Never Let Me Go

I admit I don't read a lot of sci-fi. I remember Jurassic Park as the last sci-fi I read. That was in secondary school and partly because of the buzz of the upcoming movie adaptation. The movie disappointed me because they changed major things about the characters and only included 6 dinosaur species.

I didn't have a single clue that Never Let Me Go is a sci-fi. The reason I picked this up is because of Kazuo Ishiguro. I know him as the author of The Remains of the Day, which was also turned into a film starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson (both my favourite.) I wondered how a Japanese could write a story with a British aristrocrat setting. My search revealed that Ishiguro is not quite Japanese, rather a British of Japanese origin. If anything I imagine Ishiguro would face more struggle in writing about Japan.

I suspected this to be sci-fi the story started throwing terms at me. In this case they were 'donors' and 'carers'. Kathy is one such carer who runs into a donor named Ruth. Both of them grew up together in a establishment called Hailsham.

The reasons they were in Hailsham remains blurry until the second half of the story. Kathy and Ruth are almost opposite. For instance Ruth enjoys being the centre of attention while Kathy steers away from it. And of course, opposites attract.

Another bond that they share is Tommy, a boy who seems to not quite fit in at Hailsham. His easily riled-up nature makes him target of other students' ribbings. Their view of Tommy's reactions go from amuse to sympathy to concern. Over the few years in Hailsham the three of them grow closer. Tommy and Ruth later become a pair.

Hailsham was only the beginning. Later they are moved to another place, among 'others' who are like them. Through Kathy's point of view of the events that happened we slowly learn about they really are.

I sense that Ishiguro didn't plan to pass off this story as sci-fi. Sci-fi is used as the setting. The story mainly hinges on the events that happen between Kathy, Ruth and Tommy. Kathy walks us through the details; like incidences, the words said and the reactions that follow. They reveal much of the deeply hidden intricacies of their relationships.

Never Let Me Go is a story that rewards the reader for being patient. Set aside some time if you plan to read it. Like speeding through a stretch of beautiful countryside road; you'll arrive sooner but you'll miss the scenery.

An excerpt from The Children's Story

The name James Clavell takes me back, 20 years or so. He's the guy who wrote sagas like Tai-Pan, Shōgun and Noble House. I never read those but I did watch the miniseries/movies (Dunhill Double, anyone?). I still remember Bryan Brown Richard Chamberlain in Tai-Pan Shōgun in a scene where he got captured by the Japanese and was thrown in huge hole and then they poured "air siang ikan" over him and his comrades. I thought if I were him at that time I'd die there and then from excessive puking.

(Was it Bryan Brown in Tai-Pai with the Chinese, or Richard Chamberlain in Shōgun with the Japanese?, I can't remember exactly who was it that got poured with fish-entrails-water. Anyone, help, please?)

Clavell did write something besides lengthy sagas, one in particular is The Children's Story. The excerpt below is taken from The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America, a book detailing the rise and design of the modern US education system. It's mostly findings and evidences, but a part seems to call out to me is this one. Maybe because it's Clavell. I'm not sure.

Anyway, please read on and ponder. I'll leave you to your own conclusion.

It was a simple incident in the life of James Clavell—a talk with his young daughter just home from school—that inspired this chilling tale of what could happen in twenty-five quietly devastating minutes. He [Clavell] writes: “the children’s story came into being that day. It was then that I really realized how vulnerable my child’s mind was—any mind for that matter—under controlled circumstances.” Some excerpts from the last pages of this remarkable book follow:

“Sit down, Johnny, and we’ll start learning good things and not worry about grown-up bad thoughts. Oh yes,” she said when she sat down at her seat again, brimming with happiness. “I have a lovely surprise for you. You’re all going to stay overnight with us. We have a lovely room and beds and lots of food, and we’ll all tell stories and have such a lovely time.”

“Oh, good,” the children said.“Can I stay up till eight o’clock?” Mary asked breathlessly.

“Well, as it’s our first new day, we’ll all stay up to eight-thirty. But only if you promise to go right to sleep afterward.”

