Tarzan The Apes & The Return of Tarzan - Edgar Rice Burroughs

Tarzan of the Apes (1912) and The Return of Tarzan (1913) are classic adventure novels written by the American author Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes was first published as a magazine serial in 1912 before being released as a book, while The Return of Tarzan followed in 1913. This CloudClassics edition presents the first two of tweleve novels in Tarzan's adventures.

Lord and Lady Greystroke from England are lost at sea, and their lives change forever. Their son, Tarzan, is raised by an ape named Kala in the African jungle. As Tarzan grows up, he must fight to earn his place among the apes while learning to survive in the wild. Later, he meets a group of white explorers and a beautiful young woman for the first time. Until then, Tarzan has only known apes and the African tribes living in the jungle, so he is surprised to see people who look different from anyone he has ever met but has a skin color as his own. Their arrival changes Tarzan's life and makes him question who he really is.

I cannot say much about the second book because I do not want to spoil the story. In the sequel, Edgar Rice Burroughs moves away from his experiment, but focuses on a classic adventure story. Tarzan returns to Africa, but before that he travels through Arab lands. Along the way, he becomes involved in an exciting intrigue that includes a beautiful Russian countess. The novel is full of action, adventure, and unexpected twists. 

The novel also helped spread stereotypes about African tribes. It often describes Africa as a wild and dangerous place where the people are primitive or violent. However, these ideas came more from colonial adventure stories than from real history. In reality, many African societies were well organized and had rich cultures. Therefore, while Tarzan of the Apes is an exciting adventure novel, modern readers should remember that its portrayal of Africa is biased and does not accurately represent African people or cultures.

“If you are a man, you will return to protect your kind. You will not run away from one of your own people, because one of them has run away from you.” (D'Arnott to Tarzan)

I think one of the most interesting parts of Tarzan of the Apes is that Tarzan naturally chooses to do good things, even though nobody truly teaches him morality. He grows up in the jungle among apes, without human education or society, yet he still protects people, shows kindness, and avoids hurting humans he sees as his own kind. It feels like goodness comes naturally from inside him. Perhaps Edgar Rice Burroughs wanted to show that Tarzan is noble by nature, not because civilization taught him to be civilized. That is why many readers see him not only as a jungle man, but also as a naturally good person.

“You are free now, Jane,” he said, “and I have come across the ages out of the dim and distant past from the lair of the primeval man to claim you—for your sake I have become a civilized man—for your sake I have crossed oceans and continents—for your sake I will be whatever you will me to be. I can make you happy, Jane, in the life you know and love best. Will you marry me?”

In conclusion, I probably expected too much from this novel from a literary perspective, but the story itself is simple and enjoyable. I like the way Edgar Rice Burroughs romanticizes Tarzan's adventure. Tarzan's love letter to Jane is almost impossible to believe, it is far too poetic for someone who has never formally learned grammar or writing. However, the best way to enjoy Tarzan of the Apes is not to expect complete realism, since Tarzan is portrayed as a superhuman with extraordinary intelligence, I chose to accept it as part of the novel's fantasy. As a romantic adventure story, I give this novel  3,5 stars of Five, and I think I don't need to read the third book.  

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬ ✬(3,5/5)

Title :  Tarzan The Apes & The Return of Tarzan

Author : Edgar Rice Burroughs

Publisher : CloudClassic (Canterbury Classics)
Year :  October, 2015 (First Published in 1912 )
Format / Pages : Softcover / 467 pages
ISBN :  1626864705

Review: Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak

The story of Doctor Zhivago is a portrayal of Russian society under the immense tension of World War I and the Russian Revolution. Through the perspective of a doctor, Boris Pasternak allows readers to witness not only the brutality of war, but also the fragmentation of human life during one of the most chaotic periods in Russian history. Set in early 20th century, Newly married Yuri Zhivago is sent to the front lines as a paramedic, leaving behind his family in order to save others amidst the devastation of war, but What Yuri finds in war completely collides with his inner life.

Yuri Zhivago, the son of a wealthy but troubled family, grows up under the care of the Gromeko family after spending part of his childhood with his uncle, Nikolai Nikolaevich Vedenyapin, whose philosophical ideals later shape Yuri’s worldview. The novel mainly revolves around the complicated relationship between Yuri Zhivago, Tonya Gromeko, and Larisa Fyodorovna (Lara). 

Larissa “Lara” Fyodorovna Antipova (née Guichard) is a teacher and nurse who moves to Moscow with her mother, Madame Guichard, and her younger brother, Rodya, after the death of her father. As a teenager, Lara becomes entangled in a secret and emotionally tormenting affair with the powerful and unsettling lawyer Komarovsky. Hoping to escape his influence, she later flees to Yuriatin with Pavel “Pasha” Antipov.

