnit, bukan whodunnit).
The Little Friend juga dibuka dengan pembunuhan ganjil. Seorang anak lelaki kecil bernama Robin ditemukan tergantung di pohon rumahnya sendiri, padahal saat itu kondisi rumah sedang ramai. Pembuka yang creepy itu membuat orang mengira The Little Friend sama seperti The Secret History: mencari dalang pembunuhan.
Popularitas pendahulunya menjadi buah simalakama bagi The Little Friend, sebab pembaca seakan memiliki ekspektasi tersendiri terkait jalan ceritanya. Begitu terkecoh, maka mereka protes, dan gagal mengapresiasi kekuatan sampai pembaca melewatkan estetika di dalam cerita.
Protagonis di The Little Friend adalah Harriet Dufresnes, seorang gadis remaja yang tinggal di Mississippi pada tahun 70-an bersama ibu, kakak perempuannya, neneknya dan tiga saudari neneknya. Harriett adalah adik bungsu Robin, ia masih bayi saat kakaknya terbunuh. Berbagai mitos tentang Robin membuat Harriet tersihir untuk menguak kasus kematian kakaknya.
Begini asumsi mereka yang kecewa: Harriet akan menguak dalang pembunuh kakaknya. Asumsi cerita detektif benar di permukaan, karena motivasi utama Harriet mencari pembunuh Robin, akan tetapi ini bukan novel Enid Blyton, melainkan cerita upaya balas dendam yang dilakukan gadis remaja. Lagipula, ini adalah novel realis: mana mungkin gadis remaja bisa menuntaskan pembunuhan yang polisi tak bisa selesaikan.
Pembaca yang tahu spoilernya justru beruntung karena bisa menimati novel ini tanpa prasangka cerita detektif. Hasilnya, The Little Friend bisa memenuhi ekspektasi dan penuh unsur bernas lain dalam gaya tulisan, konflik, dan penokohan.
The Little Friend adalah sebuah kisah keluarga sekaligus eksplorasi kenangan masa kecil. Menarik melihat bagaimana kematian Robin memberikan dampak ke keluarga Harriet. Kreativitas Harriet dan sohibnya untuk balas dendam adalah ironi menarik yang membawa unsur tragikomedis. Yang tak kalah menarik, berbicara novel selatan, tentunya ada pula kisah relasi antar ras, serta melihat dinamika masyarakat selatan dari kacamata Donna Tartt.
Seperti Hariet yang menyukai pesulap Harry Houdini, The Little Friend juga merupakan panggung sulap Donna Tartt. Sulap adalah tentang mengendalikan perhatian audiens, dan Donna Tartt berhasil memandu perhatian pembacanya pada pembunuhan Robin. Triknya mungkin malah terlalu kuat sampai ujung novel, sampai pembaca tak bisa menyadari estetika dan subtlety menarik lain di dalam cerita.
Faktor yang patut disorot adalah cara Donna Tartt menuliskan kisah keluarga Ratliff yang diduga adalah pembunuh Robin. Jika keluarga Harriet didominasi wanita, keluarga Ratliff terkonsentrasi pada tiga kakak beradik lelaki dengan jalannya masing-masing: pengedar narkoba yang abusif, pendeta, dan lelaki muda yang terjebak oleh nasib keluarganya.
Ada waktu di mana Donna Tartt tampak sangat dermawan dalam menggambarkan keluarga Ratliff, terutama si muda Danny yang terjebak oleh kelakuan kakaknya. Ambil contoh ketika Danny membahas kelakuan nenek mereka yang sok rapuh tapi picik. Neneknya, yang selalu memberikan komentar negatif agar anggota keluarganya tidak maju.
Danny mengingat ada saudaranya yang mendapat beasiswa olahraga di sebuah kampus, namun si nenek malah pesimistis dengan menyebut anak itu pasti harus kerja sambil kuliah meski dapat beasiswa. Akhirnya, saudaranya batal mengambil beasiswa, dan malah berakhir di penjara sebagai kriminal.
Novel ini ditulis dengan sudut pandang orang ketiga. Tidak sulit melihat bahwa Harriet adalah jelmaan Donna Tartt. Mulai dari latar belakang southern, hobi suka membaca, warna rambut, cita-cita (pada artikel Vanity Fair tahun 1992, Donna Tartt mengaku pernah ingin menjadi arkeolog, sama seperti Harriet), dan terakhir zodiak mereka sama-sama Sagittarius.
The Little Friend pun menjadi mirip David Copperfield karangan Charles Dickens, penulis favorit Donna Tartt. Semua orang tahu bahwa David Copperfield terinspirasi dari kehidupan Dickens. Tak sulit pula melihat The Little Friend terpengaruh kehidupan pribadi penulisnya, meski Donna Tartt menyebut buku ini tetaplah fiksi.
