On the shelves

On the shelves

Larung; By Ayu Utami; Kepustakaan Populer Gramedia, in cooperation with Jurnal Kebudayaan Kalam, 2001; 259 pp; Rp 30,000

After three years, 55,000 copies sold (and counting) and a bit of skepticism about whether she really wrote it herself, author Ayu Utami has published the sequel to her highly acclaimed first novel, Saman.

When it was published in 1998, Saman was said to be a fragment of a longer work called Laila Tak Mampir Di New York (Laila Didn't Stop By in New York).

However, Ayu, now 33, had a change of heart and instead wrote a separate, though related, novel called Larung.

Her new work focuses on the five main characters who appeared in the first novel, Saman, Laila, Cok, Shakuntala and Yasmin, plus a new character called Larung.

It is difficult to summarize the plot of the novel as it focuses on the personal struggles and anxieties of the characters.

Of course, there are some sections which touch on social and political events in this country, such as the massacre of alleged communists in 1965 and the bloody takeover of the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party in 1996. But these events are not really the point.

The book begins with Larung recounting his past, which centers around his grandmother, a woman more than 100 years old but who shows no sign of dying.

Here, Ayu delves into the world of mysticism and black magic, and the misogyny surrounding the mystical world.

The writing here is dark and bitter, but beautiful. It is probably the strongest section of the book.

Other characters then take turns telling their stories, which mostly focus on sex.

There is Shakuntala the bisexual, Laila the virgin, Cok the goddess of promiscuous sex, Yasmin the masochist and Saman the priest turned sexual object for Yasmin.

And what does Larung have to do with them? Larung, apparently schizophrenic and psychic, is an activist who works with Saman. The book ends with their helping a number of activists escape the country.

Ayu, however, spends too much time telling the backgrounds of the three activists Saman and Larung are trying to save.

And then there is the sex. Yes, it is a complicated issue for women, but the book explores the subject ad nauseam. Do women really think about sex that much?

Overall, Larung is a splendid novel that is in many ways superior to Saman. But what really makes the book shine is its reflection of the beauty of Bahasa Indonesia. I didn't realize our language was this rich until I read Larung.

Hera Diani