Category: Resensi

  • Kilmeny of the Orchard

    I downloaded this book from Project Gutenberg,expecting Kilmeny to be something like Anne or Emily, two of my favourite heroines of all time. Well, Kilmeny was nothing like the aforementioned two, although she did possess a special charm of her own.

    I loved the fact that she was so innocent and childlike, although it is quite hard to believe that she had never looked into a mirror in her entire life. And I also like the link between her and the orchard–would her charm fade away when she is ruthlessly thrust into the complexities of the real world? Would she then become an ordinary woman like any other? These where the questions that was playing in my head as I finished the book.

    In fact, I skipped the first few chapters. I was anticipating Kilmeny’s appearance, expecting her to be mentioned within the first few pages, but the story went on to talk about Eric, whom, in the first place, did not seem to have anything to do with the title at all. I even thought that I had downloaded the wrong book! I started reading it thoroughly only after Eric’s encounter with Kilmeny in the orchard.

    All in all, this book is light, sweet and romantic. It is perhaps less captivating than ‘Anne of Green Gables‘ or ‘Emily of New Moon‘, but undeniably it is charming in it’s own way.

  • Letters of a Javanese Princess – Thoughts Before Reading

    Sejarah. While some students may view it as their favourite subject, others may loathe it to such an extent that they cower with fear when that name is mentioned, and openly express their distaste for the subject.

    I, for one, alternated between feelings love and hate while trying to cram the facts and dates into my over-saturated brain, and was somewhat glad to fling it aside once SPM was over.

    Yet, throughout the days that followed, some facts remained stuck in my head, including the names of several famous personnels. One such personnel was an Indonesian feminist, a daughter of Javanese nobility-Raden Adjeng Kartini. I don’t remember much about her, except for the fact that she was mentioned briefly, and her writings were collected and published under the title of ‘Letters of a Javanese Princess.’

    Somehow, ever since I learnt of its existence, I had been yearning to get my hands on that book. I asked for it whenever I visited any large bookshops, but without avail. Finally, I acquired it without paying a single cent from the website ‘Project Gutenberg’. I’m now reading it, bit by bit, through my handphone which has now become something of an e-book reader. I intend to go through it ever so slowly, to really delve into its contents, and read between the lines of her correspondences with her Dutch friends, and really get to know this remarkable woman, whom, at a century ago, had thoughts and views that was ahead of her time, and would put many a narrow-minded modern woman to shame.

    She has such high ambitions and a big heart, and it was such a pity that her life was cut short by her untimely death, shortly after the birth of her son. I often ponder silently–if she had lived, perhaps for many decades longer, how much more could she manage to achieve? I’m sure she would be one of the glorious names that would adorn the pages of many history books.

    I’m longing to get to know her better–not in person, for that is impossible, but through the lines of her writings. Her writings were originally in Dutch, but it has been translated to English–or I wouldn’t have been able to understand it. Once I’m done, I will blog more about this wonderful woman–who was indeed an outstanding character, one whom could never be forgotten, whose voice will never be drown out by the passing of time–as long as her volume of letters continue to live on.

  • Hati Seorang HAMKA

    Dari hati ke hati
    Hamka, Yousran Rusydi,
    Islam and politics
    2002
    322

    Sociopolitical and religious issues in Indonesia; collected articles.

    Siapa yang tak kenal buya HAMKA, ulama’ Minang dari tanah seberang. Namun, beliau tidak sunyi daripada dugaan yang merintangi perjalanan dakwahnya. Difitnah dan ditahan di bawah regim Orde Lama Soekarno, perselisihan beliau dengan Sahibus Samahah Mufti Johor Dato’ Syed Alwi Bin Tahir al-Haddad mewarnai sejarah hidupnya.

    Dari Hati Ke Hati merupakan koleksi kolum tulisannya dalam majalah Panji Masyarakat dari tahun 1967 hingga tahun 1981. Meletakkan Islam sebagai dasar dan maksud penulisannya, beliau berjaya mengupas pelbagai isu yang menyelubungi masyarakat Indonesia seawal zaman pra-kemerdekaan  Indonesia hingga tertubuhnya Orde Baru di tangan Jeneral Suharto.

    Sayangnya tiada catatan khusus mengenai tarikh rencana-rencana tersebut ditulis dan diterbitkan yang boleh memberi gambaran dan kemudahan buat pembaca yang berminat dengan sejarah negara serumpun tersebut.

    Tulisan HAMKA dibahagikan kepada empat bahagian yang mendukung tema seperti Agama, Angkatan Muda Islam, Kerukunan Umat Beragama dan Politik. Di balik kelembutan dan kehalusan bahasa, ia menyerlahkan ketajaman kritik dan keteguhan pendiriannya sebagai Muslim yang merasai zaman pertembungan ideologi (ghazwatul fikrah) antara Islam yang diperjuangkan gerakan Masyumi, Komunis dan Soekarno sebagai oportunis yang akhirnya menjadi boneka Partai Komunis Indonesia.

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