A Very Yuppy Wedding - Ika Natassa

Sinopsis

The life of a business banker is 24/7, dan bagi Andrea, banker muda yang tengah meniti tangga karier di salah satu bank terbesar di Indonesia, rasanya ada 8 hari dalam seminggu. Power lunch, designer suit, golf di Bintan, dinner dengan nasabah, kunjungan ke proyek debitur, sampai tumpukan analisis feasibility calon nasabah, she eats them all. Namun di usianya yang meninjak 29 tahun, Andrea mungkin harus mengubah prioritasnya, karena sekarang ada Adjie, the most eligible bachelor in banking yang akan segera menikahinya. So she should be smiling, right?

Not really. Tidak di saat ia harus memilih antara jabatan baru dan pernikahan, menghadapi wedding planner yang demanding, calon mertua yang perfeksionis, target bank yang mencekik, dan ancaman denda 500 juta jika ia melanggar kontrak kerjanya. Dan tidak ada Manolo Blahnik atau Zara atau Braun Buffel yang bisa memaksanya tersenyum di saat ia mulai mempertanyakan apakah semua pengorbanan karier yang telah ia berikan untuk Adjie tidak sia-sia, ketika ia menghadapi kenyataan bahwa tunangan sempurnanya mungkin berselingkuh dengan rekan kerjanya sendiri.

Welcome to the world of Andrea Siregar, the woman with the most rational job on the planet as she is making the most irrational decisions in her own personal life.

Do I love this book?

Hell yes! Hahaha, sebenarnya saya udah baca buku ini sejak beberapa tahun yang lalu, bersamaan dengan saya membaca Divortiare, buku karangan novelis yang sama. Makanya waktu Ulang Tahun GPU kemaren, dan box set-nya Ika Natassa dijual dengan diskon 40%, saya nggak mau ketinggalan dong buat beli, hehehe..

Alasan pertama kenapa saya suka buku ini karena tokoh utamanya banker! Dangkal? Yes. Hehe, pekerjaan Andrea sebagai relationship manager (baca: tukang kredit) salah satu bank di Indonesia benar-benar membuat saya bisa memahami segala keribetan dia dalam mengelola debitur, walaupun segmen dia korporasi sementara saya usaha kecil, tapi so far job desc-nya sama lah, jadi sering banget tuh saya lagi baca satu halaman dan bilang, "Iya, bener gila.. itu gue banget.", "Emang tuh debitur banyak maunya.." "Bos reseeek.." :))))) Dan nggak bisa nikah sama temen sekantor? Beuh. (not that I'm intrigued ya, I've already married with temen sekantor yang dulu, hahaha..)

Setiap novel Ika Natassa punya satu ciri khas yang sangat menonjol. Tokoh cowok yang bikin kita jatuh cinta setengah mati sama dia. Cakep, perhatian, rajin salat, karir bagus. Dan tanpa sadar, itu bikin kita (baca: cewek-cewek pembaca yang manis dan budiman) root for him. Dan ngenye-ngenyein tokoh ceweknya. Sekarang siapa sih yang nggak kesel, udah dikasi calon suami yang perfect-nya alaihim gambreng, si Andrea masih bikin segalanya jadi complicated, nuduh Adjie selingkuh, sok-sokan demi kerjaan boong sama calon suaminya beberapa minggu sebelum mereka nikah. Duh, big big mistakes.

Tapi segala konflik dan drama itu emang dibutuhkan dalam suatu novel kan, biar kita gregetan dan pingin nyekek si Andreanya? :)) Nggak ding, walaupun kadang dialog yang disajikan berlebihan (menurut saya), karakter yang ditampilkan juga terlalu berlebihan sih, irritating much, dan (serasa) bikin perkawinan itu hal yang tidak menyenangkan (it needs hard work indeed, tapi si Andrea ini sebenarnya cinta nggak sih sama Adjie sampe pengorbanan dikit aja nggak bisa dilakukan, grrr..), tapi mungkin itu biar emosinya bisa ketangkap kali ya. Trus emang ada ya karakter yang flawless kayak Adjie gitu? Terus scene terakhir yang fast forward membuat saya "Eh, udah nih, segitu aja? Baekan ni jadinya?". Ada blank page aja rasanya.

Over all, I'm enjoying this book like I'm enjoying all chicklits I've ever read, buktinya baca buku ini sekali jalan beres. Buat analis kredit slash relationship manager semua bank di Indonesia, coba deh baca buku ini! :D

PS. I know for sure, Adjie is supposed to be Jawa tulen, but why oh why I keep thinking of Aiden Mathis while reading about him?

