[Review] The Old Capital - Kawabata Yasunari

The Old Capital

(Judul asli : 古都 lit. Koto)

Pengarang : Kawabata Yasunari

Penerjemah : J. Martin Holman

Penerbit : Tuttle Publishing

Tahun terbit : 2000 (cetakan kelima)

Ukuran : vi + 164 halaman

Sinopsis:

The Old Capital is of one of the three works for which Yasunari Kawabata won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Set in Kyoto—the old capital of Japan for a thousand years—this lyric novel traces the life of Chieko, the beloved adopted daughter of a kimono designer and his wife. Believing that she had been kidnapped by the couple as a baby, Chieko learns one day that she was instead a foundling, left abandoned on a doorstep. Happy with her adopted parents, however, her security and contentment remain undisturbed until an answered prayer at the famous Yasaka Shrine dramatically alters the course of her life.

[Review] Ja(t)uh - Azhar Nurun Ala

JA(t)UH

Pengarang : Azhar Nurun Ala

Penyunting : Abdullah Ibnu Ahmad

Penerbit : Azharologia

Tahun Terbit : 2013

“Aku tidak pernah mengerti konsep cinta yang ada di pikiran para penyair. Buatku, mereka adalah orang-orang gila. Cinta, tidaklah perlu kita maknai dengan kalimat-kalimat hiperbola. Ia sederhana. Awalnya ia ada sebagai rasa, lalu, bila kita berani, ia akan berkembang menjadi kata. Dan bagi mereka yang matang, ia akan terurai menjadi laku.”

--Warna, halaman 80--

[Review] Kokoro - Souseki Natsume

Kokoro

(Judul asli: こころ lit. Kokoro)

Pengarang : Souseki Natsume

Penerjemah : Edwin McClellan

Penerbit : Tuttle Publishing

Tahun terbit : 1969

Ukuran : viii + 248 halaman

Sinopsis:

Set in the turbulent Meiji era, a chance encounter on a Kamakura beach irrevocably links a young student to a man he simply calls “Sensei.” Intrigued by Sensei's aloofness and wanting to know more about him, the student begins to call upon Sensei with increasing frequency. Eventually, Sensei and his beautiful wife open up their home and their lives to him. The young student graduates from university and is called back home to his dying father, but the Sensei draws him back to Tokyo with a letter of heartfelt confession. ...

Written in 1914, Kokoro provides a timeless psychological analysis of one man's alienation from society, and starkly but gently shows the depth of both friendship and love.

[Spoilers ahead!]

[Review] Lontara Rindu - S. Gegge Mappangewa

Lontara Rindu

Penulis : S. Gegge Mappangewa

Editor : Priyantono Oemar, Alif Supriyono

Penerbit : Republika

Tahun : 2012

Ukuran : viii + 342 halaman; 13,5 cm x 20,5 cm

Sinopsis:

Vito dan Vino, dua saudara kembar yang terpaksa harus terpisah karena perceraian orang tuanya. Vito tinggal bersama ibunya, sedangkan Vino dibawa ayahnya. Rindu yang membuncah membuat Vito harus mencari ayahnya di Perrinyameng, Amparita, belasan kilometer dari kampungnya di daerah pegunungan.

Ayah Vito pergi ketika Vito masih kecil. Beda keyakinan membuat kakeknya tak bisa menerima ayahnya, sehingga ibunya dulu harus mengorbankan kehormatan keluarga, kabur dari rumah demi ayah Vito itu. Vito adalah anak yang terluka dan ketika memasuki usia SMP ia kerap bertanya mengapa sang ayah meninggalkannya?

Inilah kisah pencarian sekaligus kehangatan keluarga siswa SMP itu di masa belianya di Cenrana, Panca Lautang, Sidenreng Rappang, Sulawesi Selatan, di masa kemarau panjang mendera. Di tengah upaya diam-diamnya mencari ayah, Vito dan teman-temannya mendapatkan ajaran moral islami dari Pak Guru Amin yang sering bercerita tentang kisah-kisah masa lampau yang tercatat di lontara. Namun di kemudian hari, Pak Amin harus menerima kenyataan pahit ketika warga menuduhnya telah menyebarkan fanatisme agama.

Berhasilkah Vito menemukan Vino dan ayahnya? Bagaimana nasib hubungan keduan orang tuanya? Masihkan ayah Vito menganut kepercayaan leluhurnya?

Kisah Vito dan kawan-kawan ini banyak menghadirkan tangis dan tawa dari awal hingga akhir cerita. Sebuah romantika hidup penuh makna dan inspirasi bagi kita pembacanya.

[Severe Spoiler Alert!]

