ambiguity

This is Crichton's newest novel that defies the truth and facts about global climate change. Reviews said that the novel contains too many data (tables, graphics, perhaps even footnotes?) and a bit boring (perhaps because of the data). I find it interesting to know Crichton's view on climate change. Well, this is a novel and not really his view and opinion, but still.. it's something that came out from his mind.

Speaking of coming out, I remember my old fascination to spy novels. I'm more into Forsyth and Clancy. Clancy's latest novel was terrible. Can't find Forsyth's novel everywhere and I guess I'm stuck with Le Carre. He's great, but I don't really read his works. This is his masterpiece according to the reviews. But the book is too thin.

I am currently reading "My Name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk. Pretty interesting, especially when it gets to arguing ways to understand and then record reality. It's a bit philosophical.

So, Le Carre or Crichton? Any takes?

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Images courtesy of http://www.barnesandnoble.com

darth vader vs princess

Parsons carefully crafted and revealed the other side of a stud. A human being. When a man is love struck, make ways! For he will beat any rhinoceros in a 100 meters sprint and will ram his whole body on to the wall in the end of the race. Wrecked. FUBAR (f*cked up beyond any recognition).

Parsons had to write a happy end, otherwise the dreamy public will hate him. Despite that, he was able to be true to his call (a man's calling): to be true to purest love, to be true to his soul, to be the provider. How's dat fer a man?

I got bored when I reach the first half of the book and was literally flipping through the pages randomly scanning for anything interesting. It's a bit dragging in the end. But then again, this is the subjective little me. I'm more used to fast-paced one, different than the mainstream story. Anyways, Parsons did describe a very humanistic man. They are NOT that strong.. (no no no no no, I am NOT a feminist. take away that label).

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Image courtesy of:
http://www.fireandwater.com/images/covers/013800/013840-fc12.jpg

bookish

Apey and Lenje got this thing called "book tag" and Apey threw one at me.

"Book tag" seems to be an entry about books.

I don't read much text books. I read more novels.
I don't really dig British writers. No offense. that's the extend of my English-as-second-language understanding.

Let's frown
James N. Rosenau's book "Turbulence in World Politics" really captured me ten years ago. Along with a couple other books on international affairs. "Bringing Transnational Relations Back In" edited by Thomas Risse-Kappen has an interesting insights into the emerging transnationalism back in mid 1990s. His book is about what we are living now in 2000s.

Amusing
I've been drowned in Tom Clancy and Frederick Forsyth novels since high school (1992 or so). Clancy's best novel is "The Hunt of Red October". It was a very thrilling book to read. Well, if you call chasing submarines with nuclear warheads is fun, then you should agree with me (I'm a geek, remember). The rest of Clancy's novels are so so. "The Teeth of the Tiger" is very disappointing though (This is his latest novel). On the other hand, Forsyth's "The Odessa File" was amazing. It was a blend of history and war novel. I'd gobble anything about The Second World War. I'd say "The Negotiator" was Forsyth's second best. His way of writing is more straightforward than the flowery Clancy. Forsyth, a former journalist with Reuters, has a realistic yet condensed manner of story telling.

"The Mississippi Burning" was my first novel. I didn't really understand the book until I saw the movie. Typical beginner-English-learner, ey? "The Outsiders" of SE. Hinton was an eye opening novel after "Mississippi Burning". I like the "Nothing Gold Can Stay" poem. I agree to what Frost had to say. If you grew up in 1980s for sure none of you would have missed Tom Cruise, Ralph Macchio and others first appearance in Coppola's "The Outsiders". I enjoyed the novel more than the movie. "1984" of George Orwell was an out-of-this-world experience. The "Newspeak" was mind-blowing. Orwell must've either been nuts or delirious..

Forget not, I also read pop-corn books such as Erich Segal's "Doctors" and children book series of Astrid Lindgren. The brilliant "Pippi Langstrumpf" aka "Pippi the Longstocking". Although I wouldn't call Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's "Totto Chan" as a children book. It's like calling "Calvin and Hobbes" as a children cartoon (is it?)

It's an Indonesian thing
Later on, I delved myself more into literature. Mostly Indonesian ones as price of imported English books was rising steadily because Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) is way too weak against the US Dollars (monetary crisis all over Asia in 1997. hello?).

