Spring Snow

by Yukio Mishima
Translated from original title Haru no Yuki by Michael Gallagher
ISBN 4 8053 0327 1
Tuttle Publishing, Tokyo, 2000
389 pages

Spring Snow is the first book of the Mishima's masterpiece tetralogy Sea of Fertility. I don't know how it is in Japanese, but I bet it is even more beautiful than its translation. The story is told in vivid detail, you can see the garden of Matsugae family with its cherry blossoms, or the snow falling all the way to the Gesshu Temple when Kiyoaki shuffled through his illness to get to the temple to see Satoko, which I imagine is the most beautiful moment if it ever become a movie.

The Matsugaes was a rich samurai family who lived in an estate which mixed the culture of old Japanese and Western style. The estate was located in Tokyo, and the story is started around 1912 (after Russian-Japanese War), in the closed circle of the imperial court and ancient aristocracy.

Kiyoaki, the only son of Marquis Matsugae, has been sent to Count Ayakura family -a not-so-rich but aristocratic family- when he was still very small, to be raised together with an older daughter of the Ayakura family, Satoko, 2 years older than him, in the hope of learning the elegance of the Ayakuras. Contrary to his father's hope, Kiyoaki was grown into an overly-sensitive, melancholic, arrogant, and very handsome young man with no enthusiasm and no clear objective in life. His attitude to Satoko was torn between ignorant, hate, and affection. At 18, he didn't realize that he loved her, although he was sure that she loved him.

Meantime, Shigekuni Honda, his only best friend in school, was a totally different young man, a quiet, composed, rational person, and had made up his mind about his future (he was interested in law). In fact, the only person who find enlightenment in this story was seems to be Honda alone, and, though stubborn as he is, Kiyoaki eventually always turn to Honda for help. Although Honda was sometimes astounded by Kiyoaki's ignorance, he was very loyal to Kiyoaki and would help him whatever it takes.

The relationship between Kiyoaki and Satoko was getting closer with the help of Tadeshina, an old lady and Satoko's maid. They met secretly, since Kiyoaki wouldn't admit to anyone that he liked Satoko.

On the blossom festival in Matsugae estate, Kiyoaki and Satoko had a fight, and in her confusion, Satoko made up her mind to received one of the many wedding proposals offered to her. She accepted the best of all: Prince Harunori, the third son of His Imperial Highness Prince Toin. Kiyoaki, being arrogant, ignored the news and decided not to meet Satoko anymore. Satoko, who finally being rational again, tried to contact Kiyoaki through Tadeshina, but Kiyoaki paid no attention, until one day, the realization dawned on him that he did, in fact, love Satoko. And that was the beginning of the destruction of Kiyoaki. Kiyoaki and Satoko met secretly by the help of Tadeshina, and once, by the help of Honda. Near the betrothal ceremony, Satoko got pregnant. The end, as you guess, is tragic. Depressing. As depressing as the end of the life of Mishima himself: harakiri.

It's a love story, but not in a sentimental, teary-eyed style.
A must-read, worth to buy. Can't wait to read the second of the trilogy: Runaway Horses

How to Train Your Dragon

by Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III
Translated from Old Norse by Cressida Cowell
Translated to Indonesian by Mutia Dharma
Penerbit Mizan, 2006
254 halaman

Yepp, aku baca versi Indonesianya. Karena kalo beli versi aslinya pasti harganya keterlaluan untuk buku setipis ini (teringat harga serial A Series of Unfortunate Events atau Chronicles of Narnia). Covernya benar-benar menarik, itu di atas gambar over edisi aslinya.

Buku ini semacam autobiografi Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, putra satu-satunya dan ahli waris Stoick the Vast, kepala suku Viking Hairy Hooligans. Dan semacam buku panduan yang lebih lengkap (dan jauh lebih panjang dan lebih berguna, if I may add) tentang naga dibanding buku karya Professor Yobbish (dengan judul sama) yang digunakan oleh Hiccup untuk melatih naganya. Hiccup yakin bahwa suatu hari, para naga akan bangkit lagi sesudah masa hibernasi mereka yang panjang di dasar laut, dan buku ini tentu akan sangat berguna.

