Laskar Pelangi

AKHIRNYA!
aku selesai baca buku iniii.. !!
setelahhh.... 3 bulan lalu beli bukunya dan ngelirik2 sedikit bab awal, akhirnya hari ini khatam juga! **lama ya???**

yeah, it took me that long to finish it!! although in between i've finished two other books -- ayat ayat cinta & radikus makankakus (yang terakhir bacaan boker banget deh, sangat ringannn!! hahaha).

A cousin introduced me to this book, saying its the bestseller of the year (2007 to be exact!). As I was desperate for another choice of read besides those chic-lit wannabes, I took the book off Gramedia in a heartbeat. Didn't know what the book's about or why it's a bestseller. pokoknya mah grab wae lah!

You all know what this book is about. at least, synopsis can tell you that.
I won't be summarizing or paraphrase it into another paragraph here.

The book -- Laskar Pelangi. the first of the tetralogy.
I like:
the choice of words, metaphors, strong characters with very distinct and varying personalities.
Dislike:
Cara penulisannya terlalu membingungkan.
Its not science literature, nor romance literature, or just plain fiction. tapi campur aduk! bukan berarti having mixed genre is all-together bad. it's just hard to follow.
dalam 1 bab, baru bbrp halaman topik udah berubah.. and then midway it goes back again to main topic. I'm not saying I'm an expert on analyzing literature. That's just how I feel when and after reading it.

Gara2 itu, dari awal sampai mid-end of the book gue masih merasa datar dan bosan. not at all intrigued to what the next chapter would give me. MId-end to ending of the book is where all the great things came to life! Flo came in. thats when things become more colorful. Karakter dia terlalu kuat untuk dibandingkan sama karakter yang lain.. Interesting really, since she doesn't appear til quite the last bit of the book. her role at the end of the book don't really appear much, either. But throughout the book, whenever she appear, her character always outshines the others.

Sebagian bilang Laskar Pelangi ini semi-biografinya Andrea Hirata. Sebagai anak Belitong dan pernah sekolah di SD Muhamadiyah juga, as well as having had Bu Mus as his inspiring teacher. This is a part of his childhood, perhaps?

Yang menarik lagi dari buku ini, kesederhanaan karakter2nya, dan latar belakang lokasi2nya. First off, Belitong. I mean c'mon!! as far as I know, buku yang menjamur belakangan ini kalo gak berlatarkan kota metropolitan.. ya berplesir ke negeri2 antah berantah.

Sedangkan Andrea ngajak kita untuk membuka mata lebar2, dan ngeliat kehidupan di pulau lain di Indonesia selain pulau Jawa. Like saying, Indonesia ain't just Jawa, people! Haha. Nah, thats a joke. or maybe true? Saya yang termasuk buta geografi (especially geografi Indonesia!) dan culturally illiterate, jujur aja nggak tau kehidupan masyarakat pulau2 lain selain jawa dan bali. Disuguhin Andrea dengan Laskar Pelangi, its truly an eye-opener for me. I see things run differently in the other part of the island.

Satu hal yang agak2 ngusik rasa penasaran gue..
apa iya ada seorang yang sangat jenius seperti Lintang? you know, given his circumstances. Mungkin yang dimaksudkan, pintar and not entirely super genius. Or maybe there is? I'm really skeptical on this one.

The ending of the book is quite a cliff-hanger.
Then I thought, prolly thats where the tetralogy play its role?
End of Laskar Pelangi will be explained thoroughly on Sang Pemimpi, maybe?

Laskar Pelangi ends without a bang. it goes smooth sailing as it was the beginning.
It don't play beginning, climax and end sequence in particular. Maybe thats how Andrea sees the journey of life. It don't need a smooth entry, dramatic climax, and end with a bang. Sometimes journey is just as it is. Berjalan aja.. Flow on its own nature.

I dont quite see Laskar Pelangi as inspiring.. but more an eye-opener. Good read, though.