The land of five towers by A. Fuadi

Set in Ponorogo, Indonesia. Reviewed on 2018/12: https://www.instagram.com/p/BrAeSjxHDO_/

Sometimes I just don’t get the story at all and I’m OK with that. #thelandoffivetowers is apparently a big hit and #fuadi a well-known writer back in #indonesia . However I’m pretty sure I won’t remember this book a few days from now. The premise is mildly interesting and the writing is simple enough to get you pass through stories and experiences which I know nothing about. I couldn’t get my mind passed the #lostintranslation level at least in two ways. First I think most of the universal elements in the story for example #comingofage or #ambitions or #exploringtheworld as a teenager were secondary to more specific and unexplained #indonesian and Islamic elements which let me feeling I was never going to know what else is happening here. On top of that, this book, which is the first in a #trilogy uses #autobiographical elements which rendered the entire book even more impenetrable for me. I’d be interested to know what Indonesian readers or others thought about this book. There were parts which I also found a tiny bit pretentious and too religious for my taste. Needless to say, I will #notrecommend it. #indonesialiterature #sumatra #ahmadfuadi #gramediabooks #gramediapustakautama #ponorogo #westsumatra #pesantren #fuadi