Hiccup bukanlah tipikal pewaris tahta yang tinggi besar dan karismatik. Hiccup berbadan kecil, tidak pandai berkelahi, tidak pernah melakukan sesuatu yang mengesankan, tidak ambisius, and well, he hiccups. In short, he is not a hero, not yet.

Untuk menjadi anggota penuh sukunya, semua anak laki-laki Viking harus menjalani Ujian Penerimaan, yang terdiri dari menangkap anak naga langsung dari their nursery, melatihnya, dan menunjukkan pada para dewan juri kemampuan mereka memerintah naga2 tangkapan mereka. Dan itu adalah dimulainya hari paling memalukan bagi Hiccup. Sementara teman-temannya berhasil menangkap naga-naga keren seperti Naga Monstrous Nightmare (yang begitu keren sehingga hanya boleh ditangkap dan dipelihara oleh anak kepala suku), atau naga Gronckle yang mempunyai perlengkapan senjata berat, atau naga Cerewet, Hiccup hanya berhasil membawa Naga Kebun terkecil yang pernah ada yang bahkan belum tumbuh gigi.

Tidak cukup dengan itu, Toothless (nama si Naga tak bergigi) ternyata sangat menyebalkan dan tidak bisa diatur. oya, Hiccup mempunyai rahasia, yaitu kemampuan bicara bahasa naga (yang sangat memalukan di kalangan bangsa Viking, karena they are not supposed to TALK to their dragons, they are supposed to YELL at them, since dragons are known to be an egocentric creature yang tidak akan berhasil disuruh-suruh hanya dengan being talked to). Hiccup, yang sudah bertahun-tahun menyelidiki segala sesuatu tentang naga, telah menggunakan berbagai cara memotivasi naga (rasa terima kasih, ketakutan, keraksan, kesombongan, balas dendam, lelucon, teka-teki) untuk melatih Toothless untuk menuruti perintahnya, tetapi tidak berhasil.

Ketika tiba Thor'sday Thursday, hari Ujian Penerimaan untuk bertanding dan pamer siapa yang paling berhasil melatih naganya, Hiccup sadar bahwa ternyata harinya menangkap naga kemaren bukanlah hari terburuk dalam hidupnya. Apakah Hiccup akan berhasil lulus ujian atau dia harus dibuang meninggalkan sukunya? Baca sendiri :)

Mulanya aku pesimis dengan buku ini, karena terjemahannya tidak memuaskan, semua nama diterjemahkan sih, belum ceritanya yang kekanak-kanakan. Tapi setelah dibaca terus, asik juga: gambar-gambar dan caption yang childish (kelihatannya dibuat dengan tangan kiri or something), bercak-bercak tinta dimana-mana (ini kan sebenarnya catatan harian Hiccup), lembar-lembar yang dirobek dari buku Hiccup yang fenomenal "Naga-Naga Bangsa Viking dan Telur-Telur Mereka", replika buku "How to Train Your Dragon" karya professor Yobbish (very funny!), adanya tokoh nemesis Snotlout (sepupu Hiccup) yang jauh lebih besar dan kuat, dan tentu saja karakter Toothless sendiri (he is so adorable). Buku ini didedikasikan oleh Hiccup untuk Toothless :)

Nice book, buku anak-anak sih, tapi worth to buy lah.
Aku gak sabar pengen beli How to Train Your Viking by Toothless the Dragon.

The Bartimaeus Trilogy 2: The Golem’s Eye

Jonathan Stroud
Hyperion Books, New York, 2004
ISBN 0 7868 5681 5
562 pages (satisfyingly 100 hundred more than Book 1)

Like Book 1, I bought this in airport, but this time, I was too early (and on top of that, the flight was cancelled for 4 hours, damn!). The cover of the book showed a blue bull with a distinctive smirk, with impossible white curl on his forehead, and who is this demon? No other than the diabolical Bartimaeus himself.

This book caught up Nathaniel 3 years after the end of the event in Book 1. Nathaniel, or Mr John Mandrake, now 14, was highly positioned in politics, being ambitious as he usually was, helped by his deeds in Book 1. He was the Assistant to the Head of Internal Affairs (Mr Julius Tallow) and the golden boy of Jessica Whitwell (Security Minister), to whom he’s apprenticed, and Rupert Devereaux (Prime Minister). As I mentioned before in my review for Book 1, in the life ruled by magicians, you could never be safe because of the ever-paranoid-and-jealousy of the magicians, especially in the higher ranks of government; that’s what happened to Mandrake. Being very young, people around him were constantly waiting for him to slip.

