Aku Ini Binatang Jalang

Title : Aku Ini Binatang Jalang

Writer : Chairil Anwar

Year : 2004 (the last publishing)

Language : Indonesian

For those of you who are the fanatics of Indonesian literature, especially poetry, you must know Chairil Anwar. He was the pioneer of the modern Indonesian poetry who was and is well-known as the pioneer of the ’45 generation. He was not only a poet, he was also one of many people who struggled over the Holland’s colonization back in the 1940s. Therefore, some of his poems concerned with the struggle for independency. Some others heavily dealt with his love life as a playboy having many relationships with many women.

Chairil Anwar barely wrote his poems in order. He allegedly wrote them in pieces. So, the publisher that put a lot of attention to his works of art considered gathering all of his poems into one book, and here it is: the book of Chairil Anwar’s poems collection entitled “Aku Ini Binatang Jalang”, taken from one of his famous quotes.

Many of you may be familiar with the poem entitled Aku, or Diponegoro, but personally, I’d rather have Pemberian Tahu as my favorite one. I really love the first two lines of the first stanza:

“Bukan maksudku mau berbagi nasib,

nasib adalah kesunyian masing-masing.”

or, in English, it can be translated:

“It’s not that I want to share my destiny,

since destiny is anyone’s own loneliness.”

Among many beautiful words and sentences produced by Anwar, I like this one most:

“Cinta adalah bahaya yang lekas jadi pudar.”

in English, it would be:

“Love is a danger easy to disappear.”

Well, all those translation were made by me myself, with some considerations in translating text. However, I still consider, whether it is in English or in Indonesian, Anwar’s poems are and will be the best in Indonesian poetry history. This book really has inspired me in some ways that sometimes I really want to make my own poems. Overall, I love this book, love these poems.

Rating : 3

America Now

Title : America Now

Writer : Marvin Harris

Year : 1981

Language : English

Well, America today is struggling in dealing with the higher fuel oil price, higher living costs, and still, Iraq War. Well, if you’re asking why they happen, then the answer is easy, they make it so. To make it clear, their government makes it so. This book is not the provider of the correct answer of America’s economic crisis today, but from this book, we can see the history of why American people and, of course, government always make their own crisis.

America Now written by Marvin Harris is a ‘why’ book. The writer wrote it not to give such a solution or something, but to show the readers why America is the way America today. It was indeed published in 1981. Nevertheless, it can be still related to America’s problems in this era.

Shortly, the book tells us why the dollars was shrinking, why many women got out of home and worked outside, why there are many terrors on the streets, why the gay community finally showed themselves, and why it emerged many new cults. Those things had change America, and also maybe…have changed America. One of the most interesting things revealed in the book is the writer’s explanation of why feminism came out and roared more loudly there in America, in late 1970s and 1980s. Let me try to explain. American feminism had emerged in late 1800s but it was still quiet. Later on, feminism became something which burst out and stronger. Why?? The writer reveals that it might have a close relation with the inflation at that time. The bad American economic condition at that time forced women to get jobs outside home to gain more money. Even their wages were still lower than the men’s, but they could use the money to cover the high living costs. By this work-outside-movement, women were yelling for their other rights, such as not having babies, being lesbian, so on. And…how could the American economic condition be bad at that time?? You should really read the book by yourself.

The writer indeed has revealed so many interesting analyses that they shocked me! I never ever thought that American condition in late 1900s could be that way, and might be caused by those amazing and unbelievable things. People may not agree with the writer. For some points, I do not agree too. However, the book is still interesting to study about America and why there are so many unbelievable things happen to them, happen in their land.

Rating : 3

Radikus Makankakus (Bukan Binatang Biasa)

Title : Radikus Makankakus (Bukan Binatang Biasa)

Writer : Raditya Dika

Year : 2007

Language : Indonesian

If there is someone who can be popular just by revealing the true story of his life, then that someone is definitely Raditya Dika. I won’t be amazed by someone who write a story based on his or her true experience, but I will be shocked if I find someone who vividly REVEAL his life story (not in the form of short story or novel), and say….indirectly get a huge popularity.

This is the third true story book of Raditya Dika, and of course, it is still silly and unbelievably funny (say, ridiculous). He still uses his stupid style of writing and those hyperbole things in the book. Unfortunately, for you who expect the same jokes as the first two books, this third book is not as funny as the former ones. For me, this book is gloomier (may I say that?) since Raditya has conveyed some serious thought and the meaning of life in some parts of his life.

Raditya put his life story and experiences randomly. His experiences here in the book are still delivered in a silly and ridiculous manner. However, those experiences are gloomier (as I said before) which can state his journey to the maturity. For instance, his gathering with his four little brothers and sisters can be indirectly seen as his experience being the real “big brother” at home. It makes him looks quite mature. Or his happiness when he can make his mother proud of him, can be seen as his progress as a son.

Well, the thing that I don’t like from this book is that it cannot be said as a literature product. It is so obvious that the book (and the other books that he wrote) doesn’t have any literature characteristics. Unless, the rule of literature has been shifted by the convention.

The book, as always, is very entertaining. This time, it can give the reader such an aspiration of maturity and progress in life. And, as always also, it doesn’t use proper language and the cover, indeed… horrible!

Rating : 3

Laskar Pelangi

Title : Laskar Pelangi

Writer : Andrea Hirata

Year : 2005

Language : Indonesian

It is a pleasure for me to read this novel. People say that this book can give us such an inspiration about life and how to handle problems which get us down. And yes, I get the point. When I read the first page, I couldn’t get an imagination about how the story would run. I could only get some description about the ten main characters meeting at the first sight.