Pihak Donna Tartt menyebut tidak suka membaca review. Sikap itu terbukti sah-sah saja, toh novel ini memenangkan WH Smith Literary Award dan masuk nominasi Orange Prize meski ada kritik negatif. Novel ketiga Donna berjudul The Goldfinch (2013) juga diganyang habis-habisan oleh kritikus dari Paris Review, New Yorker, dan lain-lain, tetapi memenangkan Pulitzer dan filmnya segera tayang di bioskop.
Kalimat Donna Tartt tak hanya kaya pada visualisasi, melainkan dalam merangkai perasaan para karakter dalam bentuk tulisan: penyesalan ibu Harriet pada hari kematian Robin, justifikasi Danny yang berujung pada mens rea, kesesatan tekad Harriet, kepanikan, dan praduga yang dialami para karakter lain.
Donna Tartt dalam The Little Friend berhasil menampilkan sisi gelap tanpa harus memberi tontonan vulgar ke para pembaca. Kegelapan dan kebrutalan dengan beragam twist bisa terasa, terlihat, dan terdengar, tanpa perlu memberikan tontonan vulgar ke para pembaca untuk sekadar efek kaget. Itulah kreativitas Donna.
The Little Friend Penulis: Donna Tartt Tahun terbit: 2002 Penerbit: Bloomsbury...more
Review Milkman: Menikmati K-Pop bersama Gadis Tanpa Nama
Hari saat iklan Blackpink dicekal adalah hari yang sama ketika saya menemukan YouTuber bernamReview Milkman: Menikmati K-Pop bersama Gadis Tanpa Nama
Hari saat iklan Blackpink dicekal adalah hari yang sama ketika saya menemukan YouTuber bernama Thug Notes. Sang Youtuber mereview novel dengan penampilan dan gaya bicara a la gangster. Awalnya, saya coba menonton review buku yang pernah saya baca, The Karamazov Brothers, Lolita, dan Julius Caesar, untuk mengetahui apakah keistimewaan sang YouTuber hanya sebatas tekstural saja. Dan ternyata hasilnya sangat istimewa.
Interpretasi tekstual Thug Notes, selain bergaya unik dan humoris, memiliki isi lugas dan tepat sasaran. Berikutnya, saya menonton review Thug Note untuk novel yang belum saya baca (Emma karya Jane Austen). Dan sekarang saya jadi ingin membaca karya klasik sastra Inggris tersebut.
Ada cerita unik di panggung sastra Inggris dan Indonesia tahun ini, yakni susu yang menjadi sentral pada keduanya: Ibu Susu (pemenang Kusala Sastra Khatulistiwa) karya Rio Johan dan Milkman (pemenang Man Booker Prize) karya Anna Burns. Novel 'Ibu Susu' mengambil latar Mesir zaman Firaun, sementara Milkman bercerita kehidupan seorang gadis di tahun 70-an pada zaman Permasalahan (The Troubles) atau konflik Irlandia Utara.
Milkman dikisahkan lewat aliran kesadaran gadis berusia 17 tahun yang tak bernama, yang hobi membaca novel sambil berjalan, yang tinggal di kota tanpa nama, berpacaran dengan kekasih tanpa nama, dan bersosialisasi dengan karakter tanpa nama lainnya. Hanya sosok pria yang menguntit si gadis yang memiliki nama, yaitu Milkman (pengantar susu).
"Hari saat Somebody McSomebody menodong pistol ke dada saya dan memanggil saya kucing dan mengancam menembak saya adalah hari yang sama ketika si pengantar susu mati," demikian bunyi kalimat pembuka novel. Suspens yang terkandung dalam kalimat itu mengingatkan pada pembuka novel The Secret History yang menjadi sensasi sastra pada 1992 silam.
Mulai kalimat kedua, plot 'Milkman' mengalir ke isu ketakberdayaan melawan rumor, independensi, kubu politik, bahaya salah menamakan anak, dan kondisi "seakan kamu bisa memantik insiden internasional jika kamu tidak keluar rumah dan setidaknya bersikap sopan terhadap ide-ide mereka yang konyol dan sinting."
Anna Burns bisa menuliskan situasi sosial-politik tanpa tendensi memihak, termasuk terhadap diri karakter utama, sang narator. Kelemahan dan kesalahan si gadis dijabarkan dengan jernih, sehingga pembaca tidak mengalami kondisi seperti anak kecil yang pikirannya dikoersi oleh narator yang bertingkah bagai guru paling bijak dan aman dari protes.
