Murder at the Spring Ball (2021) by Benedict Brown #20BOS26

🥂 Beginning a new series is always an exciting reading experience. It is doubly so when the debut proved to be a success, just like this one. Murder at the Spring Ball is Benedict Brown's first book of Lord Edgington cozy mystery series, set in the 1925 England. It's charm is thanks to the combination of the Golden Age Detective vibes - complete with red herrings, incompetent police officer, Poirot-ish style of rather dramatic denouement - and an unlikely sleuth of a former detective and his fourteen years old grandson. There's a little jazz, a little dancing, a little Downton Abbey-ish atmosphere, and a good murder mystery. What else would one need to enjoy one self thoroughly?

🥂 Elderly but still formidably Lord Edgington had been shutting himself from the world after the death of his wife. But now he was suddenly 'awaken', and intended to shake himself out of the heavy 'slumber' with a kick: a grand ball at Cranley Hall, to celebrate his seventy-fifth birthday. He surprised everyone, though, by appointing Christopher, his teenage grandson and not altogether special, to be the party organizer. The ball gives us plenty of fun, from the planning, right up to the ball itself, where the first murder is about to be committed. Christopher, of course, made several blunders - imagine a fourteen-year-old organizing a grand ball! His ordering of too much flower for decoration is pretty hilarious; and his worrying whether it was his abundant flowers that have poisoned someone, is rather cute.  

🥂 The first victim is Lord Edgington's annoying daughter, who was poisoned to death via the champagne she'd been drinking through the evening. And now Lord Edgington, together with Christopher as his assistant, is conducting a murder investigation - to the chagrin of the Police Inspector - who was his former rival - who was tasked for it. The murderer must be someone who were at the ball: the family, the servants, and Christopher's nemesis: Marmaduke Adelaide, whom Christopher likes to call Marmalade, and who often bullies him at school. Lord Edgington suspects that whoever the murderer is, was trying to kill him, and/or the entire family at the party. But who would want that? And what's the motive? 

🥂 I love Christopher from the start, he loves nature and reading Dickens, with healthy appetite - a nerdy introverted like me. I also like the way Lord Edgington educates him (to be a future Chief Inspector like himself?) He encourages Christopher to build his own deduction; never mocking or scolding him too hard when the teenager makes mistake (which is quite often), and always ready to praise when he makes a good job. The way Lord Edgington helps Christopher arranging flowers (the abundant flowers he mistakenly ordered) in the vases until far to the night - a gentle way to let his grandson made mistake and be responsible to the outcome, while learning from it). But what I love most is the duo's dynamic. When Lord Edgington was succumb to his grief after not one, but two of his offsprings murdered (yes, there was a second murder), it was Christopher who made the effort to 'awaken' his grandfather.

🥂 In short, this is such a delightful murder mystery and a beginning of a series, which I would definitely continue on. You can feel a bit of the 1920s vibes, if not from the narrative, at least from the ball. Christopher has been inadvertently introducing jazz to the family reminded me so much of how Rose first brought jazz to Downton Abbey!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

Read for: 20 Books of Summer 2026 hosted by Annabel @ AnnaBookBel

Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge 2026 hosted by Carol @ Carol's Notebook

A Single Thread (2019) by Tracy Chevalier

 

🧵 I always love reading historical fictions about cathedral. Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth has started it all; I have read it twice so far, and my favorite part isn't the drama, but the cathedral. It has become a character in itself. One the other hand, Tracy Chevalier is one of my all time favorite historical fiction writers. Her Girl with a Pearl Earring is on another level; she is a tremendous writer, and I love her themes, which is usually around art or craft. A Single Thread even combines two of these - art and craft - as its main theme: embroidery and bell ringing. Both are related to the cathedral, and they have similarity too; both produce something that people might disregard as mere accessories in their worship and prayers. However, both need precision and focus in order to produce something beautiful. And the people who work on it took their efforts seriously, it's not a mere pastimes or hobby, but more of a second career. 

🧵 In the 1930s of Winchester, there are women who dedicated their times and energies to gather every Tuesday and Thursday night to embroider kneelers, bench cushions, alms bags, etc. They formed an embroidery club, and each has her own task to embroider. The end product would then be presented during a mass, and would be placed in the cathedral. Violet Speedwell, a spinster of thirty eight years old, was  the newest member. After losing, first her brother, then her fiancé during WWI, Violet has been living alone with her forever-criticizing mother. And when she's having had enough, she moved out from her home, and worked as typist for insurance company in Winchester. On one of her strolls, she entered the cathedral, and joined the embroidery club.

🧵 The embroidery club wasn't the only one Violet found in the cathedral. She became fascinated by the bell-ringers, especially the one called Arthur Knight - a sixty year old man, whose wife had been suffering from losing their only son in the WW1. The bell-ringers added more charm to this story, besides the main attraction of the embroidery club. Church bell is something you'd never think much of. You just hear it, and know someone - or some people - must have rung them on certain hour. But who would think bell ringing is such an intricate operation that needed focus, discipline, and dedication of a group of people? That the bells weren't just pulled at randomly, but forming some intricate patterns to produce a beautiful and harmonious sound? Both the broderers (that's what women who embroidered were called) and the bell-ringers were wonderful people who dedicated their time and efforts for the glory of God, and I really admired them.

🧵 Besides these themes, the story is also layered with more serious stuffs like freedom (and the lack of), independence, forbidden love, and rebellion (from convention). Like many other women post WW1, Violet could be put into the 'surplus woman' category. Neither she nor her family, or the society, knew what must be done for her future. For example, she couldn't go out alone, or else people (men) would either frown upon her, or worse, turn violent towards her. When she's going out with Arthur (okay, a married man, but surely one could go for lunch with one's friend without harm?), people gossiped. But when Violet befriended Gilda and Dorothy - fellow broderers who loved each other - people scorned at her. The 1930s was surely hell for single women to live in, for sure!

🧵 Like all Tracy Chevalier's I've read before, A Single Thread also started very slow. But that's what I liked from Chevalier. She put efforts in setting the atmosphere, then letting us readers to be immersed into the world she created, and lived with the characters, feeling both their triumphs and struggles. Although I didn't agree with Violet's act of rebellion - I think she put herself in a more vulnerable position than before - I could understand her frustration; her longing of total freedom. In a state of under-pressured, one could make reckless decision. I think that's what Violet had done. Anyway, this has been a lovely read. Though not as cheerful as you might expect, the arts of embroidery and bell-ringing are quite entertaining; not mentioning the atmosphere around the cathedral. I don't think I would listen to church bell quite the same way after this, although nowadays, there's only one bell and one ringer (at least at my local cathedral). But still, I don't think I would take the sound for granted any more.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Crocodile on the Sand Bank (1975) by Elizabeth Peters

🌵 First of all, there are no crocodile involved in this light mystery, set in Victorian era. 'Crocodile on the sand bank' was a jargon used by Egyptian locals to indicate that a problem is underfoot. When thirty something spinster of Amelia Peabody - an unorthodox English woman, intelligent, and independent - decided to have a long journey to Cairo, she's never expected that any 'crocodile' would be on her sand bank. It all began when she rescued a typical Victorian girl - beautiful, soft, feminine, who blushes and fainted a lot, you know the type - in Rome, named Evelyn. Evelyn is a granddaughter of a wealthy old man, who disinherited her after her elopement with a scoundrel called Alberto, whom, then abandoned her altogether. Now alone and poor, Evelyn was 'recruited' then and there as Amelia Peabody's companion. And so, the two ladies departed together to Cairo.