The children all promised. They were very happy. Jenny said, “But first we got to say our prayers. Before we go to sleep.”

The New Teacher smiled at her. “Of course. Perhaps we should say a prayer now. In some schools that’s a custom, too.” She thought a moment, and the faces watched her. Then she said, “Let’s pray. But let’s pray for something very good. What should we pray for?”

“Bless Momma and Daddy,” Danny said immediately.

“That’s a good idea, Danny. I have one. Let’s pray for candy. That’s a good idea, isn’t it?”

They all nodded happily.

So, following their New Teacher, they all closed their eyes and steepled their hands together, and they prayed with her for candy.

The New Teacher opened her eyes and looked around disappointedly. “But where’s our candy? God is all-seeing and is everywhere, and if we pray, He answers our prayers. Isn’t that true?”

“I prayed for a puppy of my own lots of times, but I never got one,” Danny said.

“Maybe we didn’t pray hard enough. Perhaps we should kneel down like it’s done in church.”

So the New Teacher knelt and all the children knelt and they prayed very, very hard. But there was still no candy.

Because the New Teacher was disappointed, the children were very disappointed.

Then she said, “Perhaps we’re using the wrong name.” She thought a moment and then said,“Instead of saying ‘God,’ let’s say ‘Our Leader.’ Let’s pray to Our Leader for candy. Let’s pray very hard and don’t open your eyes till I say.”

So the children shut their eyes tightly and prayed very hard, and as they prayed, the New Teacher took out some candy from her pocket and quietly put a piece on each child’s desk. She did not notice Johnny—alone of all the children—watching her through his half-closed eyes.

She went softly back to her desk and the prayer ended, and the children opened their
eyes and they stared at the candy and they were overjoyed.

“I’m going to pray to Our Leader every time,” Mary said excitedly.

“Me, too,” Hilda said. “Could we eat Our Leader’s candy now, teacher?”

“Oh, let’s, please, please, please.”

“So Our Leader answered your prayers, didn’t he?”

“I saw you put the candy on our desks!” Johnny burst out. “I saw you…. I didn’t close my eyes, and I saw you. You had ‘em in your pocket. We didn’t get them with praying. You put them there.”

All the children, appalled, stared at him and then at their New Teacher. She stood at the front of the class and looked back at Johnny and then at all of them.

“Yes, Johnny, you’re quite right. You’re a very, very wise boy. Children, I put candy on your desks. So you know that it doesn’t matter whom you ask, whom you shut your eyes and ‘pray’ to—to God or anyone, even Our Leader—no one will give you anything. Only another human being.” She looked at Danny. “God didn’t give you the puppy you wanted. But if you work hard, I will. Only I or someone like me can give you things. Praying to God or anything or anyone for something is a waste of time.” [all emphases in original]

The Remains of the Day

Dari mana saya mengenali The Remains of the Day? Dari adaptasi filemnya.



Berlatar belakangkan England pra dan pasca Perang Dunia ke-2, buku ini mengisahkan tentang Stevens, seorang butler di rumah agam bernama Darlington Hall. Pemiliknya, Lord Darlington, merupakan seorang pegawai yang terlibat dalam urusan diplomatik. Tetamu yang keluar masuk Darlington terdiri daripada rakyat pelbagai negara, termasuklah Jerman yang pada awal cerita sedang bersiap sedia untuk menyerang negara-negara Eropah lain.

Sebagai butler, Stevens secara tidak lansung menjadi saksi kepada pelbagai peristiwa yang penting di dalam sejarah Britain. Sebagai orang tengah antara wakil pelbagai negara, Lord Darlington dibebani dengan tekanan yang amat berat. Sikapnya yang agak berlembut terhadap Jerman menyebabkan dia yang dituduh sebagai pengkhianat.

Semua ini adalah imbauan Stevens. Selepas perang Darlington Hall berpindah milik kepada Encik Farraday, seorang rakyat Amerika, yang mencadangkan kepada Stevens agar bercuti dan mengambil masa untuk berehat sambil menikmati keindahan kawasan luar bandar. Dengan buku The Wonder of England di tangan, Stevens mengatur perjalanan menelusuri destinasi seperti Salisbury, Devon dan Weymouth.

