The Little Prince

Being adult is exhausting.

Source: Goodreads.com

Title: The Little Prince

Author: Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Publisher: Harcourt, Inc.

Date of published: June, 29th 2000 (first published April 6th 1943)

Number of pages: 93 pages

Moral allegory and spiritual autobiography, The Little Prince is the most translated book in the French language. With a timeless charm it tells the story of a little boy who leaves the safety of his own tiny planet to travel the universe, learning the vagaries of adult behaviour through a series of extraordinary encounters. His personal odyssey culminates in a voyage to Earth and further adventures.

***

Three weeks ago, I wrote a Top Ten Tuesday about Books that have been in my TBR the longest and I still haven't read. One of the book that I mentioned there is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.

To be honest, I've want to read this book from a long time ago. But, me being me. I haven't read the book yet even though I have a copy of this book in my reader apps. 

So, in order to complete my reading goals, I decided to choose this book for my reading list.

The Story

Well, I've heard so many thought about this book. Of course this book is a children book, consider the fact that the main character is so young. Hmm, we don't know exactly how old the little prince is, but many people assumed that the prince is a very young prince.

Like I said before, I remember that I haven't read this book because of Suga's weekly 06.13 Kkul FM Radio. In episode with Jungkook, they choose this story for their read your voice segment. Then, I just curious with this story more.

The Little Prince is a prince that come down to earth to completing his journey. It is believed that he is from asteroid knows as B-612. He explored the entire planet of the universe and landed on the earth. 

During his journey, the Little Prince meet so many people, starting from the king, conceited man, tippler, businessman, and geographer. From those journey, the little prince learned the vagaries of adult behavior.

Learning the meaning of life

Sumber: mentalfloss.com, edited by me.

I have to admit that this story is full of meaning. The Little Prince encounter with various people reflects how adult behave towards the young. They feel so righteous and know-it-all. They neglect the opinion from the children. Then, somehow the adult forced the children to fit with what the society said--it's meaningless if you want to pursue career on arts. It's better to learn STEM. Those typical stereotypes gave me a lot of headache. 

I never imagined that in this book, I would find the satirical comment about somehow the adult always nagging the young people regarding their success. Yeah, the typical question like, "how old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh?" It seems like they just want to emphasize the importance of social status regarding wealth. Sigh me all the way through.

If someone said that this book is only a children book, they should read it again. You can get a lot of unexpected learning from the story.

To forget a friend is sad. Not everyone has had a friend.

Conclusion

It's fun to read a meaningful story like this. I should consider to read more story like this.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Sincerely, 

Ra

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?  If you want to make your own post, feel free to use or edit the banner above, and follow the rules below:

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
• Finally… reveal the book!

***

Hello!

Even though it's in the middle of quarantine, seems like the time flies so fast. Here we are again First Line Fridays. For this week, I decided to read a translation book for one of famous detective story. At first, I want to write today's FLF in Bahasa, but for the sake of consistency--which is more hilarious because I will cite the sentence in Bahasa, not English, I decided to write in English.

So, here is the first line for today's FLF.

Ada orang yang selalu bisa menikmati perjalanan menyeberangi Selat Kanal; mereka bisa duduk tenang di kursi geladak, dan begitu tiba, menunggu sampai kapal betul-betul sudah tertambat, baru mengumpulkan barang-barang bawaan tanpa terburu-buru, lalu naik ke darat.

Hmm. Such a long lines for today, I supposed. 

The Big Four by Agatha Christie

Source: goodreads.com

Blurb:

Poirot terkejut ketika seorang pria lusuh muncul di ambang pintu rumahnya. Sesaat pria lusuh itu hanya menatap Poirot, lalu terhuyung dan jatuh. Dalam keadaan setengah sadar, ia menggumamkan, “Mr. Hercule Poirot, 14 Farraway Street,” berulang kali.

Misteri semakin rumit ketika si tamu asing tak kunjung bicara banyak dan beberapa kali hanya menuliskan angka 4 di kertas. Poirot harus menggunakan sel-sel kelabunya untuk memecahkan persoalan ini, membahayakan nyawa demi mengungkap misteri di balik angka tersebut.

I read this book in order to complete all of Hercule Poirot's series. I know that this a long time journey. But, I am sure it will very exciting.

Sincerely,

Ra

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl since January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

***

Hello! I am back with TTT again. For this week, it's about author I've read the most book by. I think, there will be a lot of Indonesian author for this list. Yep, when I was in middle school, I read a lot of Indonesian book--in fact, if not because of them, I wouldn't falling in love to read. So, here we go.

1. Luna Torashyngu

I think, the first author that I really like is Luna Torashyngu. In my teenage year, I read most of his book. I admit his writing ability because he could make a young-adult, thriller, and action story. He can do fantasy too. All of his story is very detail and I like every series from him--not to mention that actually all of his works is related to each other.

My favorite series from Luna Torashyngu is Mawar Merah (Red Rose). This series is mainly about Red Rose, an international hired killer that very talented and skillful. Even though she is very young, no one can beat Red Rose ability.