🌵 Then entered Radcliffe and Walter Emerson - the archeologist brothers - whom Amelia and Evelyn met at a museum in Cairo. Emerson (means Radcliffe, the old brother) is of Amelia's age, coarse, cynical, and swears a lot, but he's a good archeologist. While Walter, is more soft spoken, and is an expert in hieroglyphics. He's fallen in love with Evelyn at once, and she also reciprocated his feeling, though her ruin complicated things (on the girl's side). The four unexpected acquaintances parted ways, only to meet again at an archeological site in Armana, where the Emersons were excavating a newly found royal tomb. Amelia is interested in archeology, so she's having a good time, amidst Emerson's rudeness and bickering. Then, the mummy they had just found was missing from the tomb. Moreover, the mummy had been seen walking around the site at night! The superstitious local crew thought it was a curse, but the Europeans knew better that it's a disguise of someone with bad intention. What was the aim, though? To get them out of the site? Or to harm Evelyn, as it has seemed to be? And whodunnit?

🌵 Overall, I think this book is intended partly to be a parody of Victorian era's stereotypes. The wandering mummy was hilarious, rather than eerie in Gothic way. And the way Amelia entangled in her own skirt everytime she needed to run away fast in critical moments, was a comical way to criticize how women were barred from many active involvement. The infamous smelling salt made its appearance too, but its apply beyond waking the fainting damsel-in-distress, made me choking in laughter. Other than that, the archeological theme is interesting and educational, it made me think how Agatha Christie would approve of this book. Finally, it's an entertaining read, even if the mystery felt rather dull. Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of this read is that I've listened to the audiobook, narrated by the inimitable Barbara Rosenblat, who also narrated Mrs. Pollifax series. She's just become my new favorite narrator!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Ruby in the Smoke (1985) by Philip Pullman

♦️ This story set in the 19th century of London. Mr. Lockhart, the co-owner of Lockhart & Selby, a shipping firm, was drowned with the ship he was on board. He left an only child, a girl of sixteen, Sally Lockhart. She received a mysterious letter, the content and source of which, she had no idea. It warned her of "the Seven Blessings" - what on earth was that? And for her to contact a Mr. Marchbanks. Puzzled, Sally visited Mr. Selby at Lockhart & Selby office to inquire around his father's death. But when she mentioned "The Seven Blessings", Sally, unknowingly, had started a chain of events. 

♦️ And that's how the story started, and after that, it unfolded in a very fast pace, that I soon forgot who's who. This is the kind of book that's best to be read in one sitting. Anyway, Sally was soon chased by a Mrs. Holland, a powerful villain who owned a lodging house in the London slump around the wharf, and was feared throughout the slump community. Luckily, Sally met two young men who would be her main allies and friends; they're a photographer called Frederick Garland, and Jim, an office boy at Lockhart & Selby. Between the three - and a handful of secondary characters - they swirled around the hunt of ruby from a maharajah from Agrapur, India, opium smuggling, Chinese secret society, along with puzzles over the cause of Mr. Lockhart's death.

♦️ Comments on Goodreads told me that this isn't Pullman's best, and I quite agree. The opening is quite promising: “Her name was Sally Lockhart, and within fifteen minutes, she was going to kill a man.” That sounds like a good mystery, and Sally is a perfect character for it, a highly intelligent girl, who had been taught of independence by her father, and has aptitude in business. A villain was provided, as well as two prospects of allies (and perhaps a love interest). Fine! But then, the opium factor came in - the "smoke" in the title, and the story suddenly switched into a strange one. Apparently Sally had been exposed to opium, unknowingly, before, and now she has this recurrent nightmares about her father. She was told that opium could restore one's memory, and so she tried a dose to reveal the mystery surround her father's death. And... tada... she suddenly knows everything, or most of the mystery at least, after "waking up" from the dream, . Well, that's not how you do a mystery, Mr. Pullman! I was disappointed at this point. ♦️ I felt that, as a heroine, Sally did not do much in this case, neither solving the mystery (it's Jim who solved the puzzle around the ruby's hiding place), nor showing courage to save a friend from the enemy (Jim and Fred took the brunt of Mrs. Holland's thug). No, she's safe at home, taking opium. Yes, she later on confronted Mrs. Holland, and even the guy of the Seven Blessings (who was supposed to be the most dangerous man at that time), yet it felt underwhelming. Like I said, it's definitely not Pullman's best work, despite of the promising opening.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Goodnight Mister Tom (1981) by Michelle Magorian

💙 When England was on the brink of Second World War, many children from London were evacuated to the countryside. Tom Oakley, a widower in his sixties, who lived in a farming little village called Little Weirwold, found himself the receiver end of a little spindly and terrified evacuee called William, or Willie. His mother wanted little eight year old Willie to be placed in a house of church person or lives near a church. Tom's was the latter.

💙 Tom soon found sore and bruises all over William's body. That, and the way William flinched, terrified, when Tom took a poker to rake the fire (thinking that Tom would brand him), showed Tom how William had been abused at home, by his over religious and mentally unstable mother. William thought himself full of sin, terrified of doing anything boys used to do, and that made him bullied at school, and was called a sissy. His condition moved Tom deeply; and he, a recluse and cantankerous man ever since his wife and son died, treated William with kindness and affection. The first night of William's sleeping at his own attic bedroom, was undoubtedly the turning point of his brighter future. His "Goodnight, Mister Tom" that night before sleep, was a token of gratefulness and affection - two things William had never felt before.

💙 Soon the two, together with Sammy, Tom's dog, were inseparable. He soon went to school and befriended some children: George, the twins Carrie and Ginnie. But his best friend was another evacuee, a cheerful Jewish boy called Zach. William learned to read and write, but they found out soon that he had a special talent of painting and acting. As William gradually emerged from the timid sickly boy he had been when he first arrived, so was Tom, emerged from his "cocoon". But things were not always bright and happy for William; he would experience dark moments, coloured with violence and death. I have prayed during the second part of the book that Tom would adopt William; that he didn't have to return to his abusive mother.