The ten children meet in SD Muhammadiyah (or you may say Muhammadiyah Primary School), a very small, poor, and almost-closed school in a village in Belitong. They are there to reach their dream gaining an education and pursuing knowledge. For me, it is a common thing to see such kind of view since Indonesian people are always troubled by ‘the high-priced education’. However, both the poor school and new students do not give up, they still want to keep the spirit of education alive.

The ten students then become best friends and called themselves as Laskar Pelangi. They undergo a usual yet beautiful friendship with happiness, sadness, adventure, and so many other things together. Somehow I think that they are quite funny, but the funniest things of them are what they do and what they say. Each of them is likely to present human being’s common character. However, it is still interesting to catch it in an honest and innocent way of Andrea Hirata.

Fate and destiny then separate them. One person can be a very successful figure, the other is just a labor in a company. One person can be very frustrated by his job, but then he can catch up again his life spirit to do a better thing to fill his ‘empty life’. Two person who are initially quarreled to each other, but then they get married. And, sadly, a person who cannot (and do not) leave his mother, slowly becomes insane and leaves his life in a prison of craziness.

By reading the story, I can conclude something that had ever been in my mind a long time ago…. ‘that we cannot predict what will happen in the future even if we’ve made a plan’. That’s all, simple but precise. Now I even start to think about any possibilities of my future life. What is I can’t get my dream? What if suddenly I do something that I don’t wanna do? What if I can only be plain person just like the way I am right now without any improvement??? Yah, that’s life.

Oh, before I forget…. The weakness of this book? The slow flow of the story and the sometime-incorrect sentence arrangement.

Rating : 3.5

Cinta Brontosaurus

Title : Cinta Brontosaurus

Writer : Raditya Dika

Year : 2006

Language : Indonesian

It’s another silly book by Raditya Dika. Previously, I’ve written about his first book which I assumed to be not original. It’s was hard to describe how the story goes because I thought that such kind of life cannot be just delivered in very very silly, funny and unbelievable jokes. Well, after reading this second book of Raditya Dika, now I can depict how he delivers his so-called true story. Hyperbole. Yes, right. That’s the closest and the most accurate word to describe the way Raditya Dika tells his true story in his book. Okay, let’s assume his story is true, and truly happened, but the jokes which deliver the story are big big exaggeration.

This second book mostly talks about his love life, from the time he was in elementary school, up to his life in University of Adelaide. Quite shocking that he eventually ends up his relationship with his girl who still appears in his first book. There, also, he questions the meaning of love, just like most of people do. Even it still seems so funny and stupid, but it’s likely to be more gloomy and sad. Let’s say, now he’s more dramatic. Of course, when we talk about love, then the dramatic side of us can suddenly burst out.

He starts to fall in love in the elementary school, when he questions about ‘what is the love of monkey?’ (cinta monyet). Well, we can call it as ‘unserious childish love’. Then, he must face the fact that ‘physical appearance does matter’ in the junior high school. In the high school, he has to break with his girl because she wants him to be another person whom she dreams of, and does not let him to be himself. And the last, he must break up with his last girl because he takes his college in Australia, and his girl is in Jakarta – Indonesia. Yah…, then, the question comes out. What is love? Are all considerations important? Why don’t we just fall in love and get the happiness without any obstacles?? The name of love that comes out then becomes Cinta Brontosaurus. I assure you, I myself don’t know, what the hell is that??

Well, he’s just like Aditya Mulya, he’s always funny. Perhaps, his sense of humor makes his stories a bullshit because the exaggeration style. However, I enjoyed it. It’s entertaining.

Rating : 2.5

Kambing Jantan

Title  :  Kambing Jantan

Writer : Raditya Dika

Year : 2005

Language : Indonesian

Just fresh from the oven. Just finished it. It’s quite silly to have this book just done whereas the book itself had just been released three years ago. Even the writer had already had the three sequels of it.

Ok, let’s start with the story of the book. Story?? No, the book doesn’t have any story. Indeed. I’m not kidding you! The book is actually an online diary a.k.a a blog! Yes, it’s taken from someone’s popular blog. The blog even had awarded The Best Indonesian Blog 2003. No, do not think the blog is about politics, social thing, economy, or even literature. No. I tell you, the blog itself is about the silly life of the writer. I say it once again, SILLY!!!

It talks much about his life (his, yes. Since “jantan” means “male” in Indonesian, so I do believe that he is a he), from the time he was in high school, until when he reached his college in Adelaide, Australia. Because the content of the book is very very funny (‘til I laughed to death), I felt very much happy and pleased. I think the book is very creative, and the jokes…. Aahhh…believe me, if you’re an Indonesian, you’ll understand.

However, I don’t know why, I cannot believe that the writer is that funny, naturally funny. I mean…why…. This is what I believe so far, every person has his/her unique life. I myself have some kind of stupid jokes and actions everyday in campus, I also have very very weird friends that they can make me laugh every time. But…, hhmmm…, even the silliest and stupidest friend of mine, will express his experience not in that fully funny way. Ok, I didn’t mean to question the writer’s credibility, but that kind of jokes and stupidity just can’t happen in the real life!!! Oh, wrong! I didn’t mean to say that… I mean, even we have some kind of peculiar thing in our life, that won’t be expressed in a very very very silly and stupid way ‘til we (well, I do) think that IT JUST COULDN’T HAPPEN!!!

Well, perhaps I must apologize to the writer since he is an Indonesian. But this is the true idea coming in my mind when I read the book. It’s funny, creative, lively, and pleasing….but real??? Yeah, I doubt it.

Rating : 3