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yuusasih's review
3.0
3,5 stars.
I really appreciate the attempt to make this book a work of fiction, since it began as a thesis on Communist's Women Organization. Unlike many thesis-to-fiction works I read before, this one didn't feel stilted and in-between. Instead, the structure and wordings could be categorized as literary-fiction.
The story is about about a Dutch's journalist, Tommy, who researching about the doomed 1965 event. Not in general, but particularly about the issue of lurid dancing and castration of the seven generals done by the party's women. She's come in contact with some of the women who suffered a great deal in the prison. Because of that, she's been sniffed by the military and being taken into prison herself.
The novel told in a forward-backward fashion, alternating between Tommy's days in Indonesian prison with her anxiety about who might be betray her and the time when Tommy investigating the truth behind the rumour. For such a good story, I kinda feel bad because the editing and layouting is not that good. The cover's nice, tho. The translation from Dutch to English is not that stellar either, in my opinion, stilted in some parts. I feel this story will be so much better translated directly into Indonesian.
Finally made the complete review in my blog.
I really appreciate the attempt to make this book a work of fiction, since it began as a thesis on Communist's Women Organization. Unlike many thesis-to-fiction works I read before, this one didn't feel stilted and in-between. Instead, the structure and wordings could be categorized as literary-fiction.
The story is about about a Dutch's journalist, Tommy, who researching about the doomed 1965 event. Not in general, but particularly about the issue of lurid dancing and castration of the seven generals done by the party's women. She's come in contact with some of the women who suffered a great deal in the prison. Because of that, she's been sniffed by the military and being taken into prison herself.
The novel told in a forward-backward fashion, alternating between Tommy's days in Indonesian prison with her anxiety about who might be betray her and the time when Tommy investigating the truth behind the rumour. For such a good story, I kinda feel bad because the editing and layouting is not that good. The cover's nice, tho. The translation from Dutch to English is not that stellar either, in my opinion, stilted in some parts. I feel this story will be so much better translated directly into Indonesian.
Finally made the complete review in my blog.
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