Reviews

The Wandering, by Intan Paramaditha

serendipitysbooks's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 
The Wandering is the story of an Indonesian woman who makes a pact with devil, one that involves a magical pair of red shoes and international travel. It’s also a choose your own adventure story for adults and has a fair amount of folk lore - Indonesian as well as that more familiar to Western readers - woven into the plots. It’s a unique exploration of themes like travel, belonging, social inequality, the concept of free choice, and of course the consequences of our decisions. I definitely had fun playing with the latter, marking where I made some key decisions, and then going back, making a different choice and seeing what impact that had. I didn’t take the time to attempt to map out and follow every possible permutation though. I enjoyed this book as an experimental exercise and on an intellectual level, but I think the format contributed to this being a less than a satisfying reading experience for me, at least on an emotional level. Possibly this was because it was hard to develop a connection with the main character and see how she developed over time since her story had so many possible variations, something that’s a big part of the book’s message.
 

ossyfirstan's review against another edition

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4.0

Seperti biasa, tulisan beliau selalu membuat jumpalitan. Konon, ada belasan alternatif ending di sini. Hanya saja, kubaru menyelesaikan lima ending (membaca novel yang pilih sendiri macam ini di Scoop agak kurang nendang, dan Gentayangan perlu dimasukkan di wishlist buku yang perlu dibeli). Selalu suka cara penulis menyindir realita yang terjadi di masyarat, misalnya soal nama-nama Indonesia dan tingkah kakaknya yang menggelitik.
Sukses untuk penulisnya, aku suka.

marryallthepeople's review

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1.0

That was a rollercoaster that I couldn't get off, and so I shut the page and didn't get very far... It was odd!

marinazala's review against another edition

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3.0

** Books 279- 2017 **

3,3 dari 5 bintang!

saya pertama kali bertemu dengan karya Mbak Intan dimulai dari sihir perempuan kumpulan cerpen misteri yang membuat saya bergidik ngeri nah ketika terdengar kabar akan rilis buku barunya saya langsung berteriak bakalan seru nih ceritanya bau2nya

ketika buku ini rilis langsung saya membacanya saat itu juga dan saya dibuat terkejut karena buku ini konsepnya tentang petualangan yang kita tentukan sendiri. kalau kalian pernah membaca goosembumps petualangan pasti akan familiar dengan konsep ini

saya mencoba menelusuri petualangan dan cerita demi cerita didalam buku ini dan pada akhirnya saya berhenti di ending yang cukup aneh menurut saya karena berkaitan dengan cermin tetapi saya cukup menikmati alur proses cerita yang ada. mungkin lain kali saya akan mencoba alur jalan yang berbeda biar bisa menikmati ending cerita yang lain. gregetan pengen deh dapat yang endingnya gore atau langsung membuat bulu kuduk bergidik ngeri gitu

jaclyn_sixminutesforme's review

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4.0

This is a book like nothing else I’ve read as an adult—if you’re looking for something that will totally push what you expect from a narrative, read this!
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Because of the choose-your-own adventure structure to this, I should flag that this review is only one possible reading of the text. For reference, the initial “choice” I opted for was the “Berlin” route, and I’ll make sure I edit this review when I come back and do some other variations of choices! Length wise, my choices directed me to more of a novella-length read, and it’s such a blur narrative wise. It felt like a haunting dream, blinking into these alternate locations and existences where reality was somewhat suspended. What I think worked really well, and I imagine will reappear in other iterations on subsequent reads, was the repeated imagery around mirrors and the color red (blood, shoes, etc)... and the use of second person perspective. It felt immersive and disorienting all at once, such a unique read!
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Because of all the hopping around with pages, it’s definitely one I’d suggest buying in print form (unless the ebook edition is hyperlinked!?)

nikolinaza's review against another edition

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5.0

Cewek baik masuk surga, cewek bandel gentayangan.

Buku ini menceritakan tentang 'kamu', sosok wanita yang merasa bosan dengan hidup yang biasa-biasa saja di Jakarta yang sumpek. Suatu hari, 'kamu' mengundang Iblis masuk ke kamarmu. Dia pun berubah menjadi sosok kekasih yang amat memuja 'kamu' dan bersedia memberikan apa pun yang 'kamu' inginkan, termasuk obat untuk kebosananmu. Maka, Iblis Kekasih pun memberikan sepasang sepatu merah yang nantinya akan membawa 'kamu' dalam berbagai petualangan. Sebuah hadiah sekaligus kutukan.

"Kau terkutuk utuk bertualang, atau lebih tepatnya, gentayangan. Bernaung, tapi tak berumah.

Buku ini memiliki format 'pilih sendiri petualanganmu'. Dengan satu awalan yang berujung pada tiga pilihan, pembaca akan diajak menelusuri alur cerita yang berbeda-beda dan berujung pada lima belas ending yang berbeda-beda pula. Beberapa alur cerita saling berkelindan di tengah jalan, jadi sebelum membaca sebaiknya membuat peta terlebih dahulu agar tidak hilang arah.

(Tapi, kalau mau tersesat dalam cerita, fine-fine aja kok, hehehe.)

Aku pernah menemukan novel dengan format serupa, tapi ini kali pertama aku membacanya, dan itu seru sekali! Biasanya, dari awal hingga akhir, pembaca selalu disuguhkan satu alur yang berurutan dan lurus. Di buku ini--meski tetap, kita mengikuti jalan cerita yang disediakan penulis--pembaca bebas memilih ke mana harus melangkah, cabang mana yang harus dipilih. Pilihan-pilihan itulah yang nantinya akan menentukan bagaimana akhir dari petualangan 