💙 On the whole, it was a delightful novel, though in some part it became too dark for children, I believe. But other than that, the daily lives of the children, and Tom's affection to William, are all warm and satisfying. It was satisfying indeed when William became happy after all the abuses he had been treated. Above all, this book reminds us that we might never be immune to sorrow or loss, but as long as there's love in us, time would heal our wounds, and make us even stronger.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jacqueline in Paris (2022) by Ann Mah #ParisInJuly2025 #20BooksofSummer2025

🔻 A little confession... I have picked this book just because of the title (everything with "Paris" attracts my attention) and the cover (again, every images of Paris will catch my attention).  I knew vaguely that this was set in post World War II, but had no idea what (or more importantly who) this was about. Although the heroine's name: Jacqueline Bouvier seemed vaguely familiar, I must have been almost mid way through before I caught 'White House' being mentioned casually. I thought, why would Jacqueline go to the White House, and what was the significance? I then browsed about this book, and just realized that this book is actually a historical fiction about the inimitable Jacqueline Kennedy!!

🔻 The story covered Jacqueline's earlier life, when she, in her twenty, spent one year in post-war Paris to study. Away from her mother's pressure to find a brilliant match, and the rigid social circle of New York, Jacqueline found freedom in Paris. She and some of her friends from the college were billeted with de Renty family. She soon found that Madame de Renty and her deceased husband had been spies during the war - Madame had even spent time in a women's concentration camp. It was unimaginable for Jacqueline, and so, instead of spending much of her time with her friends to museum, theatre, or dances, Jacqueline started to have interest in the war. She visited the poverty stricken post-war Germany, where she met John.

🔻 John was an impoverished writer, and for his new novel, did many researches on Communist communities - which were starting to emerge during the post-war. From de Renty family, she came to know that Communist spies had been spreading their wings around France. It's difficult to know the difference between real friends (or lover) and enemies. Was John, with whom Jacqueline was falling in love, the man he told her he was? Or was he a communist spy which one of de Rentys accused him of? Even if he's not, how would her mother react to their relationship?

🔻 At first, this book seemed to be about a girl's having fun in post-war Paris for a year. It was, until midway. After that it's a mixture of semi-political story with a tiny bit of mystery. But on the core, it was a coming of age re-imagining of Jacqueline Bouvier's earlier life. That one year in France touched and influenced the girl who would become one of the most famous first lady of the United States. I felt related to Jacqueline's first love to France, and I'm happy for her that she could always bring that in the next stage of her life. I loved that Ann Mah didn't stopped at Jacqueline's departure from Paris, but ended the story with her coming back there after she became Mrs. Kennedy. It was a bitter sweet way to end a book!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

Paris in July 2025

hosted by Emma @ Words and Peace

20 Books of Summer 2025
hosted by Annabel and Emma

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips (2005) by Michael Morpurgo #ReadingtheMeow2025 #20Booksof Summer2025

🐈 Lily Tregenze is a girl of about 13 years old, who lives in 1943 with her family in Slapton, a seaside village in England, during the World War II. Her father is away, but apart from her missing him, she's quite contend to live with her beloved cat, an adventurous one, called Tips. Everything seems generally good, and the war has not touched their village. Until one day it was announced that the villagers must evacuate, living their house - the lock-stock-and barrel situation - because the Allied troops will use it for practices, before invading France.

🐈 Just when they were about to move to Uncle George's house in nearby village, Tips - the cat - is missing. Lily and the family, helped by two young American soldiers whom Lily had befriended, searched for it without avail. The area around the farm would be barbed-wired, and nobody could enter it after that. But Lily couldn't leave Tips alone, she must find her. Her American soldier friends - Addie (short of Adolphus) and Harry, had promised her that they would keep looking for Tips, and that one day the cat would surely come home. They also warned the danger of being near the vicinity of the practice. But Lily must find Tips, so she made plans to cross the wire, into the danger zone. Would she find Tips - alive? And what would happen next?

🐈 It was a wonderful story of courage, resilience, love, and friendship during the war, which was written in the form of diary - Lily's diary. Sixty years after the war, Lily wrote a letter to her grandson, following her re-marriage and move to a new place. The diary was included in the letter. It told him of her extraordinary life, and how an adventurous cat named Tips had become the key that changed her life - during the war, and even sixty years later. 

🐈 I've actually expected this to be a story from a cat's point of view. Or perhaps a story about the cat's adventures during the war - the kind which tells you the horrible things brought by war but seen from a cat's view, so that it becomes less horrifying, and even comes as cute and sweet. But this one is different. Surprisingly, Tips, the cat, isn't the center of the story. It is an amazing story, but not of Tips - which was implied by the title - although the story wouldn't even exist without Tips. So, the cat here has a very important role. The ending is unexpected, and threw the whole story to another level - made it much more memorable than just an adventure of a cat.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

Reading the Meow 2025

hosted by Mallika

20 Books of Summer 2025

hosted by Annabel and Emma

Jade Dragon Mountain (2015) by Elsa Hart

🏮 Jade Dragon Mountain is Elsa Hart's debut historical mystery novel, set in Dayan, a small mountainous town at the Chinese border with Tibet, in 18th century. Our sleuth is Li Du, an imperial librarian in exile, who is visiting his cousin, who were the magistrate of Dayan, during his journey. Dayan was an insignificant town in the vast empire, but at present it's proudly preparing for the upcoming visit of the Emperor himself, as a total solar eclipse would occur in several days.

🏮 Chinese people at that time believed that the Emperor himself was able to command an astronomical event such as solar eclipse. And it was paramount that his people would watch as the Emperor commanded the sun himself. Failed to do so, he would lose dignity and his people's trust in his divinity. It was going to be a grand spectacle, and the magistrate was dreaming to get promotion had the festival been succeeded. Unfortunately, a murder threatened to thwart the magistrate's plans. And it's up to Li Du to solve it before the Emperor's arrival, or else, his future, too, would equally be bleak.

🏮 The murdered victim was a foreigner, a Jesuit priest called Brother Peter. He died instantly after drinking his tea. The Jesuits had a big influence in the kingdom, as advisers of its Bureau of Astronomy. It was the Jesuits who created annual calendars of astronomical events. And that's how the Emperor actually knew when the next solar eclipse would happen, and timed his arrivals well to arrive in time with it.