Oka Rusmini's "Tarian Bumi", "Sagra" and "Kenanga" are must-read texts to understand the real struggle of Indonesian women, while Ayu Utami's "Saman" and "Larung" kinda complements the whole thing from a more modern setting. Both writers produced novels that I consider as important milestones in Indonesian literary world. Forget Pramoedya Ananta Toer. PAT's work becomes a status among Indonesians. I'd opt for the offbeat track than the mainstream one. Ahmad Tohari trilogy of "Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk" is a guide to the real life of real Indonesians. While Umar Khayam series of "Mangan ora Mangan Kumpul" is a soo Javanese despite Khayam's realism. But get a hold of Khayam's "Seribu Kunang-Kunang di Manhattan", it's another way of understanding Indonesia if you don't want to get caught up in classic PAT books. Dewi Lestari aka Dee's series of "Supernova", "Akar" and "Petir" is a must read for those who want to catch up with Indonesian adolescents of 21st century. I wouldn't call it as a trilogy as the epilogue is not there yet.

"Aku" of Chairil Anwar is another mind-blasting work. Try to complement it with Nugroho Notosusanto's "Tiga Kota" and Mochtar Lubis "Senja di Jakarta". Then you will get at least a brief and quick description of contemporary Indonesia. But still, grab some NH. Dini's trilogies and books. I forgot where do I have to start with Dini. Read her earlier works such as "Hati Yang Damai" and any titles which was released around that year.

From the other side of the world
Go haruking! I have no clue about J-pop or anything that begins with "J" (Japan). But Haruki Murakami is soooo absurd and so out of this world that I can't get away from his novels. I can't put it off because it has always been so absorbing. His books are hypnotizing. It's like being caught in a spider web. "The Wind-up Bird Chronicle" might be too intimidating for "haruki beginners", pick up "After the Quake". Another option might be Banana Yashimoto. But she's a bit too sweet for my taste.

Seno Gumira Ajidarma aka SGA is writing urban genre. You'd find his writing intriguing if not inspiring. I especially respect "Jazz, Parfum dan Insiden". I found it inspiring. His most famous credo is "When journalism is silenced, literature must speak" (See Allen, Pam; "Seno Gumira Ajidarma: Conscience Of The People" in New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 4, 2 (December, 2002): 177-182). While "Negeri Senja" is something special. He recently earned his Ph.D from the University of Indonesia. Although powerful in writing, he doesn't talk much in public.

If you guys are up to some contrasting scenes, begin with Notosusanto's "Tiga Kota", then "Aku" of Chairil Anwar, ending it with NH Dini's earlier work up to "Sekayu". Continue to "La Barka". Then switch to Oka Rusmini's "Tarian Bumi" and "Sagra", dash your mind with Ayu Utami's "Saman" and "Larung", then pick up Dewi Lestari's "Supernova" and end it with Khayam's "Seribu Kunang-Kunang di Manhattan". Topping the whole thing with Tohari's "Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk" would be a blast *winks*

Can't mix Murakami with Forsyth and Clancy. They are stronger than "sex on the beach" :P


Photo credits:

The Outsiders
http://www.imdb.com/gallery/ss/0086066/Ss/0086066/Shot.jpg?path=gallery&path_key=0086066

Calvin and Hobbes
http://www.freecomputerdesktopwallpaper.com/new_wallpaper/
Calvin_and_Hobbes_comics_cartoons_
freecomputer_desktopwallpaper_1024.jpg

Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk
http://www.ekuator.com/coverbesar/gpu-ronggeng_dukuh_paruk.jpg

The Odessa File
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0553271989.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg

Haruki Murakami
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/authors/Haruki_Murakami.htm

red

Any comments about this?
Anybody read this?

Image courtesy of Faber and Faber

bed reading, bed watching

Tis season of restless nights!

-- bed reading --

"Hard-boiled Murakami"
Yeah, hard-boiled Murakami. I'm reading it one section after another. Reading it on and off is like letting toffee candy melting in your mouth. Like dark chocolate liquifying a nano second bitterness in your mouth, but leaving a lasting sweetness.

At first, it feels like reading "Die Unendliche Geschiechte" ("The Never Ending Story", Michael Ende). But when it gets to the part of lip reading, quietness and this whole thing about "Calcutec" and the system and the sandwich.. hoo kay, the poison of murakami started to seep into my blood and send me into his dream-like state. I am combing the streets of "The End of the World" with him.

The center of the story is a guy and the guy is doing dream reading at the moment. I'll come back to you when I figured out what the heck is he up to.

"The Celestine Prophecy"
Voila! This book has been sitting nicely in my book shelf for the past 5 years? 6 years? I asked a friend of mine to get it for me because in 1998 I was living in a place where imported books are rarity. I have no idea why I missed reading this one. I'll come back to you later.

