Review Buku 65 (Lanjutan Blues Merbabu)

Hola readers,

This review continuing the previous review about Blues Merbabu, a book that written by Gitanyali. As I said before this is such of an autobiography but more casual :D ( or borrow a phrase from the author  a romance with a background G 30S PKI )

Please forgive me if my English is not good enough, or do not follows the grammar rules. I still learn about it :)

Cover 

Title           : 65  

Author       : Gitanyali

Published : May 28th 2012

Publisher  : Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia (KPG)

In contrast to previous book, this cover is simpler and looks elegant, but still display woman picture as if to imply this book is still struggling in the author's adventures with women. 65 become a sacred number for Gitanyali, a historical number which reminds him to a dark event in Indonesia that changed his life, ruin his family ( live apart in several region).

Still consistent with his passion, writing and women. He become a writer in a woman magazine in Jakarta. The plot if the story is flow forth. He divide the content to 3 parts, the gallerist, deja vu and nostalgia. the story begins with a narrative about Nita, a girl who managed to force him to tell his life story, then continued by his visitation to Hong Kong, a place where Emma's family live in and how he met her. 

He met Emma (a gallerist who then made him want to get married) in a party after exhibition. An ordinary introduction which then leads to further relates, either in bed or daily conversation. When Emma went to Thailand, he surprised her by suddenly came to her place, Sukhumvit 65. He just realized that number become a sacred, special in his life, moreover apparently, not far from the apartment there is an old building namely REX cinemas, a center of life in his small town, in the feet of Merbabu mountain.

The flashback goes on.65 he mentioned the pain in it, a great disruption, how people arrested and killed, and blood flowing river. In the following years,the lives of the descendants of PKI cadres is the same, complicated and regarded as something that is dangerous for the country. They who are abroad at that year (1965) revoked their citizenship until they  cannot return to Indonesia, which in Indonesia is not able to work in government, and stigmatized bad in society.

The setting of the story moved in several placed, back to time when he went to university, decided to work and living alone. He also tells about his family, his mother, his siblings, and their ways to life. Many characters which are mentioned again and told how their life, the love life also even though not as many as the author's love story. 


 He got a chance to pursue his study to Glasgow University. Found a woman again, but there was an unforgettable moment when he met an exile ( he do not mention the name)  an official in Soekarno era and be deported in Soeharto era who live alone, no family, no child, exiled by the compatriots abroad, just sitting at home when the Indonesian republic embassy there hold a party.

Back cover

Compared with the first book, this novel more mature, besides, it tells the writer's life as an adult, he also added  the lives of the people around him. not too focused on his passion or women (no it still a lot) . It completes his story, his opinion about anything happen in his life and surroundings.

The message from his story is how to make peace with the past, no matter how bad it is, because the life must go on..