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littlebookthief 's review for:
Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk
by Ahmad Tohari
I gotta say, I had VERY high hopes upon starting this book. My mom and dad said it was spectacular, and many of my Indonesian friends (mostly from the internet) have said that it is one of the most influental and mesmerising classic from Indonesian literature. So naturally, I gave myself a read. And to be honest, I was not dissapointed, no, and I do understand why people liked it and why the book is still famous 'til this day, but according to me, nothing from the book reflects positive energy that makes it memorable. At all. So many aspects from this book is slightly "weird" and nasty, and since the author uses so many Javanese (I think) slangs that people might not understand, I was taken aback by all the cursing and really vague descriptions of intimate scenes and all (yes, I didn't know that apparently, the term "ronggeng" basically refers to a prostitute or gigolo at that time... I didn't have enough research). I had really high expectations of it since the story encovers a plit that I've never read about before. But, alas, I wasn't impressed. The story didn't affect me in anyway, ans honestly, the plot and how it "thickens" is messy, and the sub plots that were supposed to be somewhat important, is really not. AT ALL. All characters are jerks (yes) , no one can actually tell who the main character is (I thought it was Srintil, but then there are chapters from Rasus's point of view, then the narrator's point of view, I don't know really).
Now, character review (oof) Okay, I can now finally safely say, that hated Srintil and Rasus the most. Yes, I know, they're the MAIN CHARACTERS. Yes. But what I'm getting is that, um, their characters are too far from what I can tell, protagonists of the story. Their story starts of when Srintil was only 13 (ish) and Rasus was 3 years older than her. She had already aspired to become a "Ronggeng" ever since she was young, because a spirit of "Ronggeng" that was inside her called indang, was inside of her, making her destined to become a "Ronggeng" or a woman that dances to traditional music (day and night if asked) and become a pleasure woman to all men in Dukuh Puruk. She and Rasus were childhood friends, and well, their relationship really was the most inconclusive one I've seen from literature. Srintil was a pompous woman from the start, doesn't want to be anything but a "Ronggeng", I guess it's because she doesn't know what she "is" yet, and just because Rasus was the one that took her virginity (yes, I read that scene more than once, because I wasn't convinced that that happened whatsoever) she suddenly becomes terribly attached and even almost proposing to Rasus because she wants him to be with her forever. Rasus, is just ine of the boys she was close with when they were little. Her "grandfather" was actually Srintil's and he was just taken care of by him because his parents passed away (because of a stupid reason, but I won't go any further) and he didn't have ANY role of contribution to the story, other that taking one's virginity, being (allegedly) in love with Srintil in the most absurd way I've seen, the first man to actually rejects Srintil and left her for a long time, before returning back and ended up marrying her on spite, when Srintil had already turned into a crippling and mad mess. They don't have chemistry (so to say even whrn the book says otherwise), their inly interaction was only innocent and platonic, and their story about one another was in anyway not compelling at all. Srintil, however, probably is one of the most boring heroine ever? She is a confident, smart, beautiful woman, that apparently, by the help of the plot, becomes worse as the story goes, and doesn't have anybcharacter development :/ I kegit expected Srintil to overcome her darkness after a while and actually lived a happy life and forgetting her bad past and enter a new one, but NO, it wasn't like that. AT ALL. all she does is weep, procastinate, isolating herself after she got back from prison, and after getting betrayed by Bajus (at almost the end of the book, even though it's more convinient as a climax but no, apparently) , she became mad, and married Rasus in that state, and lived like that for the rest of her life. What? I just don't get it.
But, if u like classics like these, just give it a read. Who knows, maybe your prespectives can be a lot different than mine!
Now, character review (oof) Okay, I can now finally safely say, that hated Srintil and Rasus the most. Yes, I know, they're the MAIN CHARACTERS. Yes. But what I'm getting is that, um, their characters are too far from what I can tell, protagonists of the story. Their story starts of when Srintil was only 13 (ish) and Rasus was 3 years older than her. She had already aspired to become a "Ronggeng" ever since she was young, because a spirit of "Ronggeng" that was inside her called indang, was inside of her, making her destined to become a "Ronggeng" or a woman that dances to traditional music (day and night if asked) and become a pleasure woman to all men in Dukuh Puruk. She and Rasus were childhood friends, and well, their relationship really was the most inconclusive one I've seen from literature. Srintil was a pompous woman from the start, doesn't want to be anything but a "Ronggeng", I guess it's because she doesn't know what she "is" yet, and just because Rasus was the one that took her virginity (yes, I read that scene more than once, because I wasn't convinced that that happened whatsoever) she suddenly becomes terribly attached and even almost proposing to Rasus because she wants him to be with her forever. Rasus, is just ine of the boys she was close with when they were little. Her "grandfather" was actually Srintil's and he was just taken care of by him because his parents passed away (because of a stupid reason, but I won't go any further) and he didn't have ANY role of contribution to the story, other that taking one's virginity, being (allegedly) in love with Srintil in the most absurd way I've seen, the first man to actually rejects Srintil and left her for a long time, before returning back and ended up marrying her on spite, when Srintil had already turned into a crippling and mad mess. They don't have chemistry (so to say even whrn the book says otherwise), their inly interaction was only innocent and platonic, and their story about one another was in anyway not compelling at all. Srintil, however, probably is one of the most boring heroine ever? She is a confident, smart, beautiful woman, that apparently, by the help of the plot, becomes worse as the story goes, and doesn't have anybcharacter development :/ I kegit expected Srintil to overcome her darkness after a while and actually lived a happy life and forgetting her bad past and enter a new one, but NO, it wasn't like that. AT ALL. all she does is weep, procastinate, isolating herself after she got back from prison, and after getting betrayed by Bajus (at almost the end of the book, even though it's more convinient as a climax but no, apparently) , she became mad, and married Rasus in that state, and lived like that for the rest of her life. What? I just don't get it.
But, if u like classics like these, just give it a read. Who knows, maybe your prespectives can be a lot different than mine!