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lovetanrak 's review for:
Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk
by Ahmad Tohari
Tbh, I must say, this book is brilliantly written—so much so that the uncomfortable parts were genuinely triggering and left me seething. Srintil, an 11-year-old girl, so pure and innocent, is forced to accept her fate as Dukuh Paruk’s “Ronggeng” her innocent, is torn from her without consent, without even her understanding. She becomes a pupet.
Instead of being revered as a sacred symbol, she transforms into the very antithesis of purity. How tragic it is to be a woman—granted the so-called blessing of beauty, yet cursed with the burden it brings. Srintil’s life unravels, a series of misfortunes she cannot escape. The world has never been kind to women, not then, not now.
The crude, explicit narrative was, honestly, deeply unsettling. But credit must be given where it’s due—the author’s penmanship is masterful, weaving the story in a way that pulls you under its spell, no matter how dark or painful. Tragic, yes, but also profoundly eye-opening. Because somewhere, far beyond the pages of this book, we know—this isn’t just a story. There are countless Srintils out there, enduring the same misfortunes, unseen and unheard.
Instead of being revered as a sacred symbol, she transforms into the very antithesis of purity. How tragic it is to be a woman—granted the so-called blessing of beauty, yet cursed with the burden it brings. Srintil’s life unravels, a series of misfortunes she cannot escape. The world has never been kind to women, not then, not now.
The crude, explicit narrative was, honestly, deeply unsettling. But credit must be given where it’s due—the author’s penmanship is masterful, weaving the story in a way that pulls you under its spell, no matter how dark or painful. Tragic, yes, but also profoundly eye-opening. Because somewhere, far beyond the pages of this book, we know—this isn’t just a story. There are countless Srintils out there, enduring the same misfortunes, unseen and unheard.