2. Lexie Xu

Thriller for teens in Indonesia? You should read Lexie Xu's work. I never imagined that actually Lexie Xu is a thriller writer. Just like when I said before, there are not many thriller writer in Indonesia, moreover thriller for teen. So, I really enjoy her story. Then, Lexie Xu also has a universe. So, every character on her story would be related to another. It's such a fun experience to read it.

My favorite series from Lexie Xu is Johan Series. The series follows the story of Johan, a psychopath who can hurt anyone without mercy.

3. Windhy Puspitadewi

Windhy is my all time favorite teen author. She is very talented to create such a wonderful young adult story. I still remember her book, Let Go that talks about friendship. Nothing about love there, but it's full of friendship.

Then, I couldn't stop to remember about Incognito. This book is incredible because it talks about time travel. I mean, I should praised Windhy for her effort to research about every historical moment that fit with the story.

4. Orizuka

The first time I read Orizuka's book, I literally cry a lot. Yeah, I think it's one of my first to read a story where the character is dead. As part of my grown up journey, I really like Orizuka's simple and touching story.

The last series that I read from her is The Chronicles of Audy. I like this series because me and Audy has the same background, which is an International Relations student. It's very interesting for me.

5. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I really love Sherlock Holmes. As long as I remember, I've read all of Doyle's book that related to Holmes. To be honest, I am very enjoy to read a detective story. 

To be honest, I read Sherlock Holmes because of Detective Conan. Back then, in order to understand Sinichi's background who love Holmes, I decided to read the whole novel and athology about Holmes. Hmm, I should list Aoyama Gosho too here.

6. Lisa Kleypas

To be honest, I don't really read all of Kleypa's book. But, she is one of my favorite historical romance author. Don't ask when I read her book, tho. I just like how she make a series for her work. It's very interesting to me.

7. Dee Lestari

I should admit that I am following Dee Lestari from Supernova. Somehow, she did a very good job to comprehend so many things in philosophical way. Even though Supernova is interesting, I have to admit that not all of them is my favorite.

Beside Supernova, there is Perahu Kertas (Paper Boat) that always makes me smiling. It's a simple story that I never really imagine it can come up from Dee.

8. Christian Simamora

I still remember that I always saved my money every month to buy Christian Simamora's book. I think, I was in college and I really love romance stories. If I am not mistaken, I have almost ten books of him in my book shelf. I enjoyed his salty story back then.

But, recently, I am losing my interest to read any romance stories. I don't know why, but I am more interest to read a genre other than romance.

9. Aoyama Gosho
Aoyama Gosho is the creator of Detective Conan or Case Closed. I think, Conan is my all time favorite manga. I remember that I borrow ten volume of Conan every day from the library. For me, Aoyama Gosho is very talented to create the story. Until now, the black organization still being mystery and no one knows whether Conan could back to be Sinichi Kudo.
I am eager to know the end of the story, tho.
10. Agatha Christie
When we talk about detective story, we couldn't left out Agatha Christie, right? Reading Hercule Poirot makes me more and more curious. To be honest, the reason I read Agatha Christie is because I know it from Conan and to some extent from Holmes. I have a goal to read all of Christie's work in chronological order. Wish me luck, tho.
I don't think that I literally read all of their books. But, I read most of their book and they are still being my favorite author. Well, their book is kind of book that I will automatically buy without looking the review or synopsis.
Okay. That's all for today's TTT. Have a good day, everyone.
Sincerely,Ra

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

They were not simple fol, you see, though they were happy.

Source: goodreads.com

Title: The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

Author: Ursula K. Le Guin

Publisher: Harper Collins

Date of published: Excerpted from The Wind's Twelve Quarters, originally published in 1975

Some inhabitants of a peaceful kingdom cannot tolerate the act of cruelty that underlies its happiness.
The story "Omelas" was first published in New Dimensions 3, a hard-cover science fiction anthology edited by Robert Silverberg, in October 1973, and the following year it won Le Guin the prestigious Hugo Award for best short story.
It was subsequently printed in her short story collection The Wind's Twelve Quarters in 1975.

 ***

To be honest, I interest to read this short story because of BTS. Yeah, it is believed that BTS' Spring Day MV using this story as reference. Since I knew about that fact, I would like to know the exact story about it. I think, since this is a short story, it's very hard to avoid spoiler. So, please mind that this review will have a full story about this.

The Omelas

Omelas. It's a fictional town that full of happiness. You can see all the joy in this town. Everyone seems so happy and full of hopes. But, not everyone knows that all of those happiness can be achieved by sacrificing a single innocent person, To be exact, one innocent child. 

The premise of this story is as simple as that. But, when I read the story, I couldn't avoid myself to relate this story to the real life.

No matter how hard we want to ignore it, sometimes, there are a huge gap between the one who is happy and not. Then, it reminds me of the oppression system that happened in our real life. Somehow, there are a lot of people who have to suffer because of the world system. They couldn't resist or complaint. It's like they have to accept what they must. 