Dalam penutup laporannya, ketua juri Man Booker Kwame Anthony Appiah menjelaskan: "Ini bukan novel mengenai satu tempat dan waktu. Situasi lokal dipakai untuk mengeksplorasi pengalaman universal tentang masyarakat di dalam krisis."
Pernyataan yang seratus persen akurat, dan seharusnya sang juri berhenti di sana. Alih-alih, dia lanjut bicara di The Telegraph bahwa ini "bukanlah novel ringan" dan "saya menghabiskan waktu membaca-baca artikel di The Journal of Philosophy. Bagi standar saya, buku ini tak sulit dibaca."
Ada dua masalah dalam perkataan sang juri. Pertama, ia mengiyakan narasi yang berkembang di media bahwa Milkman adalah buku yang sulit dibaca. Kedua, sayang jika pembaca batal membaca novel ini karena pernyataan demikian, padahal juri sendiri sudah bilang novel ini memiliki tema universal. Ditambah lagi, model industri buku adalah B2C: penulis perlu menarik minat baca, dan perkataan juri berpotensi membuat pembaca berpikir ulang sebelum membaca Milkman.
Di sinilah mengapa reviewer seperti Thug Notes berperan penting di dunia baca. Caranya membahas buku tak hanya cerdas dan humoris, namun juga inklusif, merangkul audiens baru via penyampaian yang inovatif.
Gaya yang dipakai Thug Notes memang belum begitu populer di Asia yang anak mudanya lebih mengenal K-Pop. Beruntung, bagi industri buku, para bintang K-Pop ternyata hobi unjuk bacaan mereka. Para fans pun mencatat:
Kai EXO menggemari karya Keigo Higashino dan Bernard Werber, bacaan Jinyoung GOT7 bervariasi mulai dari Jojo Moyes dan Milan Kundera sampai F. Scott Fitzgerald dan Osamu Dazai, Rap Monster BTS terkenal menyukai sastrawan Albert Camus, Hermann Hesse, penyair Arthur Rimbaud, dan filsuf Henry Thoreau, vokalis IU mendapat inspirasi lagu dari karya Lewis Caroll, dan yang paling mengejutkan adalah Jisoo Blackpink yang tak hanya membaca Haruki Murakami tetapi juga melahap novel Marcel Proust dan Patricia Highsmith.
Secara kumulatif, video musik mereka sudah ditonton miliaran kali di YouTube dan jutaan fans selalu memantau. Industri buku pun mendapat peluang menambah penjualan berkat promosi gratis dari bintang K-Pop yang mendunia. Fans Kai EXO di Indonesia jadi ikut membaca Keigo Higashino dan fans BTS bahkan sampai menerjemahkan Demian karya Hermann Hesse dan mendiskusikannya berkat musik video 'Blood, Sweat and Tears.'
Setiap ada tambahan pembaca adalah hadiah bagi dunia sastra Indonesia. Dulu tak pernah terbesit bahwa para idola K-Pop bisa memberi pesan positif bagi jiwa-jiwa muda terkait budaya literasi. Fakta bahwa mereka hobi membaca menanamkan nilai bawah sadar yang positif mengenai aktivitas baca untuk anak muda yang mengidolakan mereka; jauh lebih berfaedah ketimbang sibuk grusah-grusuh meributkan "lirikan menggoda" dan koreografi di sebuah iklan.
Milkman Penulis: Anna Burns Tahun terbit: 2015 Penerbit: Faber & Faber...more
It has transpired to me why ambitious books that "study" grandes idees do not guarantee large readership, or why "artistic" music similarly gather onlIt has transpired to me why ambitious books that "study" grandes idees do not guarantee large readership, or why "artistic" music similarly gather only segmented audiences: It's the melody not the lyrics. Sylvia Plath's personal, domestic writings still captivate readers, so does Joan Didion with her recount of freeway system in Los Angeles.
Personally, I cannot fit with those who imply their works do not mainstream because the themes are high-brow, or controversial, or too novel. Consider “The House of the Spirits� by Isabel Allende, it contains some pretty tough, controversial topics; a humbled history, cultural shift, student movement, a political fiasco and its violent collateral damage in the world adjusting to the new era, and still her book is a compelling story with spotlight on Trueba family. The characters are hardly philosophical nor theoretical, yet they waltz the readers to study the era.
John Steinbeck, a few decades preceding, did the same in storytelling his era. “The Grapes of Wrath� focuses on Joad family in midst of the Great Depression. It is a family story of mother, father, uncle, sons, daughters, grandparents, in-law, and preacher from rural Oklahoma. This simple family shares their fate with countless others who migrate for a better living as their livelihood shattered by the Dust Bowl, homes taken away by the financial system so unfathomable; Both nature and humans had them robbed. Thus begin their journey to the west. Their assumption � innocent of basic economics � lies in believing the west is an El Dorado where people lived abundantly, with opportunities, and "never cold. An' fruit ever' place, an' people just bein' in the nicest places, little white houses in among the trees."
