Novel Review : Damon Galgut (In a Strange Room)

“ A journey is a gesture inscribed in space, it vanishes even as it’s made. You go from one place to another place, and on to somewhere else again, and already behind you there is no trace that you were ever there.”

-          Damon Galgut, In a Strange Room

In a Strange Room is a 2010 novel by South African writer Damon Galgut, he is such a brilliant author. The book was shorlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2010, as well as for the Ondaatje Prize. His previous novel such The Good Doctor was a finalist for the Booker Prize and the commonwealth Writer’s Prize. Unfortunately his novel The Impostor wasn’t longlisted for the Booker Prize. 

At first page, this novel seemed so boring to me. I argued this novel told about a flat story of a traveler who travel to one place to another place, or perhaps a traveler who found something incredible in his journey. Then i kept reading until i find something different from the story. In a Strange Room don’t tell us about a cool trip a traveler travels through, This novel tells about a desire, latent hope, anger, and mercy. How a traveler decides to travel as far as possible and forget his painful past. There he faced many obstacles and the journey was not easy until he finally understood the meaning of life.  In a Strange Room is a beautiful and unforgettable resurrection for a man who looking for love and a place called home.

   

Nevertheless, It is a very intense, beautiful and heartbreaking book  i’ve ever read. Even the simplicity is artful and the reader is undistracted.

 

Plot

The story is about a young loner who travels across eastern Africa, France, Greece, and India. He travels casually, as it is. He follows the paths of travelers he meets along the way. For those who travel with him and the people he meets on the way – including foreigner with good looks and unique character, a group of careless backpacker, and a woman wrestling with her life- he is a follower, lover, and guardian. Eventhough the man was well intentioned, every journey ends with a disaster. Traversing the stillness of wilderness and the frenzy of border crossings, every new direction is tinged with surmounting mourning.  A combination of these three trips will change his life.

Therefore, i really recommend this novel to read, especially for you who likes reading. I’m sure, if you read this novel you won’t miss every page.

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Book Review : Black Beauty

Black Beauty

“... there is no religion without love, and people may talk as much as they like about their religion, but if it does not teach them to be good and kind to man and beast, it is all a sham...”

-          Black Beauty, Chapter 13, last paragraph.

Black Beauty is an 1877 classical book that successfully  mesmerized me with a simple but heartbreaking story. Anna Sewell as the author of this book who got injured at the age of 14th which caused her disabled and unable to walk. She had learnt about horses, spending many hours driving her father to the station from which he commuted to work.  Her dependence on horse-drawn transportation during Victorian era fostered her respect for horses.

Black Beauty is one and only novel written by her and was published ,exactly five months before her death of hepatitis. Her purpose of this writing was actually not for children, but the purpose was to induce kindness, sympathy, and an understanding treatment of horses. But, this novel turns out to be a childhood story. The novel became an immediate best-seller with fifty million copies sold. The novel is one of the best-selling books of all time and was listed at number 58 on the BBC’s survey “The Big Read” in 2003.

The story tells about a black beautiful horse named Beauty who had been kept from one employer to another employer with different treatments. Black Beauty was born from a good horse lineage. During four years in his first stable, Black Beauty grew as a strong, good, and well-mannered horse. He raised from a new employer Judge Gordon in Birtwick Park.

Beauty had a wonderful life and bestfriends, Ginger (a strong horse) and Merrylegs (a beautiful pony). He is also managed by  a great horse man named John Manly and a very young steward named Joe Green. They had been experiencing many tragedies like fire, survived from a broken bridge, until the heroic story saved Mrs. Gordon’s life.

Unfortunately, Beauty and his bestfriend were sold to Earshall, due to Mrs. Gordon illness which cause Gordons moved to town. At that time, their life became worse. They were forced to use short bridle and spend their energy to pull heavy loads without being fed.

Beauty becomes disabled and almost die, he was separated with his bestfriend  Ginger that was died tragically. At the end of the story, Beauty meets his old steward Joe Green who become an adult. Joe Green still remember Beauty by a white marks on Beauty’s head.

Thus, for you who love reading story, i really suggest you to read this novel if you haven’t yet. Because this novel have a very good value, and Anna Sewell teaches us how to understand the horses, how to treat them in a right way, and to see life from their point of view.