"Nayla"
Djenar's first novel, third book out, I reckon. Her novels have always had controversial titles such as "Mereka Bilang Saya Monyet!" (They said I'm a Monkey), "Jangan Main-main dengan Kelaminmu" (Don't play around with your genital). "Nayla" is about a growing young woman. The writer didn't specify whether "Nayla" is the actress of the book or the writer herself. Basically, it's about this woman with bitter life compared to the ideal reality of ideal normal people. Sure thing, "normalcy" and "reality" depend on how you see it. My perspective of "normalcy" might be taken differently from yours. Anyways, let's just compare what's in Djenar's head and what's in ordinary people's head. The reality that Djenar described is on the contrary to the ordinary normal state. A woman should not sleep around. Parents should not be separated. A child should not suffer from bad divorce. Et cetera. This is a sick world. Imagine "American Beauty".

The most interesting thing about the book is the way Djenar presented it. She let everybody talks from their first-person perspective. Nayla herself; The woman; The Step mother; Djuli, the woman's lover and so on. Then, she did not put each section of the story in a chronological way or in any known order. It's a bit surrealistic. Then, again in this novel she uses "SMS" (short message service) template. She presented conversation between two or more people the way an SMS message looks like. It's a bit repetitive, Djenar. But if you like it and the public likes it, hey, the market wins, man ;)

Speaking of female writing, I still can't get away from Oka Rusmini. Sure, Ayu Utama should be on top of the list in terms of being a daredavil to break free from monotonous Indonesian language style. The way I see it, Rusmini was able to be simply eloquent and daring and harsh at the same time.

"Seribu Kunang-kunang di Manhattan"
(A thousand fireflies in Manhattan)
Umar Khayyam passed away. But he is still living in Manhattan, staring at thousands of fireflies hovering over the towering sky scrapers. Wow, ey? He did captured the innermost feeling of being a stranger in a strange land. The bare thoughts of ordinary people. Without any yadda yadda. Naive, as it is, straightforward. Indeed. Despite the thick Javanese diplomacy that surrounds the whole thing. He was the best. He is still the best. He will be in the future to come. No wonder people do a lot of research on the book.

Last but not least, anybody who happens to be reading this piece of text, pardon me for trying to contaminate your mind, but "Sri Sumarah", a short story within this special edition volume of "Seribu Kunang-kunang di Manhattan" is a must read. Again, "Sri Sumarah" is a must read! I was so captured in it. There must be dozens of millions of other "Sri Sumarah" out there during the 1965 coup.

-- bed watching --

"Serendipity"
I have heard about the word. The movie. The romanticism. I felt like watching light, pop corn movie last night. And this one was my choice. Fate, eh? Believe in fate? Believe in love? Heck man, take in whatever you can take, whatever you have on your plate. The movie was okay, but there was nothing more to it.. It's a bed watching thingy. Something you watch to ease your sleep. I didn't regret it, though. That was just what I needed.

"Intolerable Cruelty"
Clooney and Zeta Jones sounds perfect. It's lacking one crucial thing: it was not even a mediocre script! Highlights were not given to necessary and essential things, such as the drama between the so-called "man who has everything" (Clooney) and "woman who wanted everything" (Zeta Jones). Despite his reputation as being "one of the sexiest man alive", Clooney is missing two spoons of everything. He let himself to be left unexplored by the script and the director and to be stuffed into the Massey's character. But anyways, I'm pretty much intrigued by this whole "impenetrable prenuptual agreement" thingy..


"LOTR: The Two Towers"
WOW! Amazing, huh? Got no more comments on this one. I watched this movie in the wee hours. Half an hour after my morning praying. Later on, I discussed this movie to a friend of mine. Sure, I'm so two years ago. What the heck! Something came up in the discussion. That everything in LOTR (Lord of the Ring) has been done through animation. By the power of "Server Farm". I'm kinda curious with this "server farm" thingy.. Wouldn't you?

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Images are courtesy of:

Hard-boiled Wonderland:
http://www.northshire.com/siteinfo/bookinfo/0-679-74346-4/0/

"Seribu Kunang-kunang di Manhattan"
http://www.ekuator.com/katalog.see.p?see=katalogsee&id=3939

"The Celestine Prophecy"
http://www.uk.bol.com/images/ titles/133431_140.jpg

"Nayla"
http://www.gramedia.com

"Serendipity"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240890/

"Intolerable Cruelty"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138524/

"Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167261/

things you do after finishing a thesis

In between two weeks assignment to Banda Aceh, pressing work loads, a conference in Chennai, a boy friend to attend to, this is what I squeezed myself into in the past four months.

