Review Tokyo (The Devil Of Nanking)

Jumat, 21 Desember 2012




Tokyo (The Devil Of Nanking)
by Mo Hayder, Rahmani Astuti (Translator)


1937. Tentara Jepang melakukan pembantaian besar-besaran di Nanking saat mereka melakukan invasi ke China. Mereka melakukan pemerkosaan, perampasan, pembakaran, serta eksekusi terhadap tawanan perang dan penduduk sipil. Ini merupakan peristiwa paling tragis yang dialami bangsa China. Karena kekejamannya di Nanking, seorang letnan Jepang bernama Junzo Fuyuki mendapat julukan yanwangye—si Iblis.
1990. Fuyuki menjadi pemimpin sebuah geng Yakuza. Ia dipercaya biasa menyantap daging manusia agar tetap sehat dan panjang umur. Fuyuki selalu didampingi oleh tangan kanannya, Suster Ogawa, yang dijuluki Jahanam Saitama karena kesadisannya. Suster Ogawa telah menjadi mitos di dunia bawah tanah Jepang.
Shi Chongming, profesor di Universitas Todai, beserta Grey, seorang mahasiswa dari London, bekerja sama untuk mengungkap rahasia Fuyuki dan Pembantaian Nanking. Ketika satu per satu fakta terungkap, Grey berada dalam bahaya karena telah membangunkan kembali Iblis yang pernah merajalela dalam tragedi di Nanking dahulu...

496 halaman
Dastan Books 2009

Sybill: I just finished listening to The Devil of Nanking. Because it is about Japanese atrocity in Nanking during WWII, it is not surprising that the theme is the terrible things humans do to others. It is perhaps surprising that it is more about the terrible things we do to ourselves. It is hard to review this without spoilers. The story unfolds small bits at a time. The pacing is excellent with the story moving between a young mentally scarred English woman and an elderly Chinese scholar. Their stories intertwine with poignancy, raw emotion and grace. I think I this book will stick with you long past the end.

Samantha: This book centers around the Nanjing Massacre that has happened a long time ago. In thsi book, an Englishwoman named Grey comes to Japan to look for a document or footage the captures the horrifying event of the Nanking massacre. This book literally broke my heart because of the gruesome things the Japanese soliders had done to many of the Chinese civilians/people. They raped them in the streets and murdered thousands of people. I think many people should be informed about this genocide which is a mass murdering of many people because we need to make sure that history does not repeat itself- even though it has known to do so. This book brings out the horrors of humanity and I would reccommend this book to the young adults and mature age group.

Kathrina: I can't stand to read a thriller that contains nothing more than a bag of cheap tricks the author must construe a plot around, so I read mass market thrillers with a huge degree of trepidation. I want to be compelled, not manipulated. Hayder hits the mark; she's intelligent, does her homework, and writes with dexterity and skill. She's woven a contemporary mystery that runs sidelong with an historical atrocity, and both are compelling and thrilling. As far as I can tell, this is her only novel with an Asian setting (too bad, because she's very knowledgeable, having lived in China for a portion of her life), but I'd be confident enough in her skill to try one of her British settings, just because I like her style.

Teresa: "Tóquio” é um livro que me manteve em permanente angústia durante toda a leitura.
É baseado num episódio da história da humanidade – o massacre e tortura de milhares de chineses, pelo exército imperial japonês, durante a invasão da cidade de Nanquim, em 1937. A acção desenrola-se, capítulo a capítulo, entre a cidade chinesa e Tóquio 50 depois, onde encontramos Grey, uma jovem inglesa, que procura um filme que relata um episódio do massacre.
É um livro muito bem escrito e muito complexo, que expõe o lado mais negro do ser humano, até dos inocentes.
O final é inesperado e avassalador. Não é fácil de ler. Até porque fala de amor: “...sempre foi para mim claro que o coração humano se vira do avesso para pertencer a alguém, que tenta aproximar-se do primeiro e mais próximo afecto...”

