Read-along The Picture of Dorian Gray Chapter I - II

The Picture of Dorian Gray  is a masterpiece by Oscar Wilde about a narcissistic young man named Dorian and his self-portrait. He wanted his physical appearance not to age so he exchanged his 'soul' so he would stay young forever, but his portrait aged and became ugly to reflect the destruction of his soul.

First Lines:

The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.

Chpter I - II  Introduced the character of Dorian Gray from two points of view, Basil Hallward and Lord Henry Wotton. In his studio, painter Basil Hallward is painting a portrait of a very handsome young man who he really admires, Dorian Gray. Lord Henry, his friend was very curious about the young man in the portrait, so he asked Basil to meet him. 

'Dorian Gray for the first time. When our eyes met, I felt that I was growing pale. A curious sensation of terror came over me.' ( Basil Hallward, chapter I, pg. 14)

‘He is all my art to me now,’ (Basil Hallward, chapter I, pg. 19)

Lord Henry looked at him. Yes, he was certainly wonderfully handsome, with his finely-curved scarlet lips, his frank blue eyes, his crisp gold hair. There was something in his face that made one trust him at once. All the candour of youth was there, as well as all youth’s passionate purity. One felt that he had kept himself unspotted from the world. No wonder Basil Hallward worshipped him.  (Lord Henry's mind, Chapter II, pg. 27)

Basil says he will not exhibit the painting because he has put too much of himself in it :

‘An artist should create beautiful things, but should put nothing of his own life into them. We live in anage when men treat art as if it were meant to be a form of autobiography. We have lost the abstract sense of beauty. Some day I will show the world what it is; and for that reason the world shall never see my portrait of Dorian Gray.' 

( Basil, Chapter 21, pg. 21)

Lord Henry Wotton is the person who like to influence Dorian, because he is still young and easily to be manipulated. He influences Dorian to be hedonistic and loving his youth life which is not last forever, offcourse, naive Dorian fell for Lord Henry's bait.

'......If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that – for that – I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!’ (Dorian, Chapter II, Pg. 41)

My thoughts:

• I just read early chapter of this book, but It's so much philosophic words and I love it.  So many prose by  Wilde's flamboyant style to be highlighted as long as the sentences is inline with the story. It's like I talk to Oscar Wild, himself.
• The atsmosphere of  Basil's studio was like Victorian aesthetic, ooh  take me to there !! 
• About Basil Hallward feeling to Dorian is quite vague, whether just a feeling as an artist who love beautiful things or the forbidden same-sex feeling, but knowing  the author was a homo-sexual,  I think Wilde wanted to shock Victorian readers by openly writing about that feeling, So maybe this is the covert way to inform that the man like that is exist, because homo-secuality is a crime backthen in England.

Review David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

The story is centered on the principal protagonist, David Copperfield, and runs from his childhood to his adulthood and success as a writer which is principally narrated through his perspective. David's description of all the obstacles that have kept him from achieving peace, financial stability and finding true love is so detailed. It's considered to be Dicken's partial autobiographical novel.

David Copperfield enjoy his childhood with his mother and her faithful servant, Peggotty, until his mother marries again and proves powerless to protect him from the cruelty of his stepfather, Mr Murdstone. Mr Murdstone sends David to a boarding school in London where he makes friends with Steerforth and Traddles. When David’s mother and his brother die, His step father exploit him and sent to work at Mr Quinion’s business. David, who is only a child at seven years old must deal with slavery work till he runaway to Dover to find his only relative, aunt Betsy Trotwood, then he met Agnes Wickfield and Uriah Heep. The story is even more interesting, because the more David grown-up and, the more obstacle in life to deal with, the more mature he become.

This book is one of the popular works of Dickens and is widely read. And everyone is more or less aware of the storyline and the characters. The sinister sibling of Mr and Miss Murdstone (metallic woman) is not something to be easily forgotten. The first impression of Mr. Murdstone according to little David's view was quite charming but after the mariage, his true nature comes out, he becomes cruel and dictator. His evil and violent behavior traumatized Little David. 

Even beloved characters will never be forgotten, I love aunt Betsy Trotwood- the best aunties ever, Peggoty-who always understanding Davy,  the spoiled Dora Spenlow- the childlike lady (David's love interest) but very cheerful and enjoying her life, and the eccentric ones, Mr, Micawber-  always speaks sophisticatedly like Shakespeare and seems hard to understand, but luckily has a wife who loving him unconditionally. About Agnes Wickfield, for me, she is too perfect. For David,Those people means a lot. 