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Summary of Wuthering Heights written by Emily Bronte

Wuthering Heights

Summary : page 1-32

Wuthering Heights novel tells about a history of Mr. Lockwood’s journey  as a new tenant of a place called “Thrushcross Grange” and Mr. Heathcliff as the owner. Wuthering Heights is a name of Mr. Heathcliff’s dwelling, it is the most beautiful and peaceful  place that Mr. Lockwood has visited.When Mr.Lockwood came inside there, he felt nothing and the rooms showed unextraordinary things unless before passing treshold.

He paused  to admire a quantity of grosteque carving lavished over the front, especially about the principle door, he found a figure of shameless little boys,  he detected a date ‘1500’ and the name “Hareton Earnshaw” that appeared some questions in his mind about the history of him.The next day in afternoon set in misty and cold weather, the road was full of mud, Mr. Lockwood came to Wuthering Heights for dinner, but he came too late, it was in the late of night until no one coming up to open the door for him.

Then, there was a man without coat and shouldering a pitchfork hailed him to follow him to his house to waiting for Mr.Heathcliff coming for taking Mr. Lockwood home. At the same time he met a young lady who serves him a cup of tea, but she looked unpleasant with his attendance. At first,  Mr. Lockwood thought that Mrs. Heathcliff ( a young lady) is Mr. Heathcliff wife but they had a great different ages, unfortunately he was wrong,  Mrs. Heathcliff was Mr. Heathcliff daughter-in-law, then Mr. Lockwood began to think that young man is her husband, but he gone wrong again, that young man is not his son. At the same time there was a former who came there to make a trouble  until the situation became tighten, everyone there including Mrs. Heathcliff were going mad.

Mr.Lockwood knew that Mrs. Heathcliff was not good, but he asked her attention to point out some landmarks by which him know his way home, but he got unclear answer, then he tried to deal with her what if he stayed there just for a night, but was being scolded, humiliated, and chased away because they do  not accept a stranger in their house.

Mr.lockwood took the lantern which he seized unceremoniously and calling out that he would gave it back to them, but Joseph tought that he stole the lattern until he called the dogs to run after him. Mr. Lockwood run away, then he became trembled with wrath, the vehemence of his agitation brought on a copious bleeding at the nose.

There was a woman, her name is Zillah as a stout housewife  came to help him, cure and give him a room to stay overnight. As he entired his room, the ledge, where he placed his candle had a few mildewed books piled up in one corner, It was covered three names that made him feel curious CHATERINE EARNSHAW-CATHERINE HEATCLIFF-CATHERINE LINTON.

Lockwood began to read the diary, he found the truth than Catherine lived with Hindley as a detestable substitute after her father died, she spent her tricky and saddest life because Hindley and his wife France were tough couple, they warned her to stay away from Heathcliff as an orphan, they called them as vagabond who didn’t to live with them. After that Mr. Lockwood falls asleep, he began had a nightmare, even he passed it twice. Catherine was appeared in his dream with all her history, as if it was the flashback of her lifestory.

Then he woke up suddenly while he heard a voice passing trought the window and knuckling the glass of window, he stretching his arm out to the branch, his fingers closed on the ice-cold hand and hearing the name of Catherine Linton begged to let in, the intens horor came over him. Suddenly Mr. Heathcliff rushed into his room when he heard Lockwood cries the room was haunted, when Lockwood down to the floor, Mr.Heathcliff cries to Cathering, begging her back. In the morning,  Mr. Heathcliff escorted Lockwood to the Thrusshcross Grange.

 When he arrived there, he had a good service from Mrs. Dean as a housekeeper in Wuthering Heights, while he was there he got a lot of information about Catherine.  She explained that  Mrs. Catherine ( a young lady) whom he met at Wuthering Heights in a daughter of the first Catherine , the first mistress of Mrs. Dean. And Hareton Earnshaw is a cousin of a young Catherine which was a nephew of Catherine (a young Catherine’s mother). The first Catherine was the daughter of Mr. Earnshaw the late propietor of Wuthering Heights. For now a young Catherine is the last of the Linton, and Hareton Earnshaw is the last of Earnshaw.

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