Di Weymouth Stevens ingin menziarahi Miss Kenton, yang kini Puan Benn, salah seorang bekas tenaga kerja Darlington Hall. Mereka sama-sama bekerja ketika ayah Stevens masih berkhidmat dengan Lord Darlington. Perkenalan membibitkan perasaan, namun kedua-dua Steven dan Miss Kenton memendamkan perasaan demi profesionalisme.

Seorang butler bukan hanya seorang pembantu. Bidang tugas seorang butler meliputi menguruskan urusan rutin dan peribadi tuannya, memastikan makanan terhidang pada waktunya di samping menunggu di ruang makan sehingga selesai waktu makan dan menjadi teman berbincang serta penyimpan rahsia. Untuk menjadi seorang butler yang secekap Stevens memerlukan latihan yang bertahun-tahun lamanya. Sering kali di dalam perjalanan, fikiran Stevens akan membawanya kembali ke Darlington Hall zaman Lord Darlington, tentang taraf perkhidmatan yang telah dia curahkan. Stevens mengukur dirinya terhadap butler lain yang ternama termasuk ayahnya sendiri.

Cita-cita Stevens ialah untuk menjadi butler yang paling profesional. Profesion butler sedikit sebanyak adalah legasi sistem kelas masyarakat Inggeris. Hanya golongan atasan sahaja yang mampu untuk menggaji para butler dan pembantu lain. Agak sukar untuk membayangkan prospek kerjaya untuk seorang butler kerana butler adalah ketua bagi semua pembantu rumah.

Dari trailer di atas saya diingat kepada satu subplot mengenai pemberhentian dua orang pembantu wanita berbangsa Yahudi daripada Darlington Hall kerana kegusaran Lord Darlington mengenai bangsa itu. Peristiwa ini menimbulkan ketegangan di antara Stevens dan Miss Kenton kerana Miss Kenton berpendapat kedua-dua wanita ini adalah di antara pembantu yang paling cekap di bawah tadbirannya. Isu anti-Semitisme dan diskriminasi ditimbulkan. Sebagai pembaca Muslim, saya tidak mampu mengelak daripada mempunyai reaksi kerana ketika ini mengikut sejarah negara haram Israel sedang dibentuk dan paling penting sekali usaha ini telah berlaku dengan sokongan dan bantuan kuat daripada Britain.

Pertemuan semula Stevens dan Puan Benn agak berlainan daripada jangkaan saya. Saya mengharapkannya menjadi klimaks cerita ini tetapi saya dapati pengalaman Stevens dan imbauan-imbauannya ketika dalam perjalanan jauh lebih sarat dengan makna. Ini adalah buku Kazuo Ishiguro saya yang kedua selepas Never Let Me Go, dan saya menanti peluang untuk membaca yang lain.

Dan filem tadi? Saya belum pernah menontonnya.

Senarai lima buku yang ter... 2009 (4 daripada 5)

Senarai 5 buku ter... Ter-apa? Terbaik? Terseronok? Tersedih? Terpedaya? Saya tak pasti. Apa yang boleh saya katakan, lima buku yang saya senaraikan ini merupakan bacaan yang telah paling banyak membuatkan saya, "Hmmm..."

Buku seterusnya ialah...



Never Let Me Go
Penulis: Kazuo Ishiguro
Penerbit: Faber and Faber
276 halaman

Fiksyen sains, satu genre yang telah lama saya tinggalkan.

Masa di sekolah dahulu, ada satu fasa yang saya lalui sebagai pembaca, fasa fiksyen sains. Cerita tentang robot, perjalanan menerusi masa, dunia angkasa dan makhluk asing menjadi santapan.

Saya rasa mungkin lebih mudah membaca fiksyen sains ketika belum belajar matapelajaran Sains di sekolah berbanding selepas. Barangkali perasaan yang sama dengan apa saya rasaii tentang novel sejarah. Oleh kerana saya kurang faham tentangnya di sekolah, saya merumuskan yang mungkin saya tidak cukup bijak untuk membaca cerita bertemakannya.

