Magical Silhouette

Ah, finally I finish a book and now am back to drop a comment on Goodreads. It’s been more than one year since I posted the latest comment here. Well, it was a matter of fact book, very little speculation about whether or not certain historical rumors were true. Rodrigo Borgia, Juan, Lucrezia and Cesare, - what to make of them? Were they the hopelessly corrupt villains that history has often made them out to be, or were they products of a tumultuous 16th century Renaissance and no better and no worse than most of their contemporaries? 

This book has actually received criticism for focusing too much on the outfits and what types of cloth they were carrying when going from place to place, but the fact remains that is the type of information that survived long enough to get to us. The book starts even before Rodrigo is named pope and ends with Lucrezia’s death, so it covers a lot of history and isn’t quite as in depth with everything. However, the book mostly focuses especially on Cesare and Lucrezia. I love how Hibbert depicts Lucrezia character. She was something of an enigma. Gracious, learned, very bright, and good looking, she was often a pawn in her father’s political schemes, but never, as far this book goes, cruel (which is a real step up from the family standard). Still, she was always loyal to her father and brother, Cesare. And then, she did have a child out of wedlock. 

And I still keep wondering if Cesare actually had an incest with Lucrezia. I’m currently watching the new Showtime series The Borgias (Season 2). Let’s see if it truly happened. :))

Ah, it’s been more than one year ago since I posted my latest rambling. Now it’s different. I graduated from FEUI last year and now I’m an equity analyst with a license to publish my own report. Well, I have no clue to describe something on this post. I just wanna say that the sink’s been broken. Nggak nyambung? Sama!

missmaharrani:

Day 64 

Tulisan di mobil box Pecel Lele Lela
Bener juga ya..
Setuju? Sent from my BijouxBerry®

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Saya terakhir kali membaca Sirah Nabawiyah karangan Syaikh Shafiyyurrahman Al-Mubarakfury kurang lebih 4 tahun yang lalu, akan tetapi masih hangat dalam kepala saya tentang alur-alur kehidupan Muhammad SAW. Di buku itu digambarkan bahwa perjalanan hidup Rasulullah SAW adalah lautan yang luas membentang, dengan kebeningan airnya yang kebiruan.

Dan Tasaro berhasil menggambarkan kisah perjalanan hidup itu dengan memadukannya dengan tokoh-tokoh fiksi seperti Kashva, pemuda yang dijuluki Sang Pemindai Surga, orang kepercayaan Khosrou, raja Persia. Ia sedang melakukan pencarian akan seorang Lelaki Penggenggam Hujan, yang dalam agama Zoroaster-nya disebut sebagai Astvat-ereta. Kashva terdorong hasratnya untuk memurnikan kembali ajaran Zardusht, serta persahabatannya dengan Ruzabah dan Elyas, seorang penjaga Biara Bashrah menambah rasa penasarannya untuk mengetahui siapa gerangan manusia yang telah dijanjikan dalam berbagai kitab suci itu.

Tasaro menggambaran bahwa sebelum hadirnya Muhammad di muka bumi ini, ribuan kitab-kitab dari berbagai macam agama di belahan dunia telah melukiskan namanya dengan berbagai macam versi. Lihat saja, Kashva sempat membuat murka raja Persia dengan mengumumkan kedatangan sang Astvat-Ereta, Nabi yang dalam kitab-kitab suci agama lain disebut Himada, Shalom, Namiuchi, dan Maitreya. Ia yang akhirnya diusir dari persia, melakukan perjalanan spiritualnya di berbagai negara sebelum akhirnya sampai di tibet demi menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang bergolak di dalam hatinya itu.

Tasaro kemudian membawa kita menjelajahi eksotisme Persia, India, Tibet, dan tempat-tempat lainnya dalam perjalanan Kashva. Kisahnya berjalan paralel dengan kisah Muhammad di Arab meski tidak pernah bersinggungan secara langsung.

Dengan gaya penuturan yang kuat, Tasaro berhasil membawa pembacanya seolah dapat turut melihat dan merasakan apa yang terjadi pada waktu-waktu itu dan berada di samping Rasulullah SAW. Tasaro menggambarkan Nabi Muhammad sebagai sosok yang tinggi dan suci, layaknya manusia biasa, manusia yang bisa disentuh dan digenggam.

Bagi saya, buku ini adalah salah satu novel temporer Indonesia terbaik saat ini. Sayangnya, cerita fiksi yang indah ini diakhiri hanya sampai peristiwa Fathul Makkah, tidak sampai akhir hayat Rasulullah SAW. Meski demikian, buku ini layak menjadi pengantar menyelami sejarah hidup Rasulullah SAW.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoy the Sunday Philosophy Club series. In fact, I don’t think there’s anything by McCall Smith that I don’t love. Smith creates delicate characters who have a lot of integrity and can illustrate complex concepts in a simple, pleasurable way. My very limited but enjoyed experiences in the studies of philosophy, is drawn to the way she analyzes moral subjects and those dilemmas and persons that step into her “moral proximity.” And, what a glorious life it is with the “Review of Applied Ethics” and all the lectures and concerts she attends, not to mention the meals, at home and out that she and Jamie so romantically share.
Alexander McCall Smith once again leaves me thinking about Isabel as someone I would like to know in real life.