🏮 Li Du's investigation revealed the intrigue, conspiracy, and politics inside the magistrate's mansion as well as within the kingdom. Who, among its present occupants, was the murderer? Was it the magistrate himself? Or his first consort, who's afraid to be left alone if the magistrate was to be promoted to Beijing? Could it be the fanatic nationalist of the magistrate's secretary, or the old librarian? Or was it a foreigner who poisoned Brother Peter? There're another Jesuit priest who's staying there, and an East India Company merchant with his fascinating astronomical instrument. One of them could have wanted to do harm.|

🏮 All in all, this was an exciting read. The plot was not very complicated, perhaps. I guessed the whodunnit quite easily. But the historical aspect, the rather long but vivid descriptive mention of the building interior, streets, and public places, made up for it's rather weak plot. The author succeeded in bringing us to the 18th century of China, and her researches were superb. Loved it!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Blue Hawk (2024) by Chloe Turner

Thanks to Deixis Press and NetGalley for providing me review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

💙 Blue Hawk is Chloe Turner's debut novel - and such a brilliant debut! It's a historical fiction depicting the world of clothier in the 17th century. Our heroine is Joan, a weaver's daughter in Gloucestershire. Her father is a drunken dreamer, who ruined his dyeing business and almost brought his family to poverty, if Joan hadn't stepped up as its new captain.

💙 It sounds like many other businesses in modern time, but in 17th century, a tradeswoman, especially in clothier business, was almost unheard of. It's men's world, and with struggles had Joan gained respect from these men. She's fortunate to get acquainted to a widow, who's been assisting a dyer, and therefore understood enough of the art. From her, Joan learned the art of dyeing; the process of creating beautiful colors from plants and minerals, which she was fascinated with. Combining the two lines, weaving and dyeing, would create a new success in the business. Could Joan achieve her dream and thrive in the world hitherto was dominated by men?

💙 Joan's main obstruction actually came from inside the family. One is her beautiful but envious, shallow minded sister Alice; the other is, surprisingly-but maybe not, considering the era-her husband, the kind, loving proud young man who belittled Joan's opinion and talent. Between these two, they almost crushed Joan's spirit and made her just another stay-at-home mother and housewife, just like many women of her age.

💙 I was amazed at the fact that this is a debut novel. Turner's depiction of Gloucestershire seemed to transport me back to that era, and I felt like living amongst those people, watching with fascination how the colors of Joan's cloth turned like a magician's work. Feeling too every joy and sorrow, struggles and triumphs of her life. It is a wonderful journey of a woman's struggles in the men's world, it is also an insightful story of family, jealousy, pettiness, and friendship. All is beautifully written and thoroughly well researched.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2


**Blue Hawk was published in 17 July 2024**

Cigarette Girl (2012) by Ratih Kumala #IndonesianLit

🚬 I'm proud to say that Cigarette Girl is the best Indonesian historical fiction I've read so far. A highly entertaining story with good plot and pace. Most importantly, it is unpretentious, unlike most of others in the same genre from the same country. This is my second read, and I enjoyed it as much as before.

🚬 Whether we, Indonesians, like it or not, cigarette is always part of our culture. For me personally, the aroma of tobacco sticks to my memory. It is something I grew up with. My late father was a smoker until many years later when he stopped smoking. The tobacco smell coming from my father's body or clothes always associated to me the sense of love and protection. No matter how hard life is, it will be okay because my father will there for me. God, how I miss those feelings right now! Nowadays people might condemn cigarettes as silent killer etcetera, but I always have a soft spot for cigarettes, tobacco, and cloves. But enough about me, now about the story itself.

🚬 Tegar, Karim, and Lebas are the offsprings of a wealthy cigarette business owner Soeraja. They are summoned home as their father is dying. Unexpectedly, on his death bed, Soeradja mentions a woman's name they've never heard of, but enrages their mother: Jeng Yah ("Jeng" is a respectable address to a woman, similar to Ma'am). Who is Jeng Yah? And why does their father want to meet her? The brothers decide to solve the mystery and look for the answer by taking a trip to M town, where it all began.

🚬 Parallel with the present line, Ratih Kumala brings us to the past. It all began in the early 1940s when the Dutch was still colonizing Indonesia. A visionary ambitious young man called Idroes Moeris was working as a cigarette roller, but longed to produce and sell his own cigarettes. His time came when the Japanese arrived in 1942 and confiscated Moeria's boss' belongings. Fortunately the boss still keep some cloves and tobacco in stock, which Moeria then bought for his first venture in cigarette industry.

🚬 Soedjagad was Idroes Moeria's colleague, and close competitor, not only in stealing the heart of a pretty girl called Roemaisa - daughter of a scribe - but also in buying the boss's cloves. Roemaisa rejected Soedjagad's proposal because she fell in love with Moeria; and we know who eventually got the cloves. These brought bitterness to Soedjagad, and from then on he was like a thorn in Moeria's flesh, a shadow that shrouded his life.

🚬 Both competitors thrived as two big cigarette industries, but Moeria was always leading with his genius business inventions and good taste in concocting delicious sauce for his clove cigarettes. Soedjagad, meanwhile, was always copying his ideas, but lacked Moeria's secret recipe of the sauce. But it would all change in the hand of their successors.

🚬 Moeria and Roemaisa had two daughters. The elder one is the most beautiful and intelligent. Her name is Dasiyah, but people called her Jeng Yah. The enigmatic Jeng Yah. Dasiyah inherited her father's knack of cigarette making, and was soon entering the industry. How did she meet Soeraja, and what happened then, is an engaging mystery to unfold!

🚬 What I liked most from this book is how Ratih Kumala alternately and proportionally tells the story from the point of view of characters from both the past and present, and was able to connect them so seamlessly, yet we still distinctly perceive the time difference. It is equally amazing how she could explore each character - present and past - beautifully in just under 300 pages.

🚬 I love mostly the portrayals of the three Soeraja brothers. Tegar was made the heir from childhood, but envied his brothers for happily living their childhood, while he was forced to learn about family business. Lebas, the laid-back child, on the contrary, envied Tegar for being with their father all the time, while he and Karim played together alone. And Karim, the calm trustworthy Karim, who later becomes the mediator between the two opposite-pole of his brothers, is satisfied to work for their family business. Lastly I'm satisfied with ending, with the way the three brothers react to the revelation of Jeng Yah and their family secret history.

🚬 On the whole, it is a story about two most important events in Indonesian history: Japanese occupation which led to independence proclamation in 1945, and the 1965 genocide. They are nicely presented through the intricate stories of love and jealousy, ambition and struggles, business intrigues and betrayals, as well as the interesting history of clove cigarettes industry. Cigarette Girl has also been made a Netflix series, currently playing. I haven't had chance to watch it (some people had recommended it), but I'm pretty sure that the book, as usual, would be much better.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

We 🖤 Sibling Stories Week
hosted by Rachel (Hamlette) @ Hamlette's Soliloqui

Operation: Happy by Jenni L. Walsh

Thanks to Zonderkidz-Books and NetGalley for providing me review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

🐕 Happy is a big fluffy sentry dog - a German shepherd-collie-husky mix. And this is a story about an American Naval family. The year is December 1941, the main setting is Pearl Harbour. You know what will happen, but if you imagine this would be a heartwrenching story about dog in WW2, relax, because the author has guaranteed through her opening credit:

For dog lovers everywhere.
(Don't worry, Happy is going to be okay.)

