London Wild Rose's ponders human organ trade, immigrant life
London Wild Rose's ponders human organ trade, immigrant life
A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Kusuma Andrianto's debut novel, London Wild Rose: Dan Cinta pun
Menari, is a modern-day satire that portrays the bitter life of
illegal immigrants in London.
The novel revolves around a stripper, Monique, her abused
sister Sophie, and a doctor, Katerina -- all from eastern
European countries -- and Donny, an Indonesian studying medicine
in London, and how their lives cross the shadowy trade in human
organs.
Monique plans to sell one of her kidneys to buy passports for
her and Sophie, so they can get away from Sophie's abusive
husband, Giorgio.
Monique ropes in Donny, who works as a janitor at her
nightclub, to help her sell the organ.
Although initially opposed to the idea, Donny eventually
agrees and introduces Monique to Katerina, a friend of his.
Katerina, as an illegal, cannot practice medicine, and so works
at a crematorium.
Through a series of complications involving Monique's kidney,
Donny decides to sell his own kidney.
In the end, however, Monique and Donny defeat the cruel
Giorgio, taking their revenge and escape the law with their
organs intact.
The author, a native of Padang, West Sumatra, appears to
reveal an understanding, if not tolerance, of the clandestine
trade in human organs. This leniency may draw upon his background
as an economist -- Kusuma obtained his bachelor degree from
Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University, and his doctorate from
Leeds University in the U.K.
Kusuma is currently a post graduate lecturer at Leeds
University and Leeds Metropolitan University, and said selling
one's organs was an understandable option amid poverty.
He also cites a medical argument through the illegal immigrant
doctor Katerina, that people could survive with one kidney just
as well as with two kidneys, as the remaining kidney would become
enlarged to accommodate its expanded function. The single kidney
does not work harder, and instead increases its production
capacity.
But the author seemed not to consider the many reports that
patients are weakened by surgical operations for organ removal,
and that many patients have regretted their decision to sell
their kidneys.
In his acknowledgements, however, Kusuma said the inspiration
for London Wild Rose arose from a concern over the trade in human
organs, a trade that involves trillions of rupiah. The author
apparently attended a meeting of world economists in Japan two
years ago and interviewed a German economist who was concerned
about the trade.
Unwittingly, perhaps, the novel also seemed to allow that
women were typically victims of conflict, even in a developed
country.
The book basically reads like a Hollywood action film: the
good defeats the bad, and the male protagonist rescues the women
characters from the evil brute.
Despite its interesting subject and poetic title, with a cast
of characters set against immigrant life in London, London Wild
Rose would have been stronger if Kusuma had developed the plot
and his characters further.
A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Kusuma Andrianto's debut novel, London Wild Rose: Dan Cinta pun
Menari, is a modern-day satire that portrays the bitter life of
illegal immigrants in London.
The novel revolves around a stripper, Monique, her abused
sister Sophie, and a doctor, Katerina -- all from eastern
European countries -- and Donny, an Indonesian studying medicine
in London, and how their lives cross the shadowy trade in human
organs.
Monique plans to sell one of her kidneys to buy passports for
her and Sophie, so they can get away from Sophie's abusive
husband, Giorgio.
Monique ropes in Donny, who works as a janitor at her
nightclub, to help her sell the organ.
Although initially opposed to the idea, Donny eventually
agrees and introduces Monique to Katerina, a friend of his.
Katerina, as an illegal, cannot practice medicine, and so works
at a crematorium.
Through a series of complications involving Monique's kidney,
Donny decides to sell his own kidney.
In the end, however, Monique and Donny defeat the cruel
Giorgio, taking their revenge and escape the law with their
organs intact.
The author, a native of Padang, West Sumatra, appears to
reveal an understanding, if not tolerance, of the clandestine
trade in human organs. This leniency may draw upon his background
as an economist -- Kusuma obtained his bachelor degree from
Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University, and his doctorate from
Leeds University in the U.K.
Kusuma is currently a post graduate lecturer at Leeds
University and Leeds Metropolitan University, and said selling
one's organs was an understandable option amid poverty.
He also cites a medical argument through the illegal immigrant
doctor Katerina, that people could survive with one kidney just
as well as with two kidneys, as the remaining kidney would become
enlarged to accommodate its expanded function. The single kidney
does not work harder, and instead increases its production
capacity.
But the author seemed not to consider the many reports that
patients are weakened by surgical operations for organ removal,
and that many patients have regretted their decision to sell
their kidneys.
In his acknowledgements, however, Kusuma said the inspiration
for London Wild Rose arose from a concern over the trade in human
organs, a trade that involves trillions of rupiah. The author
apparently attended a meeting of world economists in Japan two
years ago and interviewed a German economist who was concerned
about the trade.
Unwittingly, perhaps, the novel also seemed to allow that
women were typically victims of conflict, even in a developed
country.
The book basically reads like a Hollywood action film: the
good defeats the bad, and the male protagonist rescues the women
characters from the evil brute.
Despite its interesting subject and poetic title, with a cast
of characters set against immigrant life in London, London Wild
Rose would have been stronger if Kusuma had developed the plot
and his characters further.