AMBA by Laksmi Pamuntjak

I had no idea about this novel, tapi setiap kali ke toko buku, suami selalu tertarik liat novel ini, terus, terus dan terus, sampai akhirnya suatu hari dia pulang bawa novel ini. Nggak aneh juga sih kalo misalnya dia tertarik sama novel ini, karena pada dasarnya suami saya itu adalah pencinta kisah Mahabharata. Di dalam kisah Mahabharata sendiri, Amba merupakan seorang putri Raja yang jatuh cinta dengan Raja bernama Salwa. Salwa yang awalnya akan menikahi Amba, dikalahkan Bhisma dalam satu sayembara, dimana Bhisma sendiri sedang mencarikan istri untuk adiknya, Wicitrawirya, Raja Astinapura. Amba pada akhirnya tidak menikah dengan siapapun karena dia ditolak oleh Salwa, dan Bhisma pun tidak mau menikahinya karena sudah berjanji akan hidup selibat, sedangkan Wicitrawirya akhirnya menikahi adik kembar Amba, Ambika dan Ambilika. Amba pun mati secara tidak sengaja oleh pedang Bhisma dan mengalami reinkarnasi menjadi Srikandi yang pada akhirnya nanti akan membunuh Bhisma dalam perang Baratayudha.

Tragis ya?

Suami saya menggemari cerita Mahabharata, sehingga dia penasaran apa hubungannya cerita tersebut dengan Amba-nya Laksmi Pamuntjak ini? Apalagi tokoh-tokoh yang ada di novelnya ini serupa dengan yang ada di Mahabharata. Ternyata setelah saya baca (akhirnya saya duluan pula yang menyelesaikan novel ini).,ceritanya berbeda dengan yang ada di Mahabharata, tapi tidak kalah menarik!

Sinopsis

Amba, seorang anak guru di Kadipura, Jawa Tengah. Memiliki dua adik kembar bernama Ambika dan Ambilika. Ayahnya gemar membaca kitab-kitab Jawa, salah satunya adalah Serat Centhini. Pada tahun 1960-an, Amba termasuk gadis yang berpikiran modern pada zamannya. Kuliah, meniti karir, dan tidak terburu-buru menikah walaupun orang tuanya sudah kesengsem untuk memiliki menantu sebaik Salwa.

Akan tetapi ketika Amba harus menjalani hubungan jarak jauh dengan Salwa, apa yang terjadi ketika dia bertemu dengan dokter muda lulusan Universitas Leipzig, Bhisma Rashad? Akankah kisah mereka bertautan seperti kisah dalam Mahabharata? Bagaimana dengan nasib Salwa?

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Kisah Amba ini diceritakan dengan setting waktu yang beraneka ragam, masa kini, masa kecil Amba, dan masa dewasanya yang dihabiskan pada tahun 1965, ketika gejolak komunis sedang bangkit di negeri ini. Walaupun pada dasarnya cerita ini adalah cerita cinta, bisa dibilang cinta segitiga, akan tetapi penceritaan yang baik tentang latar belakang sejarah yang terjadi pada saat itu, seperti G30S, membuat buku ini semakin menarik. Dari awal buku, kisah diambil dari masa kini, ketika Amba tiba di Pulau Buru, mencari keberadaan Bhisma yang katanya terakhir kali berada di pulau itu. Awal buku sudah berhasil membuat saya penasaran dengan nasib Bhisma, apa yang terjadi dengan Amba dan Bhisma, dan mengapa Bhisma tidak kembali ke Pulau Jawa ketika masa tahanan di Pulau Buru berakhir.

Menurut saya premise ceritanya cukup sering ditemukan, kisah cinta, cinta setiga, cinta terlarang, dengan latar belakang politik, ekonomi dan sosial budaya. Yang membuat buku ini menjadi berbeda adalah gaya bahasa Laksmi Pamuntjak yang menurut saya sangat indah dan misterius. Selain itu, Laksmi berhasil menyisipkan peristiwa-peristiwa penting, hasil riset, yang betul-betul terjadi pada jaman tersebut. Setting waktu pun dibuat maju mundur, antara flashback dan flash forward, sehingga pembaca dibuat penasaran, apalagi sudut pandang yang dipakai pun diambil dari beberapa orang. Selain itu, Laksmi menurut saya sangat berhasil menggambarkan Pulau Buru dengan sangat personal, sehingga kita tahu, tidak ada yang berubah dengan pulau itu walaupun berpuluh tahun telah lewat sejak dijadikan kamp tahanan para tahanan politik. Hubungan Amba dengan keluarganya juga merupakan salah satu back story yang menarik, dimana setiap tokoh keluarganya memiliki karakter yang unik, bapaknya yang pencinta kitab Jawa, ibu Amba yang patuh kepada suami namun diam-diam memiliki kenangan masa lalu yang sampai saat ini membayangi, dan adik kembar Amba, Ambika yang lincah dan pencinta pria, dan Ambilika yang pendiam.