At first glance, the story may appear to be a romantic drama set during wartime, especially because many film adaptations emphasize the love story. However, the novel itself is far more political, philosophical, and deeply concerned with the fragmentation of human existence during revolution and civil conflict. The narrative first tells Yuri and Lara’s lives separately, as if they are unconnected. However, the war eventually brings them together,  Yuri as a doctor and Lara as a nurse.

The war dominates most of the narrative. Beginning with World War I, the story later moves into the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War between the Whites, who represented the old imperial order, and the Reds (the Bolsheviks). Through his brilliant and vivid writing, Pasternak exposes the horrifying brutality of war in painful detail. Many scenes are difficult to stomach because they remind readers that such atrocities truly happened in history.

Yet despite all the violence, Pasternak constantly inserts moments of humanity, love, poetry, and spiritual reflection between the battles. Yuri Zhivago is not portrayed as a heroic patriot seeking glory for his country; instead, he longs for his family, personal peace, and inner freedom. In contrast, Pasha Antipov dreams of becoming a revolutionary hero and willingly sacrifices his family for ideology and ambition. This dualism between Yuri and Pasha becomes one of the novel’s strongest contrasts.

Because I am a woman, I find myself more interested in, and perhaps romanticizing the love between Yuri and Lara. The first time Yuri notices Lara is when he helps her mother after her suicide attempt by poisoning, and from that moment I already sensed that he was drawn to her. Yuri’s love for Lara feels magical, almost beyond physical reality, something spiritual and transcendent. Lara becomes the person who awakens Yuri’s passion for poetry, inspiring him to write.  

I wonder why classic Russian literature so often emphasizes unhappy marriages while portraying “free love” as something rare and once-in-a-lifetime. Perhaps wether these writers wanted to create a more tragic and emotionally complex atmosphere, or wether the unhappy marriage is become common at that time, because it's conflicts with duty and social expectations. Knowing that Yuri’s marriage to Tonya was partly shaped by his obligation to the Gromeko family and by Anna Ivanovna’s wishes, as a way to stabilize his life and secure his social position, makes the contrast between Tonya and Lara feel even more poignant. 

And, I also wonder why many classic Russian novels often feel spiritual, and heavily philosophical. In Doctor Zhivago, this atmosphere is reflected through Nikolai Nikolaevich Vedenyapin, Yuri’s uncle, a former priest and prolific writer who later becomes connected to revolutionary ideas. He becomes one of the first major intellectual influences on Yuri, shaping the way Yuri thinks about life, spirituality, and human freedom. However, as the story progresses, Yuri seems increasingly against the violent reality of the revolution itself. I think Yuri is not completely against the idea of change or justice, but he is deeply against bloodshed and ideological violence. As a doctor and poet, Yuri values individual human life more than political ideology.

Though I did not fully go deeper into Nikolai’s philosophy, one of his quotes stayed with me:

........the idea of the free person and the idea of life as sacrifice. Bear in mind that this is still extremely new. The ancients did not have history in this sense. Then there was the sanguinary swinishness of the cruel, pockmarked Caligulas, who did not suspect how giftless all oppressors are. They had the boastful, dead eternity of bronze monuments and marble columns. Ages and generations breathed freely only after Christ. Only after him did life in posterity begin, and man now dies not by some fence in the street, but in his own history, in the heat of work devoted to the overcoming of death, dies devoted to that theme himself.  

Ultimately, Doctor Zhivago is not simply a war novel or a love story. It is a story about how history crushes ordinary people, while war becomes an obstacle separating people from their loved ones. In the middle of suffering and chaos, love and pain are transformed into poetry, and the human soul struggles to survive  while still holding on to the feeling that life has meaning despite historical destruction. 

If you have read Tolstoy, this work feels pretty similar to his novels. Pasternak follows the Tolstoyan tradition of Russian literature, combining history, philosophy, spirituality, and deep human emotions into one powerful story.

"....but now I think that we’ll gain nothing by violence. People must be drawn to the good by the good." 

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬✬✬ (5/5)

Title :  Doctor Zhivago

Author : Boris Pasternak

Publisher : Vintage Classics
Year : September, 2011 (First Published in 1957 )
Format / Pages : Softcover / 544 pages
ISBN : 9780099541240

 

Eugene Onegin - Alexander Pushkin

Eugene Onegin is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin, portraying the everyday life of the Russian nobility as it gradually turns into tragedy and quiet desperation. Set in early nineteenth-century Russia, Pushkin presents the main character, Eugene Onegin, as a wealthy and idle nobleman who inherits a fortune from his uncle. Yet despite his privilege and comfort, life appears dull and meaningless to him.