  

This is the first time I read Charles Dickens' novel in english edition, take a lot two months ! I admit this is the longest Dickens' novel I ever read. If we can't be the hero for somebody else, at last we can be the hero for our own.

"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show." (Chapter 1, pg. 5)

Rating Ruang Buku Megga : ✬✬✬✬ (4/5)

​Title : David Copperfield

Author : Charles Dickens

Publisher : Wordsworth Classics

Year :  2000 (First Published in 1850)
Pages :  750 pages

ISBN : 9781853260247

Review dan Ulasan Novel Of Love and Other Demons - Gabriel García Márquez

Of Love and Other Demons adalah buku ke 6 atau yang paling terakhir yang diterbitkan, dari penulis pemenang penghargaan Nobel Prize, Gabriel García Márquez. Bertempat di Amerika Selatan pada era kolonial, secara langsung menyaksikan masa-masa kepercayaan metode pembasmian setan, orang-orang penderita kusta dan kejayaan orang-orang suci. Márquez terinspirasi dari legenda yang diceritakan oleh neneknya saat ia masih anak-anak. Menurut pendahuluan dalam buku ini, legenda tersebut berhubungan dengan pembongkaran makam Sierva Maria de Todos yang sudah menjadi tulang belulang namun rambutnya masih tetap tumbuh sepanjang  22 meter 11 cm. Gabriel García Márquez menyaksikan pembongkaran tersebut pada saat ia menjadi jurnalis di Cartagena de Indias pada tanggal 26 Oktober 1949. Sungguh pendahuluan yang menarik, seolah kisah dalam buku ini berdasarkan kisah nyata, namun setelah aku mencari-cari data dan berita mengenai kisah tersebut, tak ada satu pun fakta mengenai itu.

Of Love and Other Demons, berkisah pada Sierva Maria de Todos, 12 tahun, anak perempuan dari Marquis yang digigit anjing rabies. Kelahiranya dianggap sebagai pertanda buruk bagi keluarganya, Ibunya tidak ingin mengurus Sierva, maka ia dibesarkan oleh seorang budak negro Afrika. Rambutnya tidak pernah dipotong dan telah dijanjikan kepada Perawan Suci. Di bagian awal buku ini, Sierva digigit anjing rabies, namun tidak menunjukan gejala penyakit rabies. 

Namun banyak keanehan yang ditumbulkan dari kelakukan Sierva Maria membuat sang Uskup mengaggap penyakit Sierva Maria ini tidak lain adalah kerasukan iblis. Maka dari itu Ayah Sierva Maria berusaha mencari obat untuk mengobati anaknya tidak hanya pengobatan medis tapi juga pengobatan spiritual. Dibawalah, Sierva Maria ke Biara Santa Clara untuk menjalani metode pengobatan secara ortodoks, ia dikurung selama 93 hari.

"O  harta karun cantik, ditemukan untuk dukaku."  (Cayetano, hlm. 143)

Cayetano Delaura, seorang pendeta yang cerdas dalam segi keilmuan,  terlibat kisah dengan Sierva Maria pada saat masa 'pengurunganya'. Ia sering mengunjungi Sierva dan bercakap-cakap seperi orang normal biasa. Cayetano Delaura bergelut antara hasrat sekuler dan tugas Katoliknya sebagai pendeta, meski pada akhirnya, cinta romantis menguasai dirinya. Kelogisan dan pemikiran De Laura yang modern membuat ia dirundung kebimbangan apakah ritual penyembuhan Sierva Maria merupakan cara yang benar ataukah salah, di satu sisi ia harus menunjukan ketaatanya terhadap biara.

Dengan buku ini, Márquez menyampaikan secara simbolis, bahwa cinta yang universal adalah cinta yang bisa menyingkirkan ego, kebencian dan hirarki manusia. Empat bintang untuk  Of Love and Other Demons. Walaupun double terjemahan karena versi bahasa Indonesia ini diterjemahkan dari terjemahan bahasa Inggris (bahasa original-nya bahasa Spanyol) tapi buku ini sama sekali tidak kehilangan esensinya. 

Rating Ruang Buku Megga ✭✭✭✭ (4/5)

Judul : Of Love and Other Demons

Penulis:  Gabriel García Márquez

Alih Bahasa: Eka Kurniawan dan Edith Grossman (dari bahasa Spanyol)

Penerbit: Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Tahun Terbit: 2023 (Pertama kali, 1994) 

Tebal: 170  halaman

ISBN : 978-602-06-7235-9