I think, reading this book after reading Battle Royale is kind of interesting. For me, both book have the same premise, which is the oppressive system that hard to avoid. It's hard to imagine how we can live in such a horrible life like that.

I am very glad knowing this story, tho. At first, I thought there is only one child that suffered, but seems like it didn't happened like that. There a group of innocent child who suffered for the sake of Omela's happiness.

Conclusion

Even though this story is very short, but I think this a thoughtful one. From this story, it's like we questioning what we must do to be happy? Is that necessary to sacrifice the other, or anything, to achieve happiness?

4.5 out of 5 stars

Sincerely,

Ra

Battle Royale

What? Battle Royale? "What's Battle Royale?"Come on, don't tell me you don't know that.

Source: goodreads.com

Title: Battle Royale

Author: Koushun Takami

Publisher: VIZ Media

Date of published: February 26th, 2003

Number of pages: 617 pages

Koushun Takami's notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill one another until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan - where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller - Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world. Made into a controversial hit movie of the same name, Battle Royale is already a contemporary Japanese pulp classic, now available for the first time in the English language.

***

Battle Royale. I think I have heard about this book since two years ago. At that time, I became Game Master (GM) of The Werewolf Game (TWG) that used this theme. So, in order to understand the rule of the game, I have to know first about Battle Royale.

At first, I know Battle Royale as a movie. I ain't aware that the movie is actually an adaptation. Then, fast forward to 2020, I made a reading challenge with Zis from Zis Story. One of challenge that we received is to read Battle Royale. When I searched the epub for this book, I was very shocked because it has 1.000 pages. I don't think I could finish it a first. But then, I tried to read it again and I really enjoy to read the story. 

For me, a book like Battle Royale is a book that I can read but not in zillion way I can watch the movie adaptation.

The Story

Every year, The Republic of Greater Asia held a program that forced some young teenagers to participate in a deadly game where only one person wins and lives. Well, I believe that the concept of Hunger Games is following Battle Royale.

Those chosen teenagers is from the same class. Yeah, you can exactly predict that this program is about killing each other classmate. No one knows how the government choose the participant, but it should be believed that they do it randomly.

Shuya Nanahara is a third year class student of Shiroiwa Junior High School. He and all of his classmates are on their way to do study trip. At first, everything seems to be all right. Then, something strange happened. Shuya and all of his classmates suddenly fell asleep. Well, actually Shuya realized that there is something happened. Even, he can spot Shogo Kagawa, the transfer student that not really have friend, trying to open the bus window. But, Shuya didn't have any idea abut what's happening. At the end, the darkness swallowed Shuya and he fell asleep.

When Shuya woke up, he found out that his class, third year class B at Shiroiwa Junior High School, has been chosen to participate on the program that created by the government. This program is very brutal and makes everyone couldn't trust each other. The thinking that he should kill his classmate made Shuya feel very awful. He was really mad and couldn't believe that in only three days or so, his classmates will die one by one.

After Sakamochi, the program instructor, announced every detail of the program, the students called one by one and they will leave the school--which was the starting point for this program. Shuya tried his best to team up with Noriko Nakagawa, his best friend's crush. Yeah, best friend of Shuya, Yoshitoki Kuninobu has been died because of Sakamochi. It made Shuya want to protect Noriko at all cost.

The bloody program

edited by me

Since the main theme from this book is about killing each other, so you can expect there are a lot of bloody scene here. Killing someone using sickle, knife, grenade, or gun would be everywhere in this book. If someone couldn't stand with the bloody and gory scene, I don't think you should read this book.

In my case, I am okay with reading a thriller book. But, if I have to watch the adaptation movie from the book, I won't have a bravery to try. 

For me, the story is very interesting. I am really enjoy reading this book. I want to know the end of the story. A lot of questions are popping in my head, like are Shuya and Shinji Mimura, another best fried of Shuya, could meet? How Shogo can help Shuya and Noriko to escape from this damn program? How to defeat Kazuo Kiriyama the one who volunteer to play the game? 

In the middle of the story, I was very surprised because my supposed-to-be favorite character has died. But, I like how the ending of this story. I mean, Koushun Takama has succeed to make a compact story and unquestionable ending. One thing that made me dizzy at first is all of the name from Shuya's classmate. Like at the end I only can remember several names from them.

To be honest, in someway I could get the allegory from this story. These teenagers are trapped in the system that made by the great power. They couldn't fight back and of course, in the real life, it happened all the time. The small power have to accept what they must, said by Thucydides. I have to admit that dystopian story is very intriguing because they describe the worst possible of life and society.

Conclusion

This book is worth to read. No wonder if Hunger Games was claimed to be a Battle Royale rip-off. The story is very similar even though the execution of course very different. 

In my opinion, the ending of this story is enough, but if somehow there is a continuation for the life of the survivor, I would be very happy to read it. But, it should be noted that the sequel movie of Battle Royale is not based on Koushun Takami's novel. Yeah, this Battle Royale only has one volume.

Nevertheless, I still like this book. I finally understand why this book is kind of very similar to Hunger Games.

4.5 of 5 stars for Shogo's sacrifice.

Sincerely, 

Ra