Author : Leila S. Chudori
Publisher : Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia (KPG)
Published on October 2017
Pages : 389 pages
May is a memorable month for us Indonesian. Back in May 1998, a huge riots happened in every city in Indonesia. It caused by economic problems and the discontent of Soeharto's leadership as the President back then. Later on, these riots led to the resignation of President Soeharto and the fall of New Order (Orde Baru) government. However, it didn't happen in a year only. Years before 1998, many of college students (mahasiswa) had shown their dissapointment to New Order government and the leadership of Soeharto. They secretly gathered to discuss about Indonesia's future, about the government, and sometimes they took actions to protect farmers, labors and local communities. The thing about New Order government is that they took no complaints and anyone who disagrees with the government will be arrested. Some of them came back, the others.... lost. No words, no news.
Laut Bercerita is a historical fiction that talks about this event of 1997-1998 activists kidnapping in Indonesia. The main character is Biru Laut, a college student and one of the 22 activists who had been abducted and tortured by the elite miltary force. This book is devided into two chapters from different point of view. The first chapter was told from Biru Laut's POV. It follows his days as a student in Gadjah Mada University, the day he met Kasih Kinanti, Bram, Naratama and the other student activists and became one of them. This chapter also tells about how Laut and the other activists were kidnapped and brutally tortured by the elite military force called "Elang". On the other hand, the second chapter was told from Asmara Jati's point of view. She is the younger sister of Laut. This chapter focused on the struggles and mentality of the family, relatives and friends of the missing activits. Asmara should act as the rational one in the family, to keep her family together, to be strong and to keep looking out for information of her brother and friends.
This book is beautifully painful in so many ways. Once I read it, I can't put it down. That is why, I finished this book within 24 hours!!!! This book is a perfect package: it gives me warmth from the story of Laut's family that is so harmonious and supportive, his relationship with his parents and his little sister. It makes me laugh and smile to read Laut's friendship with the other activists, the way his friends teased him to chase Ratih Anjani, his love interest. It even makes me hungry because God, Leila Chudori did a great job at describing the foods like Tengkleng, Sambal, Indomie, Nasi Tutug Oncom???? Seriously this book made me hungry all the time. And above all, this book gives me goosebumps, rage and to cover it all: sadness. The fact that this story is based on true event, that it happened here in this country make me sad and angry. I can't even imagine how it feels to be one of those activits and even the family. Biru Laut and Asmara Jati have succeeded in making me understand that feeling through their stories.
Let's talk about the characters. Leila is a genius in giving names to her characters. I mean c'mon, Biru Laut, Asmara Jati, Ratih Anjani, Kasih Kinanti, Naratama? If it doesn't sound beautiful in your ears, I don't know what does. I love Laut and Asmara's character development, especially Asmara. She had a different view in politic as her brother at first. Asmara didn't believe in anything abstract. She believed in something real. She wanted to be a doctor, so she thought that helping a mom to give birth is more helpful than trying to overthrow the government. However, when her brother went missing, she tried so hard to find the answers even if it means she has to fight the government. When everyone around her started to fall apart, she stands. God, I just want to hug her so much and tell her it's okay to breakdown:((((((
How about the romance? Well, of course this book has a romance but it doesn't dominate the story. The romance is soooo light which I love so I can focus to the PAIN:(((((((
In conclusion, this book helps me to understand about what happened in Soeharto's reign and sparks the fire of curiousity in me to find out more about this event. If you want to know about what's going on in this country back in the 1997 to 1998's but you hate to read that big history book (like me), Laut Bercerita can be an option for you to understand it a little bit (after reading it you should still do some more research from a non-fiction book).
5/5 stars for Laut Bercerita.