I officially start my final year tomorrow. Wow, time flies by fast huh? I have such a mixed emotion about it. At one time I'm over the moon excited and at one time I just wanna close my eyes and wish I didn't have to deal with it :/
Spring break was fun despite my short trip back home. Best part was being able to read a newly finished novel entitled 'Ekstasi Rumi'.
To be honest I'm not really much of a Malay novel reader maybe because I have an image that Malay novels have the same genre of either a story about marriage by contract, or the typical girl goes to study overseas and finds a rich guy who will probably be a snob and then BOOM! They end up falling in love and getting married. (read: not interested)
But this novel was different. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop!
It has a soul of its own. And the fact that it involves Rumi means so much more to me. Go read Elif Shafak's Forty Rules of Love and you will understand why. You will learn to love Rumi as much as I have learned to love him. He has that special charismatic aura in him which is perfectly portrayed in the novel by the way.
So, the novel was about so many things at the same time. But in the end it all came back to; perspective. It relates to the whole seeing the glass half empty analogy. That's the thing with the novel or shall I say the writing itself. Every sentence you read gets you thinking. I especially loved one sentence; 'Terperangkap dalam terperangkap'. The narrator was talking about how he was stuck in between two situations. Something in the likes of..inception?
'Kadang-kala tak semua benda boleh dibaiki atau dihidupkan semula. Ada yang lebih baik ditinggalkan begitu sahaja; tidak perlu diperbetulkan semula. Hanya kita sahaja yang perlu keberanian untuk berubah atau terus duduk dalam ketakutan.' -Ekstasi Rumi
This is a special part of the novel that I also happened to fall in love with. He was talking about the past and how we're always haunted by our past that it traps you so hard you're not even able to move. But in the end its up to you to do what you have to do. Of course, I instantly related to it so much more that the moment I read it, some strings in my heart were tugged.
As for characters; I love the fact that the author never really gave a name to the narrator. It gives that whole mysterious thing I especially find interesting in a novel. And plus; I loved guessing if the author is actually telling the story of himself or not through the character. I have asked about this to the author, but he has refused to tell me anything. Pfft =.=
However, my favorite character had to be Maria. She was portrayed as the victim of her father's own actions as she was betrayed by the man she loved when he gave her away to prostitute. Tragic, no?
Overall, a wonderful novel well written and definitely worth reading.
I loved the book and I love it more knowing the fact that I happen to be dating the author. *grin*