Meanwhile, the “commoners” who unsatisfied with the arrogancy and privilege life of magicians, had aroused many problems for the government, by stealing the magical goods from magicians and used the goods against them. They were called themselves “The Resistance”, consisted of people who had some resilience to magic or some unusual talents like feeling the aura of magical goods and seeing the demons. One of the main character in resistance was a young girl named Kitty, to whom Bartimaeus had crossed path in Book 1. It was Mandrake’s job to take care of the Resistance thefts, which was proven not to be a simple one, and his failure of getting more insight into the group was starting to endanger his position. Besides of that, there were also other attacks by unknown monster, probably sent by the Resistance, or perhaps by another group who wanted to overthrow Britain, he had no idea.

Mandrake had to summon Bartimaeus once more, although he had promised not ever to sent for Bartimaeus again in the end of Book 1. Bartimaeus himself was definitely not pleased to see Mandrake, but because of his usual elegant curiosity and “conscience”, Bartimaeus was embarked again into another adventure that involved higher politics, his own memory of his ancient past in Prague, betrayal, tomb exploit, magical staff, and skeleton pogoing around London. We also will meet other colorful demons summoned by other higher magicians.

This time, the viewpoints of the story were not only from Nathaniel’s and Bartimaeus’, but also from Kitty’s. There were also revelation of Kitty’s past, to make us understand why Kitty chose Resistance as her career. Nat is as ambitious, arrogant, and self-indulged as ever; Bartimaeus is as witty, sarcastic, and troublesome, and we come to love him even more; while Kitty is also a unique character, frustrated and angry of his group and of the magicians. The first parts are rather slow-paced, but after the skeleton was surfaced, you will ready to leave your task aside to find out what will happen to Nat, the adorable Bartimaeus, and Kitty.

The unsatisfactory thing of Book 2 is that Bartimaeus is not given enough part, and I want more of his hilarious footnotes. After finished Book 2, I think there are a whole lot of things left to tell, and I can’t believe this series will be ended by Book 3. In the end, I believe it will be one-on-one duel between Nat and Kitty.

Buy this book, and enjoy. Can’t wait to buy the third book: Ptolemy’s Gate (funny cover!) This time, Bartimaeus holds nothing, but there are some lights and yellow dots come up from his hand. Ptolemy is an astronomer, so the next magical things probably will be related to astronomy.

The Bartimaeus Trilogy 1: The Amulet of Samarkand

Jonathan Stroud
Hyperion Books, New York, 2004
ISBN 0 7868 5255 0
462 pages

First of all, I want to say that I am lucky, because I bought this book in airport; at that time I was late already, people was already boarding, but I still made myself to breeze through Periplus, just in case. And my eyes caught by this smirky bluish gray face of a creature from a front cover. Without thinking, I took it, paid, and run to the plane (while thinking myself as a very dumb person indeed, buying things without reading the backcover or find out the review first). But then, turns out I am very very far from regret it. In fact, I recommend you to buy this series.

This trilogy is from fantasy genre.
Reading the beginning of the book made me sceptical, because it’s, again, about magicians. Harry Potter-ish. Could be a copycat.

I was wrong.
A magician, according to this book, achieved his ability not only by memorizing incantations, but he also needed the spirits to do his magics. There were 5 types of spirits who were “proper” enough to be summoned, one of them were the djinnis. Magician-to-be (apprentice) also didn’t achieve his abilities by studying in some boarding school like Hogwarts or Beauxbatons; instead, he had to be an apprentice one-on-one to a "master magician". He had to leave his parents (literally sold by their parents to the British government) to stay with their "master".