[Review] Snow Country - Kawabata Yasunari

Snow Country: Daerah Salju

(Judul asli: 雪国 lit. Yukiguni)

Pengarang : Kawabata Yasunari

Penerjemah : A. S. Laksana

Editor : Gita Romadhona

Penerbit : GagasMedia

Tahun terbit : 2010 (cetakan kedua)

Ukuran : vi + 190 hal, 13 x 19 cm

Sinopsis:

Lagu pertama itu menyentuh sesuatu yang kosong di dasar perutnya, dan dalam kekosongan itulah suara shamisen bergema. Shimamura terkejut—atau, lebih tepat, ia terjengkang oleh sebuah pukulan telak. Terbenam dalam perasaan khidmat, dibasuh oleh gelombang penyesalan, tanpa daya, ia tak memiliki kekuatan lagi untuk melaklukan apa pun, kecuali menghanyutkan dirinya pada arus yang menyeretnya, pada keriangan yang dihadirkan oeh Komako kepadanya.

Di daerah bersalju yang selalu dingin itu, Shimamura bertemu Komako, seorang geisha yang pipinya sewarna angsa yang baru dibului. Tanpa ia sadari, Shimamura tahu Komako tengah jatuh cinta padanya, begitu pula sebaliknya. Keduanya berusaha menemukan pembenaran atas cinta mereka, hingga akhirnya menyerah dan menyadari kalau cinta mereka telah gagal sejak kali pertama mereka bertemu.

Peringatan! Possible spoiler ahead!

[Review] Katekyo Hitman Reborn! 400

[Beware: I'm going to go fangirling all over.]

I read KHR 400 this afternoon... and got a hard time suppressing my squeals. There are too many, too many cool scenes. In only 17 pages.

First, Verde's machine... gone screwed. Damn. Jager is getting too gary-stu for my liking, and I don't really like where this's going. Look, Xanxus and Squalo's out, so is Byakuran. If even the remaining two also got 'killed', this series will be so downright boring.

Skeptical, but still fangirling. Yeah, that's me. I gasped and gawked when Mukuro got hit... AND SOMEONE TELL ME HIS TRIDENT'S NOT BROKEN. ;A;

And Dino saved him--in exchange he got a fatal blow though. Well, actually I don't know where his power lies in comparison to Xanxus, Squalo and Byakuran. But I tend to think he's weaker than Xanxus and Byakuran, but on par with Squalo, so I thought... he wouldn't stand a chance. [yeah, what kind of fangirl am I]

But you know, all the mass murder that happened for the last few chapters completely made me forget... about our beloved skylark: Hibari Kyouya!! 8D Where have you been hiding, damn birdie?! And, gosh, his coat made him look like a royalty out for a killing ==a (wait, he IS out for a killing).

 

Well, so basically (I think) I got the same expression as Reborn-Hibari-Mukuro there. "Wait, what??! Jager....?!" like that.

And then, Mukuro-Hibari tag team attack!! I believe this is a very amusing event for 6918 shipper. Because even Reborn acknowledged their good cooperation. Indeed, your natural nemesis is your best partner. So never hate someone with a passion, guys! You might've loved him/her in the process 8D #what

But Jager short-warped to Hibari's behind!! ;____; Damn you, Jager! Why don't you continue your physical dodge to Hibari's attack?!

In the same page, somehow I got a hint for D18 :-/ [looks like I'm beginning to understand how fujoshi/fudanshi's minds work]

Right, let's forget that, now onto the last panel. Anyone would be able to guess who it is. And I did, and I almost squealed. IT'S TSUNA!!! Hell yeah, I wonder if Tsuna (and their whole team, actually) have a strategy to overcome Jager's short warp. From the start, they relied on Tsuna to beat him, right?

And, with Dino-Byakuran-Xanxus-Squalo out, it left only Decimo's Guardians in the battlefield: Tsuna-Mukuro-Hibari-Chrome. (I don't think we should include Flan, lol) And, as the last chapter suggested, Reborn's gonna help 8D I wonder if Mammon will go too.

Next week will be the final clash. Looking forward to it!! >w<

[p.s: I don't own the pictures :3]

[Review] Supernova (Kesatria, Putri, dan Bintang Jatuh) by Dee

Selamat malam! \^o^/
Kali ini saya mau cuap-cuap tentang seri Supernova oleh Dee d/h Dewi Lestari. Pernah diterbitkan tahun 2001-2004, sebelum diterbitkan ulang oleh Bentang Pustaka pada 2012.

Seri ini sudah mencapai empat buku. Secara kronologis:
- Kesatria, Putri, dan Bintang Jatuh
- Akar
- Petir
- Partikel
Lalu, coming soon sesuai dengan yang ditulis Dee dalam profil penulis di edisi Petir, adalah Gelombang dan Inteligensi Embun Pagi.

Yang sudah saya baca sejauh ini, baru sampai Petir. (Yang Partikel, masih nunggu pinjeman dari teman. Fufu :D)

So, kita mulai dari yang pertama. Kesatria, Putri, dan Bintang Jatuh. 

Gambar sampul, terbitan Bentang Pustaka (2012). I don't own the picture.

(SPOILER WARNING!!)