Title: Jakarta Sebelum Pagi
Author: Ziggy Zezsyazeoviennazabrizkie
Publisher: Grasindo
2nd Printing
February 2017
272 pages
"Buat gue, percintaan itu mirip fisika, atau matematika. Kalau dibimbing dengan guru yang tepat, gue paham dan bisa menyelesaikan semua soal. Gue selalu remedial bukan karena nggak ngerti, it's just not something that I am good at alone."
How I miss reviewing a good book. Well...I read several books already but it seems so hard to find the right time to absorb the story and post it here. It must be due to the burden of works, the traffic, the old age, the rain in June (yep...remind me of that epic poem of Hujan Bulan Juni) and bits of this and that to blame.
One day I visited a bookshop and planned to get a 'light' yet entertaining book. Found this blue book and read the yellow sticker at the cover that said, KARYA FIKSI TERBAIK INDONESIA 2014 VERSI MAJALAH ROLLING STONE. I checked the synopsis at the back cover of the book and brought it directly to the cashier without any second thoughts.
This book is SUPERB. Full of smart yet crazy dialogue. The narration, the characters, the setting and all are absurd. I repeat again a TOTAL ABSURD. I couldn't stop laughing while reading it. Full of cekikikan. It's been a while I have never found an Indonesian book as entertaining as this one. Kudos to Ziggy. Awesome work!!!
Curious already? The story itself is about a girl name Emina, she's kind of a weirdo. Lives all alone in her apartment which was inherited from her dead parents. She works as an ordinary employee. She still has unique grandparents who live in a nursing home whom she visit frequently. Despite her mundane life, out of the blue, Emina finds a mysterious flowers package in her apartment balcony. The flowers --roses, blue hyacinth, and jasmine-- are sent by a silver balloon to her apartment balcony without any message or the name of the sender. Emina thinks that a stalker is out there watching her.
When she finally decides to investigate the stalker, it leads her to a mysterious-little-girl in the flower shop, a silent apartment room, and a piles of love letters which tell about the vintage buildings in Jakarta.
See, the theme is quite engaging. Not only that, you will also easily fall in love with the characters and their conversations. Creative and funny. Lots of good quotes are everywhere spreading in many parts of the book.
Hidup lebih sederhana ketika otak cuma sekadar bagian dari menu makanan Padang.