Bagaimana saya kembali ke fiksyen sains? Secara tidak disangka-sangka kerana buku ini.

Mana-mana peminat fiksyen sains sejati akan mendakwa genre ini sangat fluid.

Fiksyen sains sebagai kisah cinta? Bagaimana dengan The Time Traveler's Wife?

Fiksyen sains sebagai cerita seram? Masih ingat X-Files?

Fiksyen sains sebagai sastera? Buku ini contohnya. Hingga ke pada bab-bab terakhir saya masih menyoal, ini fiksyen sains atau fiksyen sastera? Jika diteliti, sains lebih seperti sistem saraf cerita.

Novel ini memerlukan kesetiaan dan kesediaan pembaca untuk menerimanya. Tiada robot nuklear gergasi berterbangan atau makhluk berkulit biru berkeliaran, yang ada hanya cerita tentang persahabatan, soal hati dan kerapuhan hidup manusia.

Dalam hidup setakat ini saya yang telah menempuh pelbagai bentuk persahabatan, sama ada yang baik dan yang tidak. Dari mula lagi saya kurang menumpukan kepada aspek sains ceritanya, sebaliknya saya menanti dengan penuh ketidak sabaran bagaimana kesudahan hubungan antara watak-wataknya. Mungkin secara tidak sedar saya membandingkan persahabatan yang pernah saya jalin dengan persahabatan di antara Ruth, Kathy dan Tommy.

Friends o' mine

(The Naruto pic above is kinda cheesy, but I heart Gaara.)

I don't consider myself as a friendly person, nor am I known among people by that reputation. I'm mostly a loner (and an expert at that). In school I did my own thing. When everyone were having a good time at the badminton court playing 'galah panjang', I hung out at the library. If anything, that was my reputation.

My class teacher asked me, You go to the library at recess every day? She looked at me with such unbelievability. Short answer: Yes. Slightly longer answer, the one I didn't told her: Yes, because I'm super lame at 'galah panjang' and nobody wants to play anything else.

From childhood to the present, I've been comfortable being outside a group or clique. I do hang out with my regular buddies, but I never see myself as a core member. These people usually do things and go places together, and I'm around mostly to tag along. I'm more a fringe member.

I thought with all this I shouldn't have that many friends. But scrolling up and down my mobile phone address book reveal evidences to the contrary.

Let's see: there's my roommates, coursemates, schoolmates, classmates, people from the same college as I am, former team member from other courses who worked with me in management subjects, anime, manga & comics 'kakis', game 'kakis', people I know from the 'surau', neighbours, juniors, seniors, lecturers, mentors, advisers, intellectual sparring partners, those have helped save my skin at one time or many times over – How did this list get so long?

I do feel bad about not keeping contact with them. Sometimes I feel when I needed them, I kept them close. But when I don't anymore, I go my own way. I feel kinda selfish (and as I've been told, it's the worst kind of fish).

I try to make up for this during festivities. Thank God for multiple SMSes. A warm, fuzzy feeling trickles through my being when the recipients sends back a reply. It's great to know that they still at least remember you and keeping your number. Nowadays I try to contact as many friends as much as my mobile phone plan allows me, insya-Allah. And there's also IM and email for my faraway friends.

I'm writing all this mainly because I'm meeting with a couple of old friends from school soon. One of them is getting married and he insisted that we meet in person so he can hand me the invitation. Another is a proud father of a new bouncing baby girl, a dude whose calmness and perseverance I greatly envied, back when we were studying together.

I ran into another old friend this morning. Turns out she's a bank officer at my school's branch. (For last three years!)

And to friends who visits this blog to keep in touch with me all this while. Muchas gracias.

If Only They Could Talk

I can be a bit slow when it comes to trying out other people's recommendation and this book is proof of that. My boss lent me this book after I lent her Teacher Man. You're going to love this, she enthusiastically beamed.

I'm happy to report that she is absolutely right. After 5 months of letting it sit still on my shelf, I picked the book up a few days after first Syawal.