Veronika: Haunting... gave this book 4stars because I couldn't put it down...it had a good transition between wartime Nanking & present day Tokyo...I will say that the "magic elixir", once I found out what it was, gave me nightmares days after I finished the book. I will not be able to read it again, and really can't find myself recommending the book because the nature of the massacure in Nanking bothered me so much. It bothered me the most when I kept thinking that really could have happened. Even though the characters are fiction, the war was not...the massacure was not....I guess the evil that man can inflict on each other will never cease to amaze me.
If you have lost a child, I strongly recommend you NOT READ THIS BOOK!!! It has haunted me for days....I can not even begin to describe the horrors inflicted....
However, like I said, I did give it 4stars because it was a well told story, that had my heart racing and on the edge of my seat.
 





Review Parfume

Kamis, 20 Desember 2012



Perfume: The Story of a Murderer


Seorang pembunuh genius,
aroma perawan,
dan parfum terbaik...
Pembunuhan berantai yang misterius. Dua puluh lima gadis perawan tewas mengenaskan. Pakaian beserta rambut dan kulit kepala mereka hilang. Tubuh mereka benar-benar layu, seolah tak pernah hidup sebelumnya. Seakan seluruh daya hidup yang pernah ada telah terisap tak bersisa. Semua pembunuhan identik. Dilakukan dengan amat rapi dan terencana. Masterpiece seorang seniman genius.
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille lahir tanpa bau tubuh namun memiliki indra penciuman yang luar biasa. Ia mampu memilah-milah seluruh bau yang ada. Dari seorang ahli parfum ternama, ia mewarisi seni meramu berbagai minyak dan tumbuhan. Namun kegeniusan Grenouille melampaui itu semua. Setelah “menangkap” aroma seorang perawan cantik, ia terobsesi untuk menciptakan ‘parfum terbaik’ beraroma perawan!
Dituturkan dengan amat brilian, Perfume adalah kisah yang sungguh memikat tentang pembunuhan dan kegeniusan yang menyimpang. Novel bestseller yang eksotis dan sensasional ini membangkitkan rasa penasaran yang menakutkan tentang apa yang terjadi ketika bakat, hasrat, dan kecenderungan seseorang akan bau dan aroma mengubahnya menjadi seorang pembunuh. Membunuh demi ‘parfum terbaik’.

428 halaman
Dastan Book 2006

Maulana: Tegang sampai akhir. Setiap manusia memiliki "wewangian khas". Dalam istilah biologi disebut feromon, sejenis aroma yang mampu memikat lawan jenisnya. Feromon tidak hanya dimiliki manusia, semua jenis hewan juga memiliki. Telebih menjelang musim kawin (baca: birahi), kadar feromon tubuh meningkat drastis. Mungkin basik pemikiran dari pembuatan novel ini ya? :)

Pera: This book say: see the world by smell...its new point of view and its amazing!novel ini keren abiesz...buku ini membuat pembaca membayangkan melihat dunia ceritanya melalui penciuman hidung....hanya saja yang sedikit menggelitik tentang pengertian cinta oleh penulis dalam cerita ini...cinta hanyalah wangi dari 24 gadis cantik????heheheh

Nielam: the cover was quite interesting.i guess that was the main reason why i read this book.
i wonder,do virgins really smell that good?n do pretty girls smell better that the ugly one?
but,if u can control people just by making some fragrance,i'd love to learn chemistry to get that effect.
its a good read though...
recently added:
i just pipping somebody review about this book, and he said, the reason why he read this book was because he loves the movie beyond reason.
and he also said one word to describe the movie is "lush"
i think i better start looking for the movie right away,hohoho...

Rini: This is a story about a man who felt different at first, but finally he embraced it. I admire this man because he is evil in-and out side, since the day his mother gave him birth.. and no fear to show it-he didn't afraid anyone will hate him.He thought and felt that (other) humans are unworthy, lower than him... the thing that i really admire this character is the firmness of his own thought, he didn't give a damn care about what other's talk and think about him. Not like me... sometimes i like to be an ignorance person so i can simplify my life but i just can't.
This book tell a bit strange story but it was not the story itself that so attractive. It has different point of view in describing the place, the scene, the people. Other books would take sight description as the place is beautiful, full of colors, and so on... but, not this book. Perfume use nose to make the story flow..., use smell to describe everything. A very unique book.