Are we okay? Can I go on, then? 😀

🐕 I have mentioned that Happy is a sentry dog, but when his holder is retired, he has a new owner: a twelve year old girl called Jody. Happy's eyesight is weakening, while she's approaching her golden years. Jody is used to live from place to place, according to where her naval officer father was ordered to go. And amidst all the confusion and unsettling feeling of the ever changing circumstances, Happy is, for Jody, her solid rock, the stability she longs for.

🐕 The book opens with the Zuber family (Dad, Mom, Jody, and her older sister Peggy) and Happy on board a ship towards their new abode in US Naval base at Ford Island, in Honolulu, Hawaii. The fast changing environment causes Jody to feel a little shy and nervous. But she is a resourceful and optimistic girl. To overcome it, she has started a best-of-list for every place she had lived in. Right now she's starting Fort Island list. The list starts sunny and cheerful, but Jody also notices her mother's growing nervousness.

🐕 The first sign that WW2 is touching America is when the siren began to wail. Then air raids and hiding in the bunker became almost a routine, until the Pearl Harbour attack. It was during these terrifying moments that Jody's character shines through. Her father judged her correctly by making Jody the leader of Team Zuber, while he's fighting for the country. Happy is constantly on guard during these attacks, he knows the way to the bunker, and always make sure that his girl, and Pebby, and Mom are save.

Happy doesn't leave my side. He's like a second skin. I don't mind. He's my constant, always there. My number one.

Jody is also starting another list during these moments, trying to have what fun she can amidst the gloomy circumstances.

🐕 After Pearl Harbor attack, Jody, Peggy, and Mom must leave Fort Island, and stay in an apartment in San Fransisco, while Dad is staying behind. While Happy thinks they are finally safe now without air raids and what not, some events unfold before him, that Happy knows he needs still to keep on duty. Mom is having a nervous breakdown, she becomes lethargic, can't do anything, can't make any decision, and sometimes seems to be oblivious of her surroundings. Jody and Peggy are never sure which Mom will they see when they're coming home from school, the Sad Mom or the Old Mom?

🐕 During these moments, Jody takes charge and do in her utmost to ensure they live as normally as possible. The 'attack' on Peggy by a man at their apartment hall, forces Jody to take responsibility as an adult. Can she lead Team Zuber to safety until Dad's return? And what will she do to ensure she's having happy moments with Happy while they still have time?

🐕 I love everything about this book. It's alternately funny and heartwarming, sad and cheerful. Sometimes the story is told from Happy's point of view, and these are my favorite. Happy's eyesight might be weak, but not his nose. He can smell Jody's nervousness - it smells bitter like broccoli - and her smile smells like vanilla. And of course, I love Jody. She's brave and resilient, and I admire her for taking adult responsibility almost without a flinch, and always humble on taking compliments.

🐕 All in all, it's a lovely, heartwarming coming-of-age historical fiction about a dog and his girl's hopeful and courageous journey during one of the darkest moments in history. I read at Jenni Walsh' website that this story was actually inspired by real-life experiences of a young Pearl Harbor survivor. This story also inspired me for creating a bucket list with my eighty-two-year mother, who, like Happy, is having a weakening eyesight. And like what Jody did, to and with, Happy, my mother and I will do things together that will make, her especially, happy, while we still have time!

Rating: 5 / 5

**Operation: Happy will be published on 2nd April 2024.

Max Havelaar by Multatuli

Multatuli is pseudonym of Eduard Douwes Dekker, a Dutch civil servant of The Netherlands during its colonialism in Indonesia (then Dutch Indies) on 19^th century. He was an assistance resident in Lebak (the Bantam residency of Java—now Banten) when he began to see—and growingly disgusted by—the abuses of Dutch colonial system. Dekker began to openly criticize (and later oppose) his government, which ended with his resignation. But far from ending his opposition, Dekker began to publish his writings exposing the scandals he had witnessed. Not having enough exposure with the newspaper and pamphlet, he wrote a satire novel under pseudonym of Multatuli: Max Havelaar: Or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company.

If you think this is a dull historical journal about coffee auctions and colonialism by a boring ex-civil servant, you are wrong! I have thought so in the past—hence have never considered reading it. But when I started reading, I found that Multatuli is really a talented and witty writer. Though implied by the title, this book is NOT about coffee trading; it is a satire about the injustice suffered by Indonesian people because of the colonial policy.

As an Indonesian myself, I was interested in how the colonialism have ever started, and why it took so long before the whole nation started to revolt. It only proved how clever the Dutch was at learning Indonesia’s archipelago and rich culture; to use the isolation of so many islands (with many different languages and cultures) to their advantage. Not only that, the Dutch knew one typical character of Indonesians: humble, obedient, inferior. And with our rich soil, no wonder any superior nation—if not Dutch, others would—could easily take advantage of Indonesia as their slave.

Back to the book, Max Havelaar (fictional character which is clearly representing Dekker) is a newly appointed assistant resident in Lebak. He was young, vigorous, brave, and honest. Soon after being appointed, he found out the practice of the regent (“bupati” in Indonesia) in employing local people or taking their animals by force, without paying, as a pretext to preserve his dignity. Instead of protecting local people to be burdened by these thieving, while they still had to pay taxes, Havelaar’s colleagues seemed to close their eyes of these injustices. They chose to please the regent to gain their support, and in the end to create an “all-is-good” report to the government. Other than that, the local people are also forced to grow coffee and sugar on their land, to be shipped to Europe, instead of growing rice for their food. In the end they became poorer and suffered more. Havelaar protested to Dutch government about these cruel treatments; writing many letters which eventually became a manuscript.

Interestingly, the book is narrated by two different persons with two different ways of thinking. The most dominant is a hypocrite, pompous coffee merchant named Mr. Droogstoppel. Max Havelaar’s manuscript accidentally came to his possession and—thinking that its coffee auction subject would be useful to promote his business—instructed his apprentice, Stern, to rewrite it into a book. Being a romantic young man, Stern, instead of writing about coffee trade issues, decided to take another course, that is Havelaar’s effort to fight the injustice done by Dutch government. It was really funny to read how Droogstoppel was furious and indignant of Stern’s romantic idea, while bragging about his hypocritical views. Finally, near the end, Multatuli took over the pen himself to write his own opinions, and closing it with sharp threats that he was going to expose every dirty detail if the government kept silent.

