I have read many books written by Nh. Dini. But my favorite is Cerita Kenangan series since it is Nh. Dini's memoir. I always love reading memoir. There is always a lesson there. From her childhood as written in Sebuah Lorong di Kotaku (1986), her experience as a stewardess in Kemayoran (2000), her marriage with a France diplomat and her experience when living in Japan in Jepun Negerinya Hiroko (2002), finally she had a divorce and went back to Indonesia in Argenteuil, Hidup Memisahkan Diri (2008). Pondok Baca is the 12th book from the series, just published by Gramedia on February 2011.
This time Dini tells about her life after returning back to her hometown, Semarang. She started to rearrange her life. At first she stayed at her parents' home and began her Pondok Baca for the kids and teens in the neighborhood. But since her older sister also lives there with her hubby and kids, it seemed that Dini didnot get along well with them. She needed to find a new place to live and also a place for Pondok Baca. With helps from her best friends finally she could get a nice place to live. Unfortunately due to natural disasters, she needed to move 3 times from her homes, until finally she could have her permanent home.
As usual Nh. Dini always writes her story in a slow way. She tells everything in detail. You need patience to finish it. But reading her memoir gives a great lesson of life. I follow her life since she was a little child in a small village, she finally moved to Jakarta and became stewardess, she got married to a France diplomat, having 2 kids and they lived in many countries within 20 years, from Japan, France, USA and many more. After getting divorce, she went back to Indonesia all alone, her adult daughter lives in Canada while her son lives in France. What a long and hard life she has.
Nh. Dini lives her life only by writing. She couldn't depend her life on royalty from her books since the royalty amount is less than tax that she had to pay. No wonder she finally finds difficulties in affording her life and supporting Pondok Baca. Moreover she suffered from serious illnesses. Government also seem not having enough attention to the senior authors. Luckily she has many friends who care about her.
Therefore she finally asks money for every interview, every workshop she attended, every paper she made, etc. In a short time the news about Nh. Dini always asks for money spread among journalists. She admitted it. She isn't ashamed about it. She said that she just wanted to be appreciated. Since 2006 she lives in Wisma Lansia near Ungaran Mount, 30 kilometers from Semarang.
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