Eugene moves to the country estate left to him by his uncle. The property includes a large farm, but Eugene is too idle to manage it himself, so he chooses to rent it out instead. There, he meets his neighbor Vladimir Lensky, who introduces him to the Larin family. Lensky is engaged to Olga Larina, and through this connection Eugene first meets Tatyana Larina. 

Tatyana Larina is quiet, thoughtful, and deeply emotional. Unlike her sister Olga Larina, who is lively and sociable, Tatyana is more reserved and prefers reading and dreaming. She loves romantic novels, which shape her imagination and her idea of love. She is very bold from other girl at that time, she confessed that she love Eugene through out her letter, but Eugene reject her, and tell that he can't be a better husband of father, it's break Tatyana's heart. 

And so then she was called Tatiana.
Lacking her sister’s beauty, poise,
Her rosy freshness, in no manner
Would she attract a person’s gaze.
A wayward, silent, sad young maiden,
Shy as a doe, in forest hidden,

Although Eugene has everything : money, freedom, and education, but he doesn’t even know what he truly wants. He likes traveling and living freely, yet he denies his feelings and acts emotionally immature. His pride controls him; he could have stopped the duel and saved his friendship with Vladimir Lensky, but his ego is too strong. Honestly, he feels like a red flag character. In contrast, Lensky is more sincere and emotional, which makes a strong contrast between them.

After the duel, this moment becomes a turning point for Eugene. The narrator does not clearly tell us where he goes after leaving his country estate. Instead, the story shifts to the Larin family and their winter in Moscow. There, we see the growth and transformation of Tatyana Larina—a blooming into maturity and elegance that Eugene has already missed. This became Eugene's irony, that he rejects sincere love when it is freely given, but later desperately longs for it when it is forever out of reach. Can feel like karma, but it’s more subtle than simple punishment for him, he failed to recognize real love when it was in front of him.

Reading Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin, especially in the translation by Stanley Mitchell, feels like listening to a smart and slightly ironic friend telling you a story in a very poetic way. The poem is beautiful, and sometimes the narrator talks directly to you, like you are sitting beside him and he is sharing his thoughts honestly. The narrator feels like Pushkin himself, reflective, and emotional, but at the same time he feels like a character, not exactly the real Pushkin himself. The vocabulary can be quite difficult because sometimes it uses old-fashioned English, and I often have to stop and think about what a verse really means or who “he” is referring to. In the beginning, it was confusing, especially when the conversation shifts between characters, but finally I feel more feels softer, clearer, and very beautiful once you get into it. I love the beautiful description about Russian's peasant and city light as the identity.

A chill, dark dawn presages winter;
No labour’s heard upon the fields;
A wolf and hungry she-wolf enter
The road to find out what it yields;
Sensing the pair, a road horse, nearing,
Snorts – and the traveller goes tearing
Uphill, relieved to be alive;
No longer does the herdsman drive
His cows abroad while night is clinging,
No more at noontime does he sound
His horn to gather them around;
A maiden in her small hut, singing,
Spins by the crackling splintwood light,
A friend to every winter’s night.

This is the first time I read novel in verse and I like it. the verse of Eugene Onegin is trully artistic, and become my great start. I want to read another Puskin's works and interested in Aurora Leigh by Elizabeth Barret Browning, also a novel written in verse.

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬✬ (4/5)

Title :  Eugene Onegin

Author : Alexander Pushkin

Publisher : Penguin Classics (Black Spine)
Year : November, 2008 (First Published in 1831)
Format / Pages : Softcover / 304 pages
ISBN : 9780140448108

Review Villette - Charlotte Brontë

Villette is one of Charlotte Brontë’s lesser-known works compared with Jane Eyre, and it became the last novel she published. The story is often understood as drawing on her own experiences teaching English at a continental pensionnat, alongside her sister Emily, who worked as a music teacher. Published in 1853, Villette stood apart from many Victorian novels of its time: It's obvious that we as reader expecting the romance, but what we found: the tone is quiet and often gloomy, and it is especially notable for its deep psychological insight and introspective narration.

The story begins with Lucy’s retrospective memories of childhood at her godmother’s home in Bretton. Very little is revealed about Lucy’s own background, and she is presented largely as an orphaned, rootless figure. At Bretton she lives with her godmother, Mrs. Bretton, and her lively son, Graham. Their quiet domestic life changes when Paulina (Polly) Home arrives, a young child whose mother has just died. While her grieving father travels, Polly is entrusted to Mrs. Bretton’s care, and the three children share the household for a time. Lucy, however, often places herself on the margins, observing their interactions more than actively participating in them. 