Max Havelaar might not be a great classic—in fact, if it’s not about my nation, I might have not picked it at first place—but we cannot ignore its big influence in Indonesian revolution in 1945 which ended Dutch colonialism, as well as colonialism at some other nations. It was such that the Indonesian greatest writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer called Max Havelaar as “the book that killed colonialism”.

Ivanhoe

Although the book was titled Ivanhoe, I didn’t think Wilfrid of Ivanhoe is the most distinguished hero in this historical fiction. He was wounded and inaction throughout most of the story, and we only saw his chivalrous battle in the tournament, and then rescuing Rebecca the Jewess. And I disliked his attitude towards Isaac of York and Rebecca, though he was kindhearted enough to help them. Maybe it’s an ordinary sentiment against Jewish people at that time, but if so, what made him deserve the title hero?

I would choose Rebecca instead, she was an extraordinary woman. What she did was beyond any men in this story could do. She was a woman; with every limited source women might have at that time. She was also a Jewish, the cursed and marginalized race. Nonetheless, she was full of love and forgiveness to all who hated her race. What she had to endure was so great; but she was so calm and resilient. I think Rebecca was more Christian than those Christians. She was broad-minded; and always acted for the whole humanity, beyond community, race, or nation.

I read Ivanhoe a month ago—and had just enough time to do a proper review today—so I don’t quite remember the whole plot. It was set in England after King Richard I returned from the Third Crusades, around 12^th century. England was dominated by Norman nobility, and Cedric of Rotherwood was the remaining notable Saxon family; he was ambitious to conquer the Normans, his mortal enemy. So, when he knew that his ward, Wilfrid of Ivanhoe, served King Richard who was Norman, he banished his only son.  The story began when some travelers stayed the night under Cedric’s hospitality. There they were joined by a palmer and a Jewish (Isaac of York). And then on Scott wove their adventures and intrigues; adding some other characters into it, so that their faith intertwined with each other, resulting an enjoyable story with intricate plot—as is usual with Romantic novels.

The appearance of Robin Hood and his “merry men” spiced up a bit the story; while the Templar with their strict rules added interesting side to it. But still, I sensed something is missing; I don’t know what… It felt like connecting several facts and figures into a story than creating one from the scratch.

Anyway, Ivanhoe is still quite an enjoyable piece of Romantic lit, for it is full with combination of chivalric adventures and romances. Though in the end you would ask, like I did, what’s special about Wilfrid Ivanhoe? Can you tell me?

Three and a half stars for Ivanhoe.

~~~~~~~~~

I read Wordsworth Classics paperback

This book is counted for:

6th book for Literary Movement Reading Challenge:Romanticism

1^st book for Reading England 2015: Leicestershire

3rd book for Back to the Classics 2015: A Classicwith a Person's Name in the Title

4th book for Lucky No. 15 Reading Challenge: OneWord Only!

15th book for Historical Challenge 2013-2015

91^st book for The Classics Club Project

The Debacle by Émile Zola

All these times I have been thinking that Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities would be my most favorite historical-war-novel ever. It’s just so memorable; with its famous opening “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times […]” and the pure love showed by Sidney Carton. In term of war, War and Peace was thicker in ‘war nature’ then A Tale, but Tolstoy emphasized too much on war idealism that it became partly too serious. But now I think I have found my new favorite historical-war-novel that exceeded those two: The Debacle.

The Debacle is the only historical novel by Émile Zola; it depicted the Franco-Prussian war (1870-1871), and became the penultimate novel of Rougon-Macquart series. The story began in the middle of the war; the main character is Jean Macquart—a farmer who had been in another war before—but now the Corporal of the 7^th army corps. Another important character is Maurice Levasseur—a young man brought up well and educated—now a soldier under Jean’s command. At first they were indifferent of each other because of their different backgrounds; but in wars, status, education, wealth, everything that distinguishes someone dissolves and replaced by humanity. And so, having struggled together, Jean and Maurice became intimate friends, even closer than blood brother. They were willing to risk their own lives for the sake of the other.

In terms of the war, Zola has painstakingly written a very vivid picture of war as human-killing machine. It was compounded by French army’s bad coordination, incapability of the generals, and the indecision of the Emperor. France has been deluded itself by thinking of repeating the past grandeur of Napoleon. Many people could not realize that the Second Empire was corrupted, and that the Prussians was now much stronger than they have thought. Ironically, it was a civilian gentleman named Weiss (Maurice’s brother-in-law) who first predicted the great defeat of France, but at that time no one listened to him and even thought him a traitor. Moreover, Weiss—with no military background but his local knowledge of the land—could see what the Prussians would do; while none of the military general could read their strategy. It’s more than irony, it’s a stupidity. And what made the tragedy even tragic, was the stupidity of several people that finally destroyed many lives—the soldiers as well as civilians.

Zola explained to us his analysis of the root of the problems in chapter one – part one:

“The Empire grown old, still acclaimed in a plebiscite but basically rotten because it had weakened the idea of patriotism by destroying liberty, and then turning back to liberalism too late and thereby hastening its own undoing because it was ready to collapse as soon as it stopped satisfying the lust for pleasure it had let loose; the army certainly admirable as a brave lot of men, and still wearing the laurels of the Crimea and Italy, but adulterated by the system of paid substitutes, still in the old routine of the Africa school, too cocksure of victory to face the great effort of modern technique; and then the generals, most of them nonentities and eaten up with rivalries and some of them quite-stupefyingly ignorant, and at their head the Emperor, a sick man and vacillating, deceived and self-deceiving, and all facing this terrible adventure into which they were blindly hurling themselves, with no serious preparation, like a stampede of scared sheep being led to the slaughter.”

It was painful to read how the soldiers being maneuvered now here, then there, back and forth, and in poor conditions: fatigue, hungry, and distressed. And this was how I loved Zola’s The Debacle. Because it is not just a historical novel, it’s a living portrayal of a corrupted nation. Not only honest, but it was also painful; the ending especially. Actually it reminded me of Germinal, in the sense of a faint hope in future beneath the ruinous present. Like Etiènne Lantier, Jean Macquart was a simple man, and because of that, he never had the upper/middle class sentiment about French past grandeur. He was perhaps the least afflicted by the idea of beaten by the barbarians of Germany, and that was how he did not end like Maurice.

Zola proved himself as a great writer. The Debacle won’t be as it is if he had not done very thorough researches on the war and on how people reacted over it. And he (as usual) crafted the history and his naturalism theory on Rougon-Macquart in his beautiful, powerful, and intense narration. It instantly became my next favorite, along with Germinal, L’Assommoir, and La Bète Humaine.

Bravo Zola! Five stars for you!