Now, there was this 11 years-old apprentice, Nathaniel, who was actually very intelligent, very talented, but not appreciated enough by his cowardly master, Arthur Underwood. Nat’s encounter with a young talented magician, Simon Lovelace (what a name), who abused him (physically) in public, had made him think of revenge (to the young magician, and, although he’d never acknowledged it, to his own master). With a rather unusual manner for an apprentice. Yepp, by summoning a fourth-level djinni named Bartimaeus. Who turned out to be not just an ordinary djinni. Turned out that this one creature, although bound to do anything the apprentice told him, were not as hushed-up as a djinni used to be, and not as easily controlled. Bartimaeus was the most indifferent, self-centered, articulate, sarcastic, witty, sophisticated, and hilarious djinni Nathaniel will ever met, who was not only annoying him, but would also help him a great deal in the near future. Bartimaeus was a djinni who had lived five-thousand years, and had served Solomon, Ptolemy, and even Hiawatha (bwahahaha!). In fact, "Bartimaeus is the main reason to read the book" (quoted from a friend). You can’t help falling in love to this djinni. The first order of Nathaniel to Bartimaeus had brought them accidentally into politic tangles in British government who was ruled by magicians (the Prime Minister himself was a magician). The “normal” human beings were called "commoners", who seemed didn’t like the magicians.

In the first parts, the story was written in alternately present and past style, to make us comprehend of Nat’s past. The story were also witten from 2 points of view, from Nathaniel’s (full of anger and frustation), and from Bartimaeus’ (sarcastis, full of contempt, and funny). Besides, the story is very “humane”, not really think of morale, that's what I mean. Good guys can also do wrong, sometimes. Obviously, this book is not for younger childrens. All the magicians in this book were so ambitious to overthrow each other. Interesting. Very humane.

Another attractive feature of this book is the self-serving footnotes, written by the djinni himself, for a reason he will reveal to you in the book. The story is full of actions, fast-pacing, and you will finished the book in one sit.

Conclusion: It’s funny, easy-to-read, and worth to buy. Can't wait to buy the next one and read more on Bartimaeus.

Emma

Jane Austen
Peacock Books, New Delhi, 2001
ISBN 81 248 0026 X
440 pages

Emma is the last book of Jane Austen (released in 1816), and said to be the most accomplished and representative work of her. For being classics, Jane Austen’s are sold in cheap price, and available through internet in the form of ebooks.

Emma Woodhouse, the protagonist, was an intelligent and pretty woman of 21, lived with her old, selfish, and easily-agitated father in Hartfield, a big and rich residence in a large village called Highbury. Her older sister Isabel was married to a rather-unsocial John Knightley, and lived with their 2 sons in London (sixteen miles off). The Woodhouses were respected by her neighbours and Emma’s words are highly appreciated. The family had a regular visitor and intimate friend, a 38-years-old Mr George Knightley, yepp, you’re right: he was the elder brother-in-law of Isabel, who lived a mile from Highbury, in Donwell Abbey. Mr George Knightley was the only one who sensible enough to see Emma’s faults and strong enough to told her about them. Emma thought very highly of herself, and very conscious of her level in society (I think it’s not uncommon at the time Miss Austen wrote the story, being in the 19th century). She liked to play matchmaking, after her first success with her own ex-governess and best friend Miss Taylor, who married a Mr Weston, a very nice man with good fortune. She embarked to the matchmaking of a new-found orphan friend Harriet to a Mr Elton, the vicar of Highbury. As for herself, she thought she would never want to marry, being satisfied with her present life, and because she can never leave her father who depend so much on her.

The coming of Frank Churchill, a son of Mr Weston from previous marriage, to Highbury, brought a colour to the uneventful life of Highbury, and highly anticipated by the ladies, because of his being very handsome and clever, and because of the fact that he never set his foot in Highbury for a very very long time. His coming also brought Emma deeper entwined into other people’s affairs, and, without being aware of this fault of hers, although she did all that for what-she-thought-as-goodwill, she has caused many awkwardness and misunderstaning in some of her friends. I will stop here so that I will not spoil the whole story. I can only say that, like other Jane Austen’s books, the protagonist will end up with the best man in the story, a very predictable, but satisfying end.

As usual with classics, you can expect difficult words and structures, but wholly, it is easy to read and funny (the irony and wittiness of Emma and the Knightley brothers), although rather tiring (being narrative, I finished it after 1 month, read it in-between ther books).

My conclusion: worth to read, worth to download (for you eboook readers), worth to buy (for you who need good books with cheap prices).