"Book Review of Pulang by Tere Liye"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26211806-pulang
In this book, Tere Liye this time lifting the life story of a child of the jungle called the servant until he finally succeed in being a number one butcher in Tong's family.The servant was the only child of Samad and Midah, they live around the slopes of Bukit Barisan in the far corner of Sumatra.They work as farmers and living apart from the family because of the relationship of Samad-Midah not condoned by families.It causes them eventually were expelled from the village and live in economic hardship.The young man never got the torment of the father because he caught studied religion and follow the teachings of the mother.
There are several important points that become the advantages of this book, the following are the explanations.
1. Theme selection
The selection of themes in the story this time is actually the development of almost the same theme that was written in the previous book. Tere presents the inner struggle of the main character as the core of the story and packs it interestingly by placing Bujang as a person who plays an important role in the story. In this book Tere Liye explains a brief understanding of what is Shadow Economy. Shadow economy is an economic activity regulated by black market economic institutions and is not detected by the government or ordinary people.
By speaking directly like this, Tere found the right way to convey his insights to the readers
2. Character and Characteristics
Tere always presents various characters with various backgrounds. All characters are explained through their dialogue between characters, narratives and the attachment of one character to another. It's easy enough to follow every flashback that reveals the other side of each character. In this book each character gets the right portion.
If in the book Rindu the reader is amazed by Ambo Uleng's character, in this book the reader will be fascinated by the perfection of Bujang. He who was rigorously educated by Guru Bushi, Kopong and Salonga made Bujang's physical abilities very capable. Coupled with his intelligence in language and problem solving further added to the superiority of the Bujang figure. In addition to Bujang as the main character there are several other figures, Kopong the fierce but loyal bouncer, Yuki-Kiko-twin grandson of Guru Bushi who is described as a pair of Japanese tourists who look exotic, sometimes ridiculous but very skilled in the team. Then the reader will also be shocked and upset by the appearance of Basyir and Lin's eldest son.
But from every character who is my favorite is Salonga. Salonga is the best gun shooter in Asia recruited by Kopong to train Bujang after the departure of Guru Bushi. Interestingly, Salonga is a grumpy figure but is actually good-hearted and also smart. Uniquely when the first day of Bujang training had to receive Salonga's insult because it was unable to drop 6 glass bottles with 2 bullets.
"Hey!" Salonga raised her hand, did not accept my sentence. "I've never been serious when cursing my students, Bujang. I just don't know how to show how much I care about them. Not all masters convey feelings." - p. 396
3. Use of Plots
Another advantage of Tere Liye is its ability to play plot stories and bring the reader back into the past, save some important puzzle pieces and refine all the mystery puzzle pieces of the story slowly. But Tere makes the story easy and flows so it doesn't confuse the reader.
4. Implied Message
All the moral messages that the writer wants to convey are very close to our daily lives. Like his trademark that has been seen in several previous books, Tere Liye conveyed the noble values and virtues in the journey of each character's life. Every character is made realistic and still has deficiencies in him. This makes me amazed by each character until they feel like they are alive.
It can be seen from the figure of Bujang who from the outside looks strong and courageous, even though inside him there is a fear and doubt when he has to let go of his loved ones.
From some of these points it seems to be able to cover the shortage of this book which can be considered reasonable and does not interfere with the course of the story. Here are my views, among others.
If Tere Liye usually presents a story with a third person perspective, this book provides a new view with the use of Bujang's perspective as the main actor. With the characteristics of the author, the style of telling a third person is more appropriate.