~~~~~~~~~

I read Penguin Classics edition

This book is counted as:

8^th book for 2014 TBR Pile Challenge

76^th book for The Classics Club Project

4^th book for Historical Fiction Challenge (for 2014)

The Last of the Mohicans

Thanks to Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans, I learned for the first time in my life, the French-Indian war which took place in North America in 18^th century. In this war, British America (colony of Great Britain) and New France (colony of France) fought for trades and colonies along the American frontiers. As New France armies were outnumbered, they sought helps from the native Indian tribes.

General Munro and his armies were in Fort William Henry, when Cora and Alice—Munro’s daughters—travelled there in great danger to meet their father. They were escorted by Major Duncan Heyward, a respectable leader in the Royal Army, who was also falling in love with young Alice. As there was a risk of being ambushed by native Indians, or by the French armies who were on the way to take William Henry Fort from Munro, they recruited an Indian guide, Magua—from Huron tribe. On the way they met a white scout, Hawk-Eye, with his Indian companions Chingachgook and his son Uncas, the only survival of once great Mohican tribe. They warned Heyward that a Huron is not trustworthy, and Magua will mislead them. Magua escaped, so then Hawkeye and the Mohicans escorted Heyward and the two ladies, accompanied also by a psalm-singer called David Gamut.

After that, Cooper took us for an exciting adventure through the wild forest, meeting the Indian natives, fought them, and even visited their encampment. All of these, they went through in great danger. Many times Hawkeye and the Mohicans saved them from being scalped, and they even rescued their British friends when the Hurons captured them. Magua wanted to take revenge to Munro by forcing Cora to be his wife. Later on when Munro was forced to surrender the fort, and the armies were on the leave, the Hurons massacred many of them. In the chaos, Magua captured Cora for the second time, together with Alice and David. Now Munro, Heyward, Hawk-Eye, Chingachgook, and Uncas must race against time to rescue them. In the end, it would be a battle between the Delawares (from where the Mohicans came from) and Huron tribe.

The Last of the Mohicans is about the relationship between the whites and the natives, as well as between the native tribes themselves. If we traced down the history—and it was mentioned in the book—the main cause of it all is white people’s colonialism and their bad influences over the natives. Hawk-Eye told Heyward that the Delaware tribes (contained of six nations) were brothers on the beginning, until the Dutch traders landed on 1609, and introduced them to alcoholic drinks. The ‘poison’ brought to separation and disunity. And, like all colonialism and greediness of the conquerors, the natives who owned the land were expelled from their territory, to make place for the colonialists. Later on (not in this novel, though), the American even deliberately brought the Indians into destruction by their continual genocides act (American Indian Holocaust).

However, among the hatred and battles, sweet relationship could spring of the natives and the whites. The bond between Hawk-Eye and both Chingachgook and Uncas was very close; even closer, perhaps, than blood brothers. Although implicitly, we can also see that Uncas and Cora were attracted to each other. *spoiler alert* Interestingly, though, Cooper killed both youth before they even expressed their love to each other. Maybe Cooper just thought that their love was too impossible? *spoiler end*

I loved this book, although Cooper is rather spendthrift with words—like Mark Twain said (Twain re-write The Last of the Mohicans, and found that Cooper has ‘used 100 extra and unnecessary words in the original version’). I enjoyed the fast-paced adventure, the thrill of the Indian’s whoop which precede battles, and the funny moments when Hawk-Eye disguised as bear; but especially I loved to follow the calm and dignified attitude of Uncas and his father in any condition.

I am always sad everytime I read about Indian vs white people; because it reminds me how evil and egoist men are towards their brothers. How ironical it is, that they who profess to be Christian, could act so very unchristian, while the natives are much Christian than them. This book also reminds me that colonialism will always exist—in different shape maybe—but it will always be there, as long as the stronger keep oppressing the weaker; just like what Tamenund said in the ending: “The palefaces are masters of the earth, and the time of the Red Men has not yet come again.”

Five stars for The Last of the Mohicans!

~~~~~~~~~~

I read the Penguin Popular Classics paperback edition

This book is counted as:

4^th book for Back To The Classics 2014 (A Wartime Classic)

^70th book for 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

2^nd book for Historical Fiction Challenge (for 2014)

71^st book for The Classics Club Project

Coriolanus

After delving into plays for a year last year, I thought another Shakespeare would have been enough for me this year. However, this particular play has interested me since my last year plays event: Coriolanus, so when The Classics Club announced January to be Shakespeare theme of our Twelve Month of Classics Literature, I instantly decided to give it a try. Historical-tragedy has been my most successful theme of Shakespeare, and although Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra are much more famous, Coriolanus turns out to be another gem from the Bard!

The play depicted a Roman general named Caius Marcius, who lived in around 5^th century BC. While he was fighting against the Volscians in Corioli, the plebeian were lamenting about grain price which was at that time controlled by the senate. They put the blame on Marcius, and hated him for that. Things were getting worse because Marcius faced the plebeian in an openly contemptuous manner.

While he was not good in social life, Marcius was highly successful in his military campaigns. He won the Volscian battle very bravely, where Cominius—his commander—gave him the name of Coriolanus: the conqueror of Corioli. With the win, he also won Senate’s respect and appreciation, and they supported him to run for consul. However the tribunes: Sicinius and Brutus provoked the citizens to oppose it. Being under-pressured, Coriolanus was enraged and insulted the people. He was banished from Rome, and finally decided to join his enemy, Tullus Aufidius of the Volscians, to retaliate against his own country.

Coriolanus is a typical portrait of the patrician-plebeian conflict, which is still relevant in any country in any era. I read in Sparknotes analysis, that Shakespeare may have gotten the inspiration for the plot from the actual conflict between King James and the Parliament in England’s early 17^th century, the time when Shakespeare wrote this play.

Coriolanus was perhaps a great military commander, but he was far from a good state leader (consul); he even had contempt for plebeian or the common people. So I think this is not a pure tragedy, because it was Coriolanus himself who made the circumstances against him. His fall was caused by his pride and ambition; he failed to gain people’s respect, and he was blinded by his ambition for revenge that he could not detect Aufidius’ betrayal.

The play is very engaging; the plot is flowing nicely, the stage arrangement is very good and helps us to learn the actual situations. The war is very lively, but most of all, the speeches are very strong! Although a secondary character, Volumnia—Coriolanus’ mother—is an influential figure in Coriolanus’ decisions. Her speeches are so noble, touching and inspiring. Even Coriolanus was very moved by his mother’s speech, that he changed his mind about destroying Rome. His anger was replaced by tears under her mother’s words.

This time Shakespeare is succeeded in controlling my emotion to the play’s climax, and I finally found a new favorite play. Five stars for Coriolanus!

