[Review - Buku] Critical Eleven by Ika Natassa
1:39 AMFIRST BOOK REVIEW IN 2K15. YEEAAAAYYYY!
Feels kinda sad actually, when I checked my goodreads, and the whole 2015, I only read 2 books until now. TWO! What the hell did I do with my life?! And books that are on 'currently reading' categories are like 3 or 4. I remember I didn't put like 2 other title of books, but I will not read it anyway, cause I read like 10 or 20 minutes of it, and bored already. Yeah dammit.
Anyway, also kinda sad cause I didn't come here earlier, not even for my birthday. I remember last year I came here the very first day after my birthday, in the middle of the night from a super hectic day, with presidential election and stuff, and I still have time for my blog, writing couple of goals and stuff. But this year? It's been a month and 6 days today, and I still have no time time to write another life goal and birthday or life update related thingy. Sad.
But I'm not here for that. I'm here to review a book.
Dalam dunia penerbangan, dikenal istilah critical eleven, sebelas menit paling kritis di dalam pesawat—tiga menit setelah take off dan delapan menit sebelum landing—karena secara statistik delapan puluh persen kecelakaan pesawat umumnya terjadi dalam rentang waktu sebelas menit itu. It's when the aircraft is most vulnerable to any danger.
In a way, it's kinda the same with meeting people. Tiga menit pertama kritis sifatnya karena saat itulah kesan pertama terbentuk, lalu ada delapan menit sebelum berpisah—delapan menit ketika senyum, tindak tanduk, dan ekspresi wajah orang tersebut jelas bercerita apakah itu akan jadi awal sesuatu ataukah justru menjadi perpisahan.
Ale dan Anya pertama kali bertemu dalam penerbangan Jakarta-Sydney. Tiga menit pertama Anya terpikat, tujuh jam berikutnya mereka duduk bersebelahan dan saling mengenal lewat percakapan serta tawa, dan delapan menit sebelum berpisah Ale yakin dia menginginkan Anya.
Kini, lima tahun setelah perkenalan itu, Ale dan Anya dihadapkan pada satu tragedi besar yang membuat mereka mempertanyakan pilihan-pilihan yang mereka ambil, termasuk keputusan pada sebelas menit paling penting dalam pertemuan pertama mereka.
Diceritakan bergantian dari sudut pandang Ale dan Anya, setiap babnya merupakan kepingan puzzle yang membuat kita jatuh cinta atau benci kepada karakter-karakternya, atau justru keduanya.
Just
like what I wrote on my goodreads review, to be completely honest, I’m not
really fans of her work. I never, even read her book, any of it. Well, unless
read like the first 34 preview pages of Divortiare, or like 10 pages of
Antalogi Rasa, can be counted as read her books. But, since my office will do a
project with her book, and yes, her book gonna be a screenplay and will be on
cinema, I think I should just give it a shot. Not that I don’t get asked about her like since I saw the agreement for the
very first time, well that’s another story. But I mean, couple of people around
me read her books, and I just well, let say I reach the ‘curious’ point.
Besides, I read the short story version in the book of stories along with Ilana
Tan’s and AliaZalea’s (both are my faves btw), I just decided to buy this book
and not the others, tho I don’t know her books, just some title.
Okay,
enough about the opening. Damn, I wrote quite long, while actually, that was
one of the minus point from this book, from my perception. I don’t really like
opening, and I’ll assure you, you’ll find it like in every chapter. Openings or
paragraph that not really important to be there – again, for me – because I
mean, it’s like just a small talk. Like that ‘aku pernah baca’ line here and
there, which ended up as paragraph about things or information like brain and
how it works, some quotes and thing, things like what happen with people in
Jakarta thingy, that maybe quite good for a line or two, but become a lil bit
too much after all.
And
it is totally not the author’s fault, but as soon as I read about the problem
of the story, which is the death of the baby, somehow i assumed that the ending
will be with another baby, that Anya will be pregnant, and problem solved. Just
that moment, I automatically thought bout it.