Lucy embark her journey abroad

After leaving Bretton, Lucy begins an independent and uncertain life. She finds work as a companion to Miss Marchmont, an elderly and lonely woman. When Miss Marchmont dies, Lucy is once again left alone, without employment or support. This personal crisis ultimately pushes her to travel abroad, leading to her arrival in the foreign city of Villette, where the main events of the novel unfold.

Brontë’s portrayal feels realistic and deeply informative, shaped by her firsthand experience of the time and place that inspired the fictional city of Villette, often understood as a version of Brussels. I especially appreciate how she creates a genuine sense of foreignness: the frequent French dialogue, the cultural distance, and Lucy’s isolation all make the reader feel as though we are truly sharing her position as an outsider in an unfamiliar world.

Lucy’s childhood memories serve as a form of foreshadowing for her present experiences; Brontë introduces Graham and Polly not simply as past companions, but as figures whose roles become deeply intertwined with Lucy’s later emotional journey. In fact, the early chapters show Lucy’s role as a marginal one, but in the second part, I think it becomes more interesting: Lucy shifts from being merely an observer to taking on a more emotional role. This change takes us deeper into the story because we finally begin to understand how she truly feels. We come to understand that Lucy is deeply skeptical. I think she is a very complex character: she is pessimistic, stoical, and always feels isolated in Villette. We also see that she struggles with her mental health; her hallucination-like visions reflect how profoundly lonely she feels. This is unique—Lucy’s attitude is “expect nothing, and you won’t be hurt,” a kind of defense mechanism to protect herself.  Indeed, Lucy is gave up, hopeless with her unrequieted love.

Despite finding a sense of freedom, she becomes trapped once again in isolation at the boarding school, under the watchful authority of a strict headmistress who always wants to know everything. Can't say that the headmistress—Madame Beck as the villain; rather, she functions as a quiet antagonist who prefers to maintain control over everyone in the pensionnat. Monsieur Paul (Mme. Beck's cousin) is a complex and passionate man whose relationship with Lucy is marked by both intellectual connection and emotional tension, once again, Lucy struglle with her feeling and her faith as a protestant. 

So many questions come to mind that I wish I could ask Charlotte Brontë—why, in the end, does she never describe Lucy’s early life with her family? How did her parents die, or did they simply pass away without leaving any inheritance? It can be assumed that Lucy did not come from deep poverty, given her connection to her godmother, Mrs. Bretton. Once again, this shows how uncommon the novel was for its time: it is not just another Victorian romance. Brontë’s narrative feels advanced, almost modern. She seems to suggest that Lucy’s past and family background do not truly matter; there are parts of her history that Lucy chooses not to reveal, perhaps connected to trauma or grief. What ultimately matters is Lucy’s present experience and the story she is living now.

Speaking about the nun ghost, I assume that Lucy’s struggles with her mental health make her experience hallucination-like visions, especially when she is grieving. The nun appears mainly within the pensionnat, and, much like in Jane Eyre, Brontë presents the mystery in a way that seems supernatural at first but is ultimately given a logical explanation.

I’m not going to say that this book is an easy read—you can’t just breeze through it. I had to concentrate more deeply to absorb it, especially at the beginning when Brontë presents Lucy mainly as an observer and a somewhat unreliable narrator. There is also a great deal of French dialogue, so readers who don’t understand French may need to rely on footnotes. However, with a little patience, you begin to uncover the subtle depth of Lucy’s emotions and enjoy the rich, fascinating descriptions of place—even without any visual references from film adaptations, azzz they should make this into film.

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬✬(4/5)
Title : Villette
Author : Charlotte Brontë
Publisher : Penguin English Library
Year : 2012 (First Published in 1853)
Format / Pages : Softcover / 616 pages
ISBN :  9780141199887

Review The Black Tulip - Alexandre Dumas

Here we are in the Netherlands in the mid-seventeenth century, when the country was a young republic emerging from its long struggle for independence from Spain and was marked by political tension between the ruling House of Orange and the republican leaders, the brothers De Witt. This was a time of great prosperity, but also of deep conflict and instability. This novel is one of heroism, tinged with tragedy, history, and political intrigue. Our author is the beloved Alexandre Dumas of France, so be prepared for a tale full of action and adventure.

The Black Tulip flower lies at the heart of the novel, a symbol of the nation and of material pursuit, embodying the ambition to cultivate a flower that had never before been discovered. The city of Haarlem offers a prize of 100,000 francs to whoever can succeed in growing a black tulip. At stake are not only the reward itself, but also fame and honour: the victor’s name will be forever linked to the tulip that bears it.

Cornelius van Baerle is a devoted lover of tulips, a wealthy, generous, and gentle man who lives only for his flowers. He dreams of discovering the black tulip so that it may bear his name. He begin experiment to discover a black tulip. But he has an evil neighbour who shares the same passion for tulip-growing, yet is corrupted by envy and greed: Isaac Boxtel. A manipulative man, Boxtel schemes to steal Cornelius’s black tulip and ultimately has him thrown into prison, falsely accusing him because of his connection to the brothers De Witt, who are now branded as traitors.