If Only They Could Talk follows the journey of veterinarian James Herriot in his first year on the job. It was it first (and last) job fresh out of college, serving the agriculture community of North Yorkshire in the 1930s. He was hired by Siegfried Farnon, an experienced and dashing fellow practitioner. Siegfried had earlier bought over the practice and was running it with his younger brother Tristan.

I'm not sure if it's Herriot himself or the folk of North Yorkshire, but it seems as the place is never short of amusing stories, in and outside the farmyards.

In one story, Herriot was called to examined a sick cow by a very sceptical farmer who watched his every move like a hawk. Herriot, struck by nervousness, proceeded to take the cow's temperature by inserted the thermometer in the animal's rectum. He only turned the other side for only a second, and saw the thermometer had disappeared inside the rectum. I was cracking up as I imagine the look on both Herriot's and the farmer's faces.

Another particular story that still makes me laugh every time I recall it is about an old man who worked a caretaker for a wealthy widow's little pig. She named the pig Nugent, after her uncle. The old man couldn't properly pronounce the name Nugent, probably because of his accent. So whenever Herriot came to attend to the pig, the old man would ask, "Has you come to see Nudist?"

(If you don't know what a nudist is, do look it up. :D )

There are also stories of his boss and his boss's brother. Siegfried, despite being a top-notch veterinarian, has the tendency to be forgetful sometimes. Meanwhile, Tristan is more laid back, maybe too laid back for his own good. On several occasions Tristan even had been fired by Siegfried (like the time he lost the chequebook). But after some time had past and Siegfried being the forgetful person that he is, the brothers went on to work as usual, as if Tristan was never fired.

Herriot writes frankly about his successes and failures. The charm of the book lies in his optimism when times seemed bleak and his willingness to write of his blunders and failures. It's hard not to root for him whenever we find him in tricky situations.

According to ulama, some Prophets were trained by Allah as shepherds before they were given their first revelation. This is because working with animals can be a humbling experience, as evident throughout the stories.


In the US, this book is collected together with the second one (It Shouldn't Happened to a Vet) as All Creatures Great and Small. I disagree with the renaming, as it downplays the humourous feel conveyed in original titles. I feel the same way about the new cover, but you be the judge.

(UPDATE: Actually the renaming was an idea by Herriot's own daughter.)

Herriot has written a total of 6 books in the series. I'm slowly making my way through number 3, Let Sleeping Vets Lie. In this one, we get to see how Herriot pursued his future wife, a local farm girl who shares his love for animals.

As Herriot pondered at the end of of the book, if animals do could talk, what would they say about us humans? Well, if the the farm animals of the Yorkshire Dales could talk and read, they'd probably be telling us to go on and check out Herriot's books.

Hazy preoccupation

Malaysia is currently experiencing a haze that was caused by the fire in Sumatera. And it's slowly turning us Malaysians into Brits.

The British are known for their constant concern with the weather, so much so that it has infected their neighbours the Scots and the Irish as well, although to a somewhat lesser degree. They would talk about everything that other people would talk about, but they would never forget to add the subject of weather to the conversation. And if they have nothing in particular to talk about, they would always turn to the weather talk.

With the haze hanging in the air, most of us have gone British. The weather has become our main preoccupation for the past few days . Most of us are wondering when will the haze be over or it is safe to go jogging/power walking again or could the haze be responsible for the unceasing sleepiness that I seem to be suffering from lately especially during the day?

We may not talk as frequently about the weather as the Brits because our weather normally alternates between hot and wet only. The weather in Britain changes according to the seasons and that can have huge effects on their daily activities.

As for me, I'm inclined to believe that the weather has something to do with my inability to write anything for the past few days. But it's easy to blame something than to blame yourself. I do see a lot of people who are at the their normal production level, despite having the haze shrouding the atmosphere. Perhaps their noses have a special haze-filtering mechanism that prevents them from slowing down in doing their work. I wonder if I have it or not.

Let's hope and pray that the haze will be over soon, insya-Allah. (Now why do I suddenly crave a plate of fish and chips and warm cup of tea? Crickey, the haze's gone to me head!)