Tho I might think too far cause i was thinking like the baby will be
twins and it will erase – just a lil bit – the pain they’ve suffered this whole
time, and like they believe the twins be like having Aidan and also his sibling,
and so on and so on. Meanwhile in the end, it just ended there, Anya found out
she’s pregnant, done. And when I started getting the ‘cold war’ event with no
one talk here and there, I assume the only way to make it work will be someone
got and accident and should be brought to the hospital. And again, my
prediction was right. And again, it’s not the author’s fault. Not at all. I
kinda use the same thing in some of my script. It just, I realize how cliché
story can be. Damn, I hate to admit it. It started sounded like Sinetron with a
lot of ‘accidental event’.
Anywaaaaay,
I’m the type of reader who like to see if the story fit, the timeline works,
and things like that. Those 5 weeks here 5 weeks there, 31 days at home, and
things like that, make me automatically counting the days, and also do the math
here and there. Like when Ale start stating series of event in his life with
number. I remember chapter 25 Ale said that it was 28 days since they had sex
last time and yeah well, say that it works that well. When, as I predicted,
Anya knew she’s pregnant, I start counting the days, and kinda confuse a
little, like usually your period late a week or two, and that doesn’t mean a
woman is pregnant. And tho it’s kinda confusing with flashback stories and jump
backward plot here and there, I think it might be around 30-ish day after that
day and she can tell she’s pregnant? Maybe I watch movie too much, with the
information bout pregnancy can be detected like 2 months after, or like usually
they know someone is pregnant like when it’s like around 2 months already or
stuff. Well, me and my stupid calculation stuff. Also not the author’s fault,
but yeah, I believe she consulted with the expert already, considering all
those people on thank you note.
It
just bothers me. Kinda.
But
well anyway, it’s not like this book not good. Considering my lack of reading
activity latety – I even finished the Ilana Tan’s Blue Moon like in couple
months, can you believe it?! – I can say this book is good. Damn, it’s good. My
expectation was kinda low, no kidding. After read couple of pages of
twivortiare, which consist some of tweets-type here and there, and also some
comments and review on goordeads for some of her books – with all those too
much money girl Keara and how quite a lot of people not like it – you can’t
blame me if I don’t really put high expectation on it. But again, damn, it was
that good.
I
really don’t expect this book to teach you things like family, but all those
Ale-and-his-dad moment sure will teach you some. I kinda can relate to them cause my dad also a
difficult man who never say sorry, and all those thing you can expected from
Bapak-Bapak-Batak-macam-preman like he is. And I also the first child in the
family, and expected to be good, like always. And some of the dad-and-son
moment are soooo good it makes me cry, from just tears to sobbing hard. Other
thing that is great is the grieving. It was kinda confusing about how a word
can be that hurt at first, like I mean, it was just a line yes. But, the author
surely can deliver the message of grieving mom who was suffering and hurt.
Well, watch Grey’s Anatomy around finale episode when Derek’s death and you’ll
get it.
I like the grieving and hate it at the same time. I cried and bawling my eyes out when Anya dreamed about Aidan being 3 years old – also have that ‘senyum senyum najis’ when Ale being cute and stubborn at the same time – and somehow I can feel how a mother can be so sad at that time. Well, apparently a scene of Forever when a mom just deliver her baby and one of the relative hand her baby to her, and the tears are just,... you know. But, I also hate it cause the grieving become a lil be overused that the feeling of grief is no longer there.
I like the grieving and hate it at the same time. I cried and bawling my eyes out when Anya dreamed about Aidan being 3 years old – also have that ‘senyum senyum najis’ when Ale being cute and stubborn at the same time – and somehow I can feel how a mother can be so sad at that time. Well, apparently a scene of Forever when a mom just deliver her baby and one of the relative hand her baby to her, and the tears are just,... you know. But, I also hate it cause the grieving become a lil be overused that the feeling of grief is no longer there.
After all, sincce I can finished this book like in couple
of hours only, and def less than a day, with all ‘in train’ ‘in bus’ ‘eating’
and other activities I did, I will give this book a 4,4 out of 5 rate.
kisses xx
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