Akhir cerita, kita pun bisa tahu apa yang terjadi dengan Bhisma, dengan Amba yang tidak pernah berhenti mencintainya, siapa tokoh Srikandi yang tiba-tiba muncul di akhir buku, dan bagaimana akhir yang bahagia terjadi wakaupun tidak secara semestinya. Saya sangat setuju dengan tulisan ini, "Laksmi menampilkan sejarah Indonesia yang bengis, tetapi justru dengan manusia-manusia yang mencintai."

Amba. 4 of 5 stars. 

Antologi Rasa by Ika Natassa

Disclaimer

I felt very woman when I read this book, so this review maybe had very woman-vibe in it. Try to read it from perspective of a woman.

I've read this book for a while, forgot about that, and re-read it yesterday night, while accompanied by some mellow songs. Suits the book very well. Probably you'll sob out loud, so never, never try to do both things (read the book and listen those kind of broken heart music) while you're sad. Or broken heart of course.

I saw a new cover, did they really change its cover? But I prefer this one actually.

Summary

Three best friends. A Question. What if in the person that you love, you find a best friend instead of a lover?

Keara

We're both just people who worry about the breaths we take, not how we breathe.

How can we be so different and feel so much alike, Rul?

And tonight, three years after the night that made me fall in love with you, my dear, and here I lay staring at the stars in the Singapore sky, and I still love you. And you may never know.

Ruly

What I'm not telling you Keara, until now, the only moment I could be happier and relieved is when someday I enter the hospital room and Denise is holding our new baby she gave birth. What I am not telling you is a feeling of warmth I felt in the chest when the nurse woke me up at dawn and said, "Sir, your wife was conscious," and that I was not even having slightest intention of correcting the statement. Dream on, Rul.

Harris

Happiness in my version: see you laughing. In your version: Maybe I'll never know. Because every time I try to do sweet things that I do with other women throughout history who never fails to make them falling for me, all I heard for you is, "Harris darling, please, keep your sweet things. Go back being the chauvinistic jerk that I love. "

That's probably as close as I can get to hearing that she loves me.

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This story is written from everyone's perspective, but I love Keara's most. She's typical urban working woman, working as an account officer in an international bank, thinking that her job is something that helps her to get those Kate Spades for her closet, and something she does between the weekend. Love photography. She loves her best friend, Ruly. Too bad, Ruly is in love with their best friend, Denise. And Harris, who also happen to be their best friend too, falls into Keara.

Typical love square story huh?

But, it's not.

From the very beginning, Ika Natassa has already brought me into her world. She told romantically how airport means for everyone, what travel should teach you about. She is a romantic story-teller. I love how Keara (yes, my favorite character) being told to have such as photographic memory, when she's able to remember all the details from everything she love, the first time she felt in love with photography, first time she met Ruly, what clothes he wear exactly, and their first conversation who made her fall'n love with him. Keara, while she has similar and not very similar background with me (I also happen to be a banker, but I am not a bitch like her, of course!), with her charm and tempting figure, turns out to be like every ordinary girl who is falling in love. Remember when you feel that everywhere you go, when you close your eyes, and you'll see only him? And every time you listen a song, you'll think it's about you and him. Ika perfectly creates an universe when we feels we are Keara. Hopelessly want that every thing would be fall perfectly into places we want.

Love every details Ika put at Keara's travel, F1 show in Singapore, business trip to Bali, getaway with Ruli in Ubud, John Meyer's concert in Manila. I feel like Ika is really putting herself in Keara's shoes, since I was reading somewhere that she loves traveling and photography too. Keara's life style is too metropolis for me, but I still be able to enjoy it as well.

I thought, people will be torn into two team, good guy Ruly, and bad boy, Harris. As much as I love bad boy, but Ruly takes special position in my heart, because from the beginning, he was the one who always closed himself, an introvert one, so we had no idea about his feeling. I know he has special feeling for Denise, but I can't resist from all magical moment which happened between him and Keara. As a hopelessly romantic person, I really want a happy ending though. For everyone.

