Being Henry David by Cal Armistead

Judul/Title: Being Henry David
Penulis/Author: Cal Armistead
Penerjemah/Translator: Dewi Sunarsi
Penyunting/Editor: Novianita
Proofreader: Seplia
Layout Cover: @teguhra
Jumlah halaman/Number of pages: 256
Penerbit/Publisher: Penerbit Spring
ISBN: 978-602-71505-7-7

Sinopsis/Synopsis:

‘Hank’ tersadar di Stasiun Penn, New York tanpa ingatan. Pemuda berumur tujuh belas tahun itu tidak tahu namanya, siapa dirinya, dan dari mana ia berasal. Satu-satunya petunjuk yang ia miliki adalah sebuah buku berjudul ‘Walden’ karya Henry David Thoreau yang ada di tangannya. Menggunakan buku itu, ia mencoba mencari jati dirinya. Dapatkah ia mengingat kembali siapa dirinya?

Atau lebih baik ia tidak mengingatnya sama sekali?

Seventeen-year-old “Hank” has found himself at Penn Station in New York City with no memory of anything –who he is, where he came from, why he’s running away. His only possession is a worn copy of Walden, by Henry David Thoreau. And so he becomes Henry David-or “Hank” and takes first to the streets, and then to the only destination he can think of–Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Cal Armistead’s remarkable debut novel is about a teen in search of himself. Hank begins to piece together recollections from his past. The only way Hank can discover his present is to face up to the realities of his grievous memories. He must come to terms with the tragedy of his past, to stop running, and to find his way home.

Review:

Jadi meskipun hidupmu berantakan,  kau akan mempertahankannya hanya karena ini bukan hal yang asing bagimu?

Being Henry David adalah buku yang membuatmu merenung tentang kehidupan. Saat membaca kalimat di atas, aku merasa tersindir dan mengakui ada kebenaran dalam kalimat tersebut mengingat aku termasuk tipe yang nyaman dengan rutinitas dan seringkali memilih bertahan hanya karena hal tersebut familiar bagiku. Membaca Being Henry David mengajarkanku untuk berani pergi dan berubah dari hal yang tidak baik bagiku, meskipun perubahan adalah sesuatu yang asing dan cukup menakutkan.

So even though your life is a mess, you’re going to keep it just because it is not a strange thing for you?

Being Henry David is a book that makes you ponder about life. When reading the above sentence, I feel that I got reminder and admit there is the truth in the sentence since I am type person who comfortable with the routine and often choose to stay/did not change because it is familiar to me. Being read Henry David teach me to boldly go and change things that are not good for me, although the change is something strange and quite scary.

*spoiler alert*

 

Untuk konfliknya sendiri, aku merasa konfliknya terlalu mulus. Hank berulang kali berhasil keluar dari masalah yang dihadapinya karena ada banyak orang baik yang membantunya. Membuatku merasa tidak percaya dan bertanya-tanya apakah dalam kehidupan nyata akan seperti ini. Namun setelah mengingat kembali jalan hidupku, aku memang bertemu lebih banyak orang baik dibanding orang jahat. Membaca novel ini mengingatkanku bahwa masih banyak orang baik yang mau menolongku ketika aku punya masalah. All I have to do is ask for help and tell them about my problem.

“Perasaan tidak diinginkan siapa pun dan kau tidak diterima di mana pun bisa membuat seseorang sedikit gila. ”
“Kukira aku hanya ingin mengatakan aku mengerti.  Dan kalau bisa aku ingin menolong.”

For the conflict itself, I feel the conflict is too smooth. Hank repeatedly managed to get out of his problems because there are many good people who helped him. Makes me doubt and wondering whether I had similar problem like Hans, I will also easily managed get out from my problems. But after recalling the past event of my life, I did meet a lot more good people than bad people. Reading this novel reminded me that there are still many good people who want to help me when I had problems. All I have to do is ask for help and tell them about my problem.

     “The feeling nobody wants and you’re not welcome anywhere can make a person crazy.”
“I guess I just wanted to say I understand. And if possible I want to help.”

3 bintang untuk Being Henry David.

3 star for Being Henry David.