Tenggelamnya Kapal Van Der Wijck, hasil penulisan Hamka bukanlah satu nukilan pilihan untuk aku baca, lagi-lagi time waktu balik kerja, dengan otak dan badan keletihan. Dan dengan genre cinta yang jarang sangat aku baca, tapi kenapa tah satu hati aku beli jugak buku ni.

Saat membaca ni, bila tangan kanan dan kiri mula memegang sisi buku, dunia ni biasa gelap, bayangan dan imaginasi akan mula terbentuk hasil dari gambaran yang ditulis. Tapi buku ni, beberapa mula muka surat pertama... hampeh. Aku takleh bayang apa 😂 tak paham wei. Mula-mula give up. Tapi last sekali aku gagahkan jugak, dan lama-lama terbentuk la dunia seorang pemuda bernama Zainudin yang jatuh cinta pada seorang wanita Minang, namanya Hayati.

Bagi aku, Hayati yang digambarkan dalam buku ni sebagai heroin, sebenarnya hanyalah watak antagonis yang membunuh jiwa Zainudin. Hayati seorang hamba kepada adat lapuk yang membataskan perilaku agama dan budaya, yang meletakkan kasta dan keturunan kepada tingginya darjat seseorang. 

“Demikianlah perempuan, ia hanya ingat kekejaman orang kepada dirinya walau pun kecil dan ia lupa kekejamannya sendiri pada orang lain padahal begitu besarnya.” 

Buku ni berat, berat dengan bahasa yang tinggi dan kaya, penuh dengan mesej yang bukan saja cinta, tapi juga kehidupan dan nasionalisme. 

Itu la dia Hamka, penulis lagenda Indonesia. Boleh dibaca untuk yang rajin dan minat kepada bahasa. Yang bahasa melayu teruk macam aku ni, ambil masa sikit. Tapi berbaloi. Aku appreciate.

The Two Brothers

Another book on the shelf. Yes. Two Brothers, by Ben Elton.

From chapter to chapter, this book managed to bring me back to the early years of World War 2. It never fails to touch, and sometime breaks my heart on how this family of four was treated and separated back then during the Nazis. It would be impossible for us to know on how Jews were treated back then. And this family, who are jews were never exempted. 

It happens to be that one of the twin, actually was adopted, and he was never a jew. 

And when it comes to the end of the line, the parents have no other choice but to let the non-jew son go, by telling all the truths. From there, they were separated, but it didn't hold the brothers to meet up at some points. To make it even more complicated, the 'twins' love the same girl, a jew girl where they both put their life in danger for her. To me personally, the girl was the evil plot in the book. She used the boys for her own survival interest. Never in my mind thought that she loved either one of the boys.

As a whole, this book never fails to play with emotions. And that is what I looked in a book. A book that convince me. Reading how family go through with life, how the non-jew brother survive and how he tried so hard to protect his family by all means. It's all about family, relationship, love and trusts. 

I hope that I will come across a book of how the Palestinians were treated, written with such emotions that will show the world, how same the Zionists are with the Nazis.

Peace.

Syed Mokhtar AlBukhary.

Syed Mokhtar Albukhary was the second biography I read after Tun Mahathir's.

Not as well known as other billionaires in Malaysia, Syed Mokhtar is the best product of the New Economic Model (NEM) introduced by the Government back in the 1970s for the Malaysians to share the wealth of the country equally among all races. In this book, the author uncovers all the secrets of success on how he took advantage of NEM in a true nationalist, spiritual and genius way that he is, from the 'kampung boy' to the richest Malay in Malaysia today.

He took us a ride in the business world, from rice trader, to a business mogul, owning the 3 huge groups, MMC, Tradewind and DRB Hicom, his relationship with Tun Mahathir of whom he called a mentor, his family and spiritual beliefs. He shot down the accusation that people randomly made (most Malaysians do) that he won all the projects because of cronyism, but instead he worked hard and won because he deserved it.

I would say that Syed Mokhtar is a man with principles. For whatever he did, whoever he met, he'll never go against the principles that he believed in, not even for millions of ringgit. I adore him for believing in Malaysians, the people and their products. And I hope that 1 day, majority of us will think like he did. A nationalist.

"My approach is simple. When I want to do something, I do first and talk later."

"I once heard a proverb that influenced me greatly. It tells of a seed that grows to become a tree with branches. Flowers and fruits form, and when the fruits are ripe, they become heavy, causing the branches to break and fall. The lesson for is that we must always remember the seed we come from, and be humble when blessed and share good fortune. Otherwise, we are likely to break and fall."

The Time Keeper.

Another Mitch Albom's collection on the bench.

Now I'm starting to like his books after One More Day, which is truly awesome.

It's about Dor, the time keeper, Sarah Lemon and Victor Delamonte.
Dor who is someone cursed for being the first man alive to ever measure time, lives for thousands of years somewhere far, before he was sent back to Earth, where he met Sarah and Victor. He was there not to change their fate, in fact, he's there to make them realize for whatever happens, time flows and past, and you only need to live every moments and appreciate every single seconds that you have.

"Man alone measures time.
Man alone chimes the hour.
And because of this, man alone suffers a paralysing fear that no other creatures endure.
A fear of time running out."
-Mitch Albom

Book Review - For One More Day (Mitch Albom)

Finished reading it in 4 hours straight.

Definitely a solid book to read.

For One More Day is a story about a guy and his endless relationship with his mother.

This book made you think and look back, what would you do if you have the chance to have another day with someone you terribly miss.

The one day you desperately need can never be compared with everyday of your life.

The author would consider this as a ghost story. But I don't.

The story is convincing. The guy in the story, Charley Benetto was thinking to end his life, somehow he failed to do so. Instead, he met with his mother, who actually had died 8 years ago. The one day meeting with his mother was a like a turn back time where he realized what he and his mother had gone through though out the years, in a very different perspective. It is sad to have regrets in life and there is no other way to go back in time.

It is 'awesomely' depressing reading this book. Which what I meant is, depressing in a good way. It's like a wake up call. You may cry and call your mother right after reading this book.

Love your mother. Don't end up like Charley Benetto.

This book is seriously superb.