Review Tokyo (The Devil Of Nanking)

 

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 Pilte's Wife

Pilate's Wife - Istri Pilatus

by Antoinette May, Ingrid Dwijani Nimpoeno (Translator)

Sejarah hanya mencatatnya sebagai istri Pontius Pilatus. Kini ia akan menceritakan kisahnya.
Penglihatan-penglihatannya.

Claudia tak pernah menginginkan mimpi-mimpi itu muncul. Namun ia tak dapat mengelak. Melalui talenta istimewanya itu ia dapat mengetahui banyak hal yang akan terjadi.

Ramalan mengenai kedatangan seseorang. Kemenangan yang kelak mempertemukannya dengan kekasihnya. Hingga kematian.

Melalui “penglihatannya”, Claudia melihat nasib orang-orang yang ia cintai. Sekeras apa pun ia berusaha mencegah, akhirnya ia harus menyerah pada takdir.

Satu per satu, orang yang muncul dalam penglihatannya pergi meninggalkannya. Akan tetapi, gambaran mengerikan tentang nasib seorang pria menghantui Claudia sejak lama. Tatapan pria itu penuh permohonan dan penderitaan. Mahkota duri menyayat alisnya.

Claudia tahu, kali ini ia tak boleh tinggal diam.

Ia harus mencoba menyelamatkan pria itu…

Gramedia Pustaka Utama 2011

Joseph: Wonderfully written and engrossing novel.

Pilate's wife narrates in the first person the story of Claudia, member of the Claudian family of newly imperial Rome. Claudia is gifted with "the sight". She can get glimpses and feelings about things that are going to occur. I must say that at times it is difficult to sympathize with Claudia, who commits many actions on a whim (which I won't get into here, lest I spoil it for future readers), not thinking things through to the end, always eager to please herself. At times, she can have no consideration for other people's desires, like Pilate when she first encounters him. And yet, I think this is what makes this book. We expect main characters, as presented in a story, to be the "good ones", making the right decisions as they get through their obstacles.

But what about a character who throughout the course of the story is forced to learn how to make the right decisions the hard way. Claudia is not the same person at the end of the book as she was in the beginning. Her life experiences teach her the virtues of temperance, forgiveness, and love.

I will spoil one part of you so don't continue reading if you don't want that. Her relation to the events surrounding Jesus' crucifixion is not presented until the very end so don't expect to read chapters about this. Nevertheless, this works because this gives Claudia the chance to be shown well as a main character, and not just like another person present at the most important event in Christian history.

Ellen: I enjoyed learning all that I did about life in the Roman Empire during the time of Jesus and for this I liked this book very much. I thought Pilate's wife was very self absorbed and shallow and had a hard time really liking her very much. This was disappointing as she seemed to have so much potential in the beginning. The middle of the book gets tedious for a bit it gets interesting again in the end when Jesus comes into the story. I would really wanted to give this book 3.5 stars but this is not an option.

Leslia: I enjoy a classic romance novel as much as the next reader (laughter), which is precisely why Pilate’s Wife was so shockingly disappointing. Maybe the let down stems from the fact that this novel is marketed as historical fiction. True there are historical events sprinkled here and there. It’s also true that the people depicted in this novel are historical figures. Certainly, the filler is a bunch of fiction…wait, so it is historical fiction! Then why am I left feeling yucky? I’ve actually thought about this question and come up with a few good reasons. First, there really is no stand out character. Claudia is not an appealing heroin even though the events surrounding her were dramatic. In fact, I was more interested in the fate of Claudia’s older sister Marcella. But she hadn’t married the future Governor of Judea, the man who would forever be linked to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (I’ll just have to get over it). Second, Pilate’s role is miniscule. There is still much about him that I don’t know. Finally, the steamiest most overwrought part of the book is Claudia’s relationship with Holtan the gladiator. Out of nowhere this book shifted from an historical fiction to a harlequin romance!

With all of that being said, don’t regret picking it up. The cover is beautiful (always a plus) and I’m glad, like with most books, that I read it. It wasn’t the worst book I’ve read by far but let's face it, as a follow up to the Prodigal Summer, it never really had a chance.

Kelly: An interesting book, but a few gratuitously placed political statements and sketchy musings about Christianity dropped my rating to a 3. Nothing annoys me more than authors who place political and/or religous jabs in the narrative that have no relevance to the story. If you are writing fiction, stay true to the story...if you need to voice your opinion - write a piece of non-fiction!

Ironically, though, the storyline that probably rubs most Christians the wrong way, did not bother me at all...rings true to me actually..

Karyl: It's not surprising that this is the author's first novel. The plot, as well as the writing, is quite trite. The story itself is somewhat slow-moving and is far too long. One would expect a book referencing Pilate to have mostly to do with the crucifixion of Jesus, but that seminal event takes place only at the very end, almost as an afterthought. I really didn't like the bit where Mary Magdalene becomes Jesus's wife, as there is no evidence that he was ever married. It's a shame; this book could have been a very interesting look at the Roman era at the time of Christ

Alice: I enjoyed this book...not the best I've ever read, but a good first novel. Claudia is a rebel. She is also clairvoyant, which tends to cause her more pain than pleasure. She faces many trials and tribulations after she marries Pontious Pilate, culminating with the crucifixtion of Jesus Christ. Some interesting ideas about Jesus' relationship with Mary (Miriam?) Magdelene....

I learned a lot about Roman life during Tiberius Ceasar's reign (things have not changed much...desperate housewives!) The book also made for lively discussion at one of my book clubs J

Jenn: I was hoping to really like Claudia (Pilate's wife) and her telling of this story. I enjoyed the fresh perspective on biblical events and the story of the roman empire from a woman's perspective which you don't often get. But I felt that Claudia was at best immature and self absorbed. She made it very hard for me to sympathize with her through out her story and struggles and I really wanted to. I felt that Pilate really loved her and she never really gave him the chance he gave her. I enjoyed all of the secondary characters, they were well developed, interesting, and showed the diversity that was in the empire at that time. May does a great job of capturing the culture, lifestyle and historical events in a way that exciting and realistic. Overall a very good book, especially if you like this time period and/or new perspectives on biblical events