I read and I feel phat!

"Petir" (Dewi Lestari) - Indonesian

This is her third book. A continuing saga of Dee's (that's her nickname) search into I dunno what. Can't call it a serial, since it doesn't have the same hero and plot. But all of her books has the same undercurrent: popular science fiction, which is the only thing in Indonesian literature, if you don't want to call it rare. I read it because I want to know what she writes after "Supernova" and "Akar". I'm checking on her imagination. The book has a softer tone, a more relaxed character. Well, the heroine is a she now, happens to be a damn lazy one. I'd say "Akar" is more fast-pacing page turner.

PS: "petir" means "lightning". the novel is about a woman who has sort of power derived from lightning, ergo the name "elektra".

 

"Kenanga" (Oka Rusmini) - Indonesian

Wohoo, she rocks! Oka Rusmini rocks. I'd say among female Indonesian writers after N.H. Dini, she's the only accomplished writer of dark stories. Not Stephen King type of "dark stories", but something cynical and stinging. I don't know whether any of Oka Rusmini's work has been translated into English or not, but I believe it should be. I've read all of her novels i.e. "Tarian Bumi", "Sagra" (more like a short stories collection) and now "Kenanga". She is still honest, straightforward and as sick! That rocks harder than 8.9 RS earthquake
After three books, Rusmini doesn't loose her boldness and audacity in revealing the sickest imagination of being a woman. I said "imagination" because no reviews and no articles about her (is there any?) ever mentioned that the book has some biographical truth like Hosseini's "Kite Runner".

With Rusmini, you will never be able to guess what's in the next page. It's sweet, it's lulling, yet stabbing. Personally, I'd like to say "Sagra" is the darkest.

PS: "kenanga" is actually a type of flower in Indonesian. It can be a name, though. over here, "kenanga" is the name of a woman.

 

"Red Rabbit" (Tom Clancy) - English

It's been a long time since my last engangement with any of Clancy's novels. I picked up this one only because I wonder how is he doing in post-cold war setting. It turned out that "Red Rabbit" had a setting in Cold War USSR, where KGB and communism still rules. I learned what had gotten Jack Ryan into spook business and how each important character unfold. I've been wondering about who "The Foleys" are and also this "Sir Basil" guy. After a few years of escaping Tom Clancy, reading "Red Rabbit" making me wants to embrace the world of international affairs again. Clancy is still intriguing and crafty.

In case you want to know more about Clancy, there's an FAQ web site.

PS: "Rabbit" is an intelligence term for a "walk in", someone who wanted to defect to another country voluntarily.

 

"Tuesdays with Morrie" (Mitch Albom) - English

Albom is sweet. The thin bestseller has humanism written all over the pages. On the other side, it is very close to death itself since it is about the terminal hours of Albom's professor, Morrie. It's written in a simple language and gives you the creeps as you realized what Lou Gerig's Disease can do to you.

PS: Albom is actually a sports writer. He has a radio show and a web site.

 

"The Kite Runner" (Khaled Hosseini) - English

I picked up this book because the review said Hosseini was able to deliver what most beginner writer could not do, which is a good story. It turned out to be true. Hosseini wrote distant and cruel feelings in a sweet tone. In the end, as you gradually understand the culture of the Pasthuns (which I kept confusing "Pasthun" with "Pathan". The latter is a tribe in Pakistan with similar features of a "Pasthun" I guess) then you will also understand why Amir behaved like a complete jerk and it is Hassan with his heart of gold that has to bear all the burden.

Hosseini has done a terrific job in maintaining the flow of the story before giving a good punch line at the end of the book. Who would have guessed?

But then again, if you have read a good number of book using caste, patriarch culture, royal family, etc. as a background, you would have guessed where the story will twist and end. The story that Hosseini unfolded is enlightening because it's about Afghanistan, a country that the world has never heard before 9/11. Had he wrote more about the inside politics, I'm sure the book will take him on higher ground.

BTW, this kinda remind me of Betty Mahmoody's "Nicht Ohne Meine Tochter" or "Not Without My Daughter" back in early 1990s. I only have the German version. Which reminds me that I had to come back at it and finish it ;)

PS: The book has a thick Khaled Hosseini's character in it. Hosseini was born as a son of a diplomat. I believe the father's profession has given lots of previleges for the family. Diplomats everywhere do have better options, the way I see it. Am I assuming? Heck, I've met some of them and understand the education.