The plot of betrayal is reminiscent of another Dumas novel, The Count of Monte Cristo. Though this story is nearly three hundred pages long, it is still a fascinating book. Rosa, our unexpected heroine, is a beautiful and kind-hearted Frisian girl. She soon falls in love with Van Baerle—and perhaps, too, is tempted a little by the prize money. Timid and obedient, yet practical and clever, she lives in her father’s house; her father is the jailer. It is here that the action begins.

So this is not just a story about the pursuit of material things which is the black tulip itself or the prize money, but a story about love, honesty, and staying strong in difficult times. At first, the historical background of seventeenth-century Holland may feel a bit confusing, especially with the political conflict around the De Witt brothers. However, once you understand it, the setting helps make the story more meaningful and realistic.

Compared to Dumas’s other works like The Count of Monte Cristo, this novel is shorter and lighter, but still touching. It is a good choice for beginer because it is not too long, the language is clear, and the message is positive. In the end, the story shows that true success is not only about winning money or fame, but about keeping your integrity and finding happiness with the people you love.

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬✬(4/5)
Title : The Black Tulip
Author : Alexandre Dumas
Publisher : Penguin English Classics (Black Spine)
Year :  2003 (First Published in 1850)
Format / Pages : Softcover / 258 pages
ISBN : 9780140448924

The House of Mirth - Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth moved me profoundly. Ever since I finished the novel a few days ago, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it as I try to make sense of my feelings. There is no doubt that I was captivated by it—so much so that my thoughts have been entirely absorbed in trying to understand it. To truly comprehend its depth and to fully grasp it I could not do without cliffnotes, literary charts or watch the biography of Edith Wharton from historical channel for masterful help.

The complexity of Lily Bart

Gillian Anderson as Lily Bart,
The House of Mirth (2000)

“She was so evidently the victim of the civilization which had produced her, that the links of her bracelet seemed like manacles chaining her to her fate.” (Book I, Chapter 6)

Lily Bart, 29 years old is looking for a husband. She is trapped by the very society that made her. The bracelet, a symbol of beauty and wealth, becomes a chain that holds her down. Lily wants to live honestly and be free from society’s pressure, but she depends on it at the same time. She knows what is wrong with the world she lives in, but she cannot escape it. It is complex, because she lives between what she wants and what she believes is right. 

“She had learned that a woman’s dignity may cost her all she has; but that the absence of it is the costlier thing.”  (Book II, Chapter 7)

In the begining of the novel, Lliy is on the way to attend a house party which her friends, Judy Trenor as a hostes. In this occasion, it is a sadly normal things that a woman in the society like her to seduce a whealty men for a husband, not actually 'sex seduction', but a social performence, expected to marry well. Lily want to attract Percy Gryce, she meet him in a train, but her conversation interupted by Bertha Doreset, one of Lily's friends in her socilite circle who wants to keep Lily from rising higher.

Lily Bart and Lawrence Selden

On the same day, before taking the train to Bellomont, Lily meets Lawrence Selden. She is waiting at the station after visiting her aunt, Mrs. Peniston, when she suddenly spots him among the crowd. Selden invites her to his nearby flat for a cup of tea, and because she doesn’t want anyone to see them together.

“Isn’t marriage your vocation? Isn’t it what you’re all brought up for?”

 (Selden, Book I, Chapter )

“Ah, there’s the difference—a girl must, a man may if he chooses.”She surveyed him critically. “Your coat’s a little shabby—but who cares? It doesn’t keep people from asking you to dine. If I were shabby no one would have me: a woman is asked out as much for her clothes as for herself. The clothes are the background, the frame, if you like: they don’t make success, but they are a part of it. Who wants a dingy woman? We are expected to be pretty and well-dressed till we drop—and if we can’t keep it up alone, we have to go into partnership.” (Lily, Book I, Chapter)

The conversations between Lily Bart and Lawrence Selden are among the most fascinating parts of The House of Mirth. Besides providing an overview of the double standards in the early twentieth century, through their dialogue, Edith Wharton emphasizes the contrast between individual ideals and the corrupt social system that shapes their lives.

He sat up with sudden energy, resting his elbows on his knees and staring out upon the mellow fields. “My idea of success,” he said, “is personal freedom."

“Freedom? Freedom from worries?"
"From everything—from money, from poverty, from ease and anxiety, from all the material accidents. To keep a kind of republic of the spirit— that’s what I call success."