Meanwhile, Harris, has his own persona. Of course, he's a jerk, and I don't like what he did to Keara at the early chapter, but step by step, he proves that he's a good friend. And he deserves Keara.

So in the end, the maturity will bring everyone into a decision. It maybe not a happy ending, but surely it's the best for everyone. And the best ending is who gives you an open probability to keep the future changing to follow its nature. Find happiness.

PS. I created a playlist to company me reading this book, because Ika inserted many songs inside her book, so it's really appropriate to compile both of them. Try "Edge of Desire" by John Meyer. It works perfectly!

Tea for Two by Clara Ng

Summary

Tea for Two is Matchmaking Company, owned by Sassy. For her, there are no bigger responsibility and happiness than set up two strangers, and then bring them to most expected moment in life: MARRIAGE!

Live happily ever after. This is Tea for Two’s motto, which sounds nice.

But wait!

Is it true that marriage is the only way to be happy? Is marriage always full of happiness, flower, and romantically beautiful? The truth is, Sassy’s own marriage is facing a big problem. Secret lies, which is transforming slowly into big ones. Domestic violence. And all is started with infatuating romance, and ended with brutalism.

It could happen to you. It could happen to anybody.

This book epically tells us about bad side of marriage. Not intended to scare us of marriage, but teach us to be warned, to think logically, to be careful, because a Mr. Right is able to change into Mr. Totally Wrong.

Look Sassy. Successful career woman in her twenty something. Has her own company, which is reaching its peak. Pretty. Has four lovable, caring friends.  Smart, of course. Independent.

So, when one day, she met Alan, a young professional, handsome, wealthy, and dreamy, she thought that she’s already found her Mr. Right. What else does she look after? And after eight months, they got married.

At their honeymoon, Alan slapped Sassy.

It’s so unpredictable. How could Smart Sassy not be able to observe its sign, that Alan is violated person, freaky jealous husband? But, love conquers all. Although Alan continues his cruelty, in the name of love, Sassy hides it all. From her mother. From her best friends. From the world. Even after a baby comes between them, Alan becomes more and more aggressive. Not only physically, but also verbally. He forbids Sassy to hang out with her friends, asks her to quit from his company, and sell them.

And Sassy, who we’ve known previously, is so independent, is defeated. She is scared, not be able to leave her husband. She leaves once, but Sassy always thinks a million reasons to return.

How does Sassy solve its problem?

The best thing that we can learn is even the strongest woman needs help when they face such as domestic violence. Some women maybe could runaway easily, leave it all behind, but the rest of them are scared. Scared of loneliness, scared of reputation, scared of not to be loved. In Sassy’s case, we could see, that love is like heroine for her. And, after a while, she becomes familiar with Alan’s habit, and treats it as if it’s ordinary routine. It’s fearful, realizing how women can accept awful behavior, just because they are used to it.

This book is beautiful in its own way. It’s giving spirit, revealing some facts, which is maybe we’ve known before, but we choose to ignore it. Good way, Clara Ng.

Marmut Merah Jambu by Raditya Dika

Have you joined my latest giveaway? I prepare seven free books, you have to join it if you haven't. :)

So, late reading, yes. My friend just brought me Marmut Merah Jambu by Raditya Dika. By reading his previous book, I was thinking it just another comedy book. Oh, yes it is. But let me tell you.

Thirteen short stories. Or should I say thirteen sweet love stories? Yes, a bit different from his previous books, Radith tried to insert some romantic favors here. Love is all around. Maybe, we used to see Radith as a comedian, hilarious person who always makes people laugh, weird act. But he's a human too. He's falling in love. He wants to being loved in return. He can be serious if he want to.

Too serious? Don't worry, Radith still comes with his usual jokes, fresh and amusing. Even in a very bitter ending, he's still able to find bright sides, and makes us rethink about what we've felt all this time. Are we falling in love? Have we found our soulmate?

From teenage love stories until mature ones, we are brought to see different life of Raditya Dika. The stories are similar with what happened to all of us, so it's like standing in the mirror, considering our own life. One of my favorite chapter called "How I Meet You, Not Your Mother". He says that we all are destined to meet somebody. Cosmos prepares it for us. He calls it cosmological coincidence. That everyone has their fate, their own line, and maybe sometimes the lines will intersect each other. How beautiful. :)

So, Raditya Dika has been succeed to bring out his mature side. I am falling for this book, hey, I even sacrifice my sleeping time for completing this book!! :)