Khaled Hosseini is actually a doctor and a movie based on the novel is due in 2006.

 

"The Teeth of the Tiger" (Tom Clancy) - English

Hoo kay.. after "Red Rabbit" and many other Clancy's novels, this one is VERY DISAPPOINTING. I know I should not write in capital, but can't stand it any more. I believe Clancy has gone beyond the line in including Jack Ryan Jr. into the spook business and plus the two fraternal twin cousins. It makes the US of A a Buckingham resident wannabee. Drop it!

 

"The Five People You Met in Heaven" (Mitch Albom) - English

I was almost done with "The Teeth of the Tiger" when I laid my hands on this book. I read this one at the office afterhour and read the "Tiger" at home. Albom is still sweet. I wonder whether he only writes "death theme", since this one is literally about five people that "Eddie", the hero, met after he died. I'm still reading the book and still learning.

 

"All Families Are Psychotic" (Douglas Coupland) - English

They said Coupland resembles Haruki Murakami. I'm saving my Murakami books for later reading. They're too precious ;)
While leafing through Coupland's "All Families.." I came to think of "Hotel New Hampshire" (John Irving). I dunno, perhaps I'm trying to note the similarities, but both look very similar to me. I'm still trying to understand Coupland. This is my first Coupland's book. He looks okay.

I’m done with Coupland’s psychotic families. A few questions remained. Whose families are psychotic? Which families? In the beginning there was only one Drummond, which later on proliferated into several nuclear families or couples. Ted got Nickie, his younger wife. Sarah got married to Howie, Wade to Beth and Bryan has a serious relationship with Shw, while Janet is a rogue. The patriarch culture made Ted and Nickie as another Drummond, as well as Wade and hopefully Bryan. In total, there are three new Drummonds; one old Drummond as Janet remains a Drummond and didn’t return to her maiden name; plus one Brunswick, Sarah who merged herself into one.

Coupland didn’t put The Brunswicks into spotlight and didn’t even emphasize their state of psychosis. The Brunswicks seemed to be the sequel to The Brady Bunch. Therefore, does the term “psychotic families” refer to each spouse of the ‘new’ Drummonds and one of its spin-off that became a Brunswick but was very much a Drummond?

Do an individual values, norms and traits represents those of a family? If this is a war between The Drummonds vs The Brunswicks, Coupland didn’t seem to elaborate much on The Brunswicks. Neither the other families of Drummonds’ spin-offs spouses i.e the families of Nickie, Beth and Shw.

Is Coupland trying to tickle the wider public concept of “normal family”? Assuming values of an individual represent his/her larger family values, does it justify Sarah’s decision to have an affair with the mission’s commander, although Sarah seemed to be the only one lacking of any psychotic symptoms.

If I teach “sociology of family”, I’d recommend this novel as a case study. A part from “Hotel New Hampshire” of John Irving.

How psychotic is yours?

sputnik sweetheart

I'm definitely addicted to haruki murakami. yes, that forty-something, capricorn sign-bearer, japanese novelist who left japan because his novels hits super best seller in 1980s. His works are so surrealistic, out of this world, mind-boggling; yet intense, bit romantic and leaving some aftertaste of conundrum state in the last pages.

I've been glued to his works ever since "wind up bird chronicle" to "norwegian wood" and "sputnik sweetheart" and now "a wild sheep chase". it's always a 'one sitting reading time'. the worn-out sofa in the living room, in bed extinguishing my insomnia in vain, at the al fresco starbucks joint somewhere in the western part of the city.

my addiction to murakami was similar to the works of tom clancy and frederick forsyth ten years back, during my early adulthood back in my freshman years. those were the hey days of post-cold war era, when their works brought me to a dream-like state of occidental capital cities with all those exotic places and nerve-burning actions. even despite the movies, i still deem their books as far more better entertainment. (yes, clancy's "clear and present danger" and "the sum of all fears" are big loosers!)

murakami takes you to the edge of insanity and push your logic of regular, daily patterns and habits to the verge of everything that you thought you might know.

"the wind up bird chronicle" was my first handshake with the guy. i picked up the book only because it was on sale in an imported book store with a natural-post mo style architecture in an expat quarter down in the southern part of the city.

the wind up bird chronicle -- left my brain buzzing and my ears ringing.
norwegian wood -- i had to stop three times for meals and for breaks because the yarn was simple but damn ludacrist.
sputnik sweetheart -- i changed places many times in reading it.

-to be continued-