  ~~~~~~~~~

I read e-book from Feedbooks.com

This book is counted as:

Twelve Months of Classics Literature project: Shakespeare in January

66^th book for The Classics Club Project

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

“People always think that happiness is a faraway thing, something complicated and hard to get. Yet, what little things can make it up; a place of shelter when it rains - a cup of strong hot coffee when you're blue; for a man, a cigarette for contentment; a book to read when you're alone - just to be with someone you love. Those things make happiness.” 

And that is what this quite-a-chunkster book speaks about. The main idea is rather cliché; that happiness is a universal feeling; that every human being can feel it if they choose to; that happiness is about the way of viewing things around you; that happiness can be fight for. Betty Smith teaches us to live a happy life through her own experiences, which she wove into this book: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

A tree—a very strong tree indeed—grew alone in the building’s yard where the Nolans lives in poverty in Brooklyn. However, despite of the lack of means with which trees should have had to grow—it has even been felled once—it managed to survive and kept growing, while the others died. So it is in life, there’s always one kind of human race who could not easily be destroyed by hardship or poverty; these rarely human beings kept growing amidst the very limited chance. Francie Nolan is one of these kinds.

This book actually tells the lives and struggles of three generations of the Rommely’s women. It started from Mary Rommely—the grandmother—who immigrated to America with her useless but abusive husband. She couldn’t read not write in English but insisted that her children must be better than her. She also taught her daughters to save every penny they can save, and to use it to buy their own land. Mary practiced it herself, worked hard all her life, but she died poorly still.

Now Katie Rommely seemed to follow her mother’s step by marrying a useless but charming man: Johnny Nolan. Although she could at least read in English, she was nevertheless uneducated, again, because of the poverty. However, following her mother’s advice, she and Johnny worked hard to give highest education possible to their children: Neely and Francie Nolan. Now here is the resemblance of Francie and the strong-built Tree of Heaven. Throughout the story, you would be taken to witness how Francie strove from the poverty, the loneliness of being unique, and the strong need of love.

In many ordinary people, they would not make it better than the others, but Francie had her own way of going through all the hard times. She knows how to see the beauty of everything, and so she could always make herself happy. She could adapt to whatever there is around her. For instance, she knew her mother loved Neely more than her; it was a bitter fact for a child, yet she could endure it and still, at least, gave her mother a proper love and respect. In a way, her ‘dreamy’ father had a contribution to Francie’s imagination quality, and fortunately, she also inherited her mother’s toughness and practical way of living. With all these, Francie became the first of the Rommelys who could go to college and had a decent career.

In fact, there is nothing very special in this book. The story is flat and slow, there is no twist or complex conflict. It is just about uninteresting life of a family. But from their struggles, their mistakes, and their imperfectness, we can learn a lot of things. We can learn that being poor doesn’t mean we can’t have dignity. And the most important lesson I got from this book is that happiness is not about what we have, but how we see everything we have. With that, there is no reason why we cannot all be happy, in the end it’s just about the way of thinking, anyway. Be always grateful for whatever you have!

Four stars for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, it’s a kind of book you must chew slowly to get its best.

~~~~~~~~

*I read Indonesian translation edition from Gramedia Pustaka Utama*

*This book is counted as:*

9^th book for Historical Fiction Challenge 2013 -2015

11^th book for New Authors Reading Challenge 2013

7^th book for Read Big! Reading Challenge

58^th book for The Classics Club Project

Kidnapped

Right after reading few chapters of Kidnapped, I instantly saw the similarity with Treasure Island. The strange thing is, I totally forgot at that time that Treasure Island is also Robert Louis Stevenson’s adventure story! No wonder that those two are so alike, although Kidnapped is much more than just an adventure story.

David Balfour is a seventeen year Scottish lad that has just become an orphan. It was at 1751, when Scotland suffered from the dispute between the Lowlander and Highlander (Jacobites). His dead father left him a letter and instruction to be brought to the house of Shaws, who appeared to be David’s uncle. Imagining that he was having a situation there, Ebenezer Balfour treated him badly; he tried to murder him but failed; then he conspired with a captain of a brig to kidnap David and sell him as a slave. All was done so that David could never touch his inheritance.

David was a prisoner on board of Covenant, a brig of the villain Captain Hoseason and his gang. He saw the injustice and even a murder done by them. Fortunately, another ship wrecked, and a survived gentleman was taken into Covenant. The gentleman was a Highlander and enemy of the Campbell (King’s agent), called Alan Breck Stewart. Having overheard the Captain and the crew’s plan to murder Alan, David made an alliance with Alan to fight them back. Unfortunately the ship wrecked, and David, separated from others, was washed ashore in the inhabited isle of Earraid, where he cast away for several months, but then managed to return to the land.

Reunited with Alan, David accidentally witnessed the murder of Colin Roy Campbell, and wrongly accused. So now, Alan and David, having come from different clan (David is a Lowlander) were now in the same ‘ship’. Through difficulties and dangers they both fled. And through this journey and adventure, an intimate bound of friendship was built upon David and Alan. The question is, how would it end, considering that they were supposed to be enemies?

One most interesting aspect of this adventure story is the historical setting and facts. Many of the characters (especially those involved in the dispute of Lowlander and Highlander) were really exist in the history of Scotland, including Alan Breck himself. Through David’s eyes, Stevenson brought us to witness and learn one of Scottish histories during the Jacobite rising. Another strong point that makes Kidnapped not an ordinary adventure story, is the Scottish atmosphere that we’d find throughout the story. I was having difficulties of understanding many Scottish idioms and dialect in the first chapters, but along the way, I began to be familiar with it, and I think, overall, the Scottish nuance has added a unique value to this book.

One thing (and an important one, at least for me) that didn’t fit my expectation is the ending. Adventure stories, just like mysteries, used to have a conclusive ending. Anyway, adventures’ pace is set such that it will reach climax at the end, and that—I believe—is the chief point of writing an adventure story. Unfortunately, Stevenson did not provide that conclusive ending for Kidnapped. I read elsewhere that there are two possibilities: 1) Perhaps Stevenson was worried that his ending might contradict the history; or: 2) Kidnapped was planned to be followed by a sequel; and thus the hanging ending was applied to curious the readers.

Whatever the real reason, the ending is so dissatisfying and so abrupt that at first I was suspicious that my ebook was corrupted or something. Well, it was clearly what Stevenson has put is the real ending, and it forced me to take back a half star from the rating I originally gave this book. Three and a half stars finally, for Kidnapped, and I really wish it has a better ending!....

~~~~~~~~

*I read ebook version from Gutenberg Project*

*This book is counted as:*

4^th book for Fun Year Event With Children Literature

7^th book for Historical Fiction Challenge 2013

7^th book for Back to the Classics 2013

54^th book for The Classics Club Project