It is clear that Lily and Selden stand on opposite sides of that world: while Lily is trapped within the glittering but merciless society she depends on, Selden remains outside, observing and judging it with moral detachment. Selden’s belief in a “republic of the spirit” represents a vision of freedom based on integrity and inner worth rather than wealth. Yet tragically, Lily cannot fully embrace that ideal—she knows that Selden is not wealthy enough to sustain the luxurious life her upper-class world demands. So, they are intellectually and emotionally equal, but unequal socially and  freedom.

The Character's mirror  and The Social Game

In The House of Mirth show that not everyone who looks kind really is. People in Lily's world care more about gossip and appearance than honesty or friendship. Everything around her feels like a masked ball, where everyone wears smiles to cover their true faces, that the beautiful world of the rich is often just a disguise for greed and competition.

“It was one of the laws of Lily’s world that she must amuse her friends, but never let them see that they amused her.”

Edith Wharton uses Bertha Dorset, Carry Fisher, and Gerty Farish as three different paths that Lily Bart could take — like multiple choices offered by society. Each woman represents a possible way for Lily's future. Bertha chooses wealth and power through lies and manipulation. Gerty chooses honesty and kindness, but lives a poor and lonely life. Carry learns how to adapt — she is not cruel, but she plays the social game just enough to live comfortably. Wharton shows that for women like Lily, every choice leads to loss: if she chooses goodness, she loses comfort; if she chooses wealth, she loses freedom. None of the options offer real happiness. In this world, beauty and charm are social currency, and one misstep leads to ruin. Lily begins as a skilled player but gradually realizes that the game itself is corrupt.

Conclusion:

In the end, The House of Mirth is not merely the story of one woman, but also a reflection of the world and circumstances she navigates. Through Lily Bart’s experiences, Wharton critiques the shallow values of the society she once belonged to. She also gives readers plenty of room to imagine, using subtlety and ambiguity, especially in the ending, which invites interpretation. Her elegant, suggestive style makes readers active participants in understanding the story. This is what gives her writing enduring power, allowing it to remain relevant and widely discussed more than a century later. 

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬✬✬(5/5)
Title : The House of Mirth
Author : Edith Wharton
Publisher : Penguin English Library
Year : 2012 (First Published in 1905)
Format / Pages : Softcover / 400 pages
ISBN : 9780141199023

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Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë

Charlotte Brontë only written four great books. But if she ever wrote a book with her passion and spirit, it is Jane Eyre. I haven't read all his books, but enough to be assured that it is so. Charlotte Brontë is well-known for her gender roles and feminism writing and satirical social class and Inequality. But in Jane Eyre, her writing is beautiful, passionate, and sincere. She blends romance, gothic mystery and social criticsm making it both personal revolutionary work.

The story of Jane Eyre tells about Jane’s life from her hard childhood until she becomes an independent woman. She faces many struggles, learns about love and self-respect, and always tries to stay true to her own values. The novel is told by Jane herself, so we can really feel her thoughts and emotions. The book also tells about other people around Jane, which helps us see what life was like in the Victorian time. We can see the difference between rich and poor, how women were treated unfairly, and how hard life was for many people. It also talks about family, love, and morals, which makes Jane Eyre feel like a complete story about life.

Lady Chatterley's Lover - D.H. Lawrence

Connie’s marriage to Clifford was shaped more by social expectation than true love. At first, she tried to be a loyal and supportive wife, unfortunately Clifford returned from the war, paralyzed. Their relationship lacked physical intimacy as Clifford became more absorbed in his writing and intellectual world. Connie still young and full of life, began to feel lonely and invisible till Connie met Mellors, the gamekeeper of Wragby and Clifford’s servant, and over time, their quiet understanding grew into a deep and unexpected love.

It’s like—I don’t fully agree with what Connie to Clifford. I feel pity for Clifford—a  but is crippled, powerless, and impotent. He’s trapped in his own pride and intellect, unable to truly connect with Connie emotionally or physically. On the other hand, I also sympathize with Connie, who feels no joy or warmth at Wragby. It’s not entirely her fault; a man like Clifford never truly tried to understand her needs as a woman. Connie longs for freedom—to live by her own choices rather than stay imprisoned in an unhappy marriage. True love rarely comes in a lifetime, and when she found it in Mellors, she felt lucky. She surrendered to it, even if it meant giving up her social status, because for the first time, she truly felt alive.

Connie was raised with a sense of freedom, nothing could stop her from choosing her own happiness. She decided to follow her heart and trust in Mellors, the only man she truly loved. Some might say this is selfish in a world led by men, but the truth is, we women also have a choice—to live fully, not just to endure.