Donna Tartt on an interview with Charlie Rose has said: "If there is a real danger for the character, there is a real danger and surprise for the reader as well." The danger in “The Grapes of Wrath� is not the lack of money and house, or their disillusionment, but the stake is the family itself, as Ma fears throughout the book, to be "fallin� apart". The character Ma is the centrum in Joad family, and she is aware of her position as a healer and arbiter, and her trepidation is constant in the story.
"She seemed to know if she swayed the family shook, and she ever really deeply wavered or despaired the family would fall, the family will to function would be gone." And she looks straight ahead with "a great weariness in her eyes" as their truck left home.
Contemporary review from The New Republic judged "The Grapes of Wrath" as Steinbeck's "angriest work", and The New York Times expected the angry reactions from Californians, and that "part of this story reads like the news from Nazi Germany. Families from Oklahoma are known as 'Okies'. While they work they live in what might as well be called concentration camps."
I pondered the same thing, including the fact that the two groups are men of same country, race, and religion, and the financial anxiety arises amongts both of them while the narrative does not invalidate any of which. As a reader from another era, I was not sure if Steinbeck was really political, and even if he was, I find his contemplation on economy, via the interposing chapters outside the main story line, to be more compelling. What presents are the questions of the nature of the economics, its fundamental, and then the bank (the farmers call it "the monster", the tractor guy who works for the bank guessing "maybe the thing isn't men at all", implying as if it is a force of nature, and they are just in charge of the dam, and the faults are in the stars).
The river and its stream and fish are the nature, but no dam is built by passing deer or receiving investments from catfish. To the end, “The Grape of Wrath� does not materialize to fulfill my worry of it repeating Zola's "Germinal". Here is a son who eventually tries to change the world, or pursues his dream, gets married, a mother stands strong, friend and old people departing. It is not hard to see ourselves in the Joad family....more
It's a relief Higashino's detective doesn't end up as merely criminals-catcher for the police. 5 stars for the moral development of Yukawa.It's a relief Higashino's detective doesn't end up as merely criminals-catcher for the police. 5 stars for the moral development of Yukawa....more
What should be a fine short story of 40 or 50 pages stretched into 240 pages. The prose is akin to a Hollywood actor who tried to mimic British accentWhat should be a fine short story of 40 or 50 pages stretched into 240 pages. The prose is akin to a Hollywood actor who tried to mimic British accent. "Is it indeed in the most extremity very much particularly so sir?" Yes dammit. It's indeed so.
This book should be included here:
I got this book just because the Nobel. Was it a big mistake? No. At least I don't need to pretend to like the author. Is he a bad writer? Can't say so. I read Never Let Me Go, and it's amazing, and I just got The Buried Giant last Sunday, although its reviews on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ are discouraging, but I'll try to read it soon. ...more
The terribly meddlesome challenge in this novel is George Saunders uses various point-of views (first and second) through the stream-of-consciousness The terribly meddlesome challenge in this novel is George Saunders uses various point-of views (first and second) through the stream-of-consciousness narrative. Such difficulty is excused by its beautiful prose (what a skillful writer) and inventive subject matter.
Three spirits convince the newly deceased Willie Lincoln to resume his journey instead of staying in a ghastly midpoint ("bardo"). As the spirits push their efforts, their tales are revealed for the readers to judge or sympathize, together with the historical and fictional accounts of President Lincoln, his family, his war.
Alongside its convincing imagination, the setting in this book takes me to some sort of Ghibli universe. If we overlook its eclipsing, experimental writing style, Lincoln in the Bardo offers a memorable insight: of life and the uncomfortable point-of-views therein.
And this book isn't about death. What Saunders offers is neither warm nor cold, but something more graceful (matterlightblooming?) that life is worth living and celebrating for, which, in that latter sense, this book really does remind of the great Ghibli films....more
You know Dionysus disguises one of his substances as a novel when you dreamt about it and read it at 2 in the morning. In Donna Tartt's 'The Secret HiYou know Dionysus disguises one of his substances as a novel when you dreamt about it and read it at 2 in the morning. In Donna Tartt's 'The Secret History', in spite of the glaring guidance of the 'Crime and Punishment', the subject doesn't actually nor actively follow Dostoevsky's trail, which is good. For Tartt's dramatis personae travel further to the clearing where I wish Rodion had been. ...more
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