Lady Chaterley's Lover is not only about adultery and intimacy; it also serves as proof that Connie and Mellors relationship becomes a lens that subtly explores issues of class difference, economic disparity, the changing geographical landscape of old England, and the emotional damage caused by industrialization and social expectation. They reach a kind of primordial happiness—simple, natural, and deeply human. Away from the noise of society and industrial life, they find joy in each other’s presence, both physical and emotional bond.

Okay, maybe I’m a bit weird for liking this scandalous author, and I feel a little ashamed for reading this book. But somehow, despite the controversy, the story speaks to something real. I think, the readers in the early 20th century were not ready for Lady Chatterley's Lover because social and moral values at that time were much more conservative, especially involving a married woman and a working-class man, and were considered inappropriate and even scandalous. I don't know in this century, book like this become a common though I rarely read contemporer fiction, but the question is "why" ? people nowdays is more liberal to express their art and tought,  and the publisher does not censor strictly and basicly sales the book based on provit oriented. Nevertheless, classic authors stand out not just for their breakthroughs in literature, but also for their courage to speak about taboo subjects that reflect real human experiences. The more controversial, the more interesting for me, and the more forbidden the more I want to read. This is the second reading from D.H Lawrence, I would like to read more books from him. I also curious with The Rainbow.

"One may go against convention, but one must keep up tradition.”

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬✬(4/5)

Title : Lady Chatterley's Lover

Author : D.H Lawrence
Publisher : Signet Classics

Year : 2011 (First Published in 1928)
Format / Pages : Softcover /368 pages
ISBN :  9780451531957

Review The Mill on The Floss by George Eliot

St. Ogg's is a small, old town in England by the River Floss. It has green fields, farms, and countryside all around it. The town has small streets, old buildings, and a close tie to the river, which is very important to the people who live there. Dorlcote Mill is just outside the town, close to the river, and the water powers the mill. The river is both pretty and risky, especially when it floods. The calm but changing scenery near St. Ogg's shows the lives and problems of the characters in The Mill on the Floss.

The Tullivers own Dorlcote Mill. The Tulliver family has owned the mill for many years. The mill is their home and how they make money. The Tullivers feel strongly about Dorlcote Mill, showing how important it is to their family and culture.

The main character is Maggie Tulliver, who had a childhood with strong emotions and big hopes. Many critics think she represents the author herself (George Eliot's real name was Mary Ann Evans). She was a smart and eager girl who loved to read and learn, and she often felt like she didn't fit in. Her brother, Tom Tulliver, was stubborn and didn't like new ideas, and he never understood Maggie. Maggie was very close to her brother Tom, and she was often compared to her cousin from her mother's side, Lucy Deane. Lucy's role in the story shows the contrast between people who easily fit into society, like her, and Maggie, who always struggled because she was different from what people expected of young women in the 19th century.

The story goes on from when they were kids to when they were adults. The Tulliver family's troubles begin when her father loses their mill, causing them shame and difficulty. Mr. Tulliver, Maggie’s father, gets into a fight with a man named Mr. Wakem. Mr. Tulliver borrows money to pay for a lawsuit against Wakem, but he loses the case. After that, he is unable to pay back the money he owes. Because of this, he has to sell the mill and everything he owns to pay his debts. This brings much sadness and trouble to the Tulliver family. This causes the Tulliver hated Wakem family, the hatred itself passed down to their next generations.

Review The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim

"May scorched and withered; March was restless, and could be hard and cold in its brightness; but April came along softly like a blessing, and if it were a fine April it was so beautiful that it was impossible not to feel different, not to feel stirred and touched."

The Enchanted April offers a gentle, introspective story about four English women—strangers to one another—who decide to escape their unfulfilling lives and spend a month together in a medieval castle in Italy. Set in the 1920s, shortly after World War I, the novel explores themes of love, loneliness, and healing, all wrapped in the warm and fragrant atmosphere of an Italian spring.

“that anybody would quarrel about anything when they’ve not left off being together for a single day for two whole years. What we both need is a holiday.”

The premise is charming and simple: Mrs. Wilkins and Mrs. Arbuthnot, two rather ordinary and unhappy mediocore housewives in London, come across an advertisement for a castle available for rent in Italy. Longing for peace and beauty, they impulsively decide to share the cost—and the experience—with two other women: Lady Caroline, a glamorous socialite weary of constant attention and shallow relationships, and Mrs. Fisher, a conservative elderly widow clinging to the values of the Victorian era.

Review dan Ulasan Novel Mary Barton - Elizabeth Gaskell

Mary Barton, a poignant novel and the first Elizabeth Gaskell work that was published in 1848. This is the second novel that I have read from her. As always, her narrative is well constructed and easy to read. Elizabeth Gaskell is good at mixing romance with social critique and political commentary, so, she has never disappointed me so far.

The original title of this work is Mary Barton: A Tale Of Manchester Life. True to the title, the work portrays the lives of people in Machester as an industrial town. Gaskell underscores their working class, poor people, their starvation, their slumming area, their pride, their social gap, also the way of living between workers and masters. The author realistically depicts the conditions in the city of Manchester during The Great Depression in 1839.

The titular character, Mary Barton, is Gaskell's heroine. A young and beautiful woman from working class family, ambitious become a "lady", and want to marries whealty men who can escaped her and her family from poverty. When her mother died, Mary lives with her only father, John Barton as a workers at the mill and the representative for workers' rights and joining Chartism movement.

Mary had an affair with the mill owner's son, Harry Carson, assuming that he would marry her. Readers may think that Mary is shallow, but she doesn't have another choice. She thinks she can make it with her beauty. It's sad to think her mother and her older brother died because there was not enough money to buy medicine. Mary rejected Jem Willson, who loved her, for Henry. 

Henry Carson's privilege contrasted sharply with the dire poverty and hardship of workers. They envy the ease of life of the upper class while they are suffering. Food shortages and malnutrition. Why don't the masters increase their wages? Then, something terrible happened, something that turned Mary's life. Can she be the 'lady' she wants to be?

What had happened to the life of Mary Barton, had changed her personality. Her bold and her integrity win the hearts of the readers, and she deserves the title of heroine. Mary is surrounded by her neighbors and friends who are loyal and support her. There are many subplots which are told about Mary's blind friends, Margaret, who has a beautiful voice, Alice Willson who become the mother role model for Marry, and the mysterious disapperance her aunt, Esther.

All the thematic expositions, of birth, death, social class, and love, are centered on Mary Barton. The tale about master vs workers as if it never ends. From The Movement of Chartism through this day, workers are getting better rights from year to year. This book is an interesting read, made me a little bit smarter. Sadly, because too many characters died, nevertheless, it ended up beautiful.

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬✬✬(5/5)

​Title : Mary Barton
Author : Elizabeth Gaskell
Publisher : Penguin Popular Classics
Year : 1994 (First Published in 1848)
Pages : 372 pages
ISBN : 9780140621020

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Review Jude The Obscure - Thomas Hardy

The story revolves around the protagonist, Jude Fawley. He dreamed become a scholar at university in another town, Christminster. It's says dream because Jude is from a working class family, and didn't afford to pay his tuition. Jude teaches himself Classical Greek and Latin in his spare time, while working in his great-aunt's bakery, with the hope of entering university.

His one reckless action in his youth, committed on the seduction of a butcher girl, had set his dream apart. Jude marries Arabella Donn, after she lies that she's pregnant, they have unhappy marriage, then Arabella leaves him. This sets in motion the events that form the main storyline until Jude meet his cousin, Sue Bridehead. This moment marks the beginning of Jude's deep emotional attachment to Sue, a relationship that becomes central to the novel. 

The first impression the reader forms on Jude is a person who is firm with his dreams but powerless because his circumstances and societal expectations have thwarted him. His sincere actions call for a lot of sympathy. Sue's independence shifts to defiance of traditional gender roles. She is an extremely intelligent woman who rejects Christianity and flirts with paganism. She is both admirable but deeply flawed. Hardy also associates Sue with many of his heroines, like Tess d'Urbervilles (Tess of d'Ubervilles) and Eustacia Vye (The Return of The Native). The rest of the characters: Richard Phillotson, Arabella and Little-Father-time are overshadowing their bleak life and their bright dream. All of them are flawed, but Richard Phillotson is an ambiguous character, making it difficult to label him as right or wrong. His choices are shaped by societal norms.

"I can’t bear that they, and everybody, should think people wicked because they may have chosen to live their own way! It is really these opinions that make the best intentioned people reckless, and actually become immoral!’   (Sue, Part Fifth chapter VI, pg. 293)

The entire content of this novel is still about Jude Fawley and his obscurity in philosophy and society. Jude's and Sue's unconventional love story encourages readers to question traditional norms. The pursuit of dreams and societal judgment resonate deeply with modern readers. Hardy seems to propose that we should battle against our tragic fate. At some time. He shows that the battle itself is futility.

I am very grateful that Thomas Hardy has published many books! His books always pushed my reading slump away, his flowy narrative and his beautiful depiction of rural Dorset in the 19th century are something I can't find in contemporary books. But, Jude The Obscure is too emotional, tragic had left me in tears.

"Their philosophy only recognizes relations based on animal desire."

Ruang Buku Megga Rated : ✬✬✬✬ (4/5)

​Title : Jude The Obscure

Author : Thomas Hardy

Publisher : Alma Classics

Year :  2019 (First Published in 1895)

Pages :  448 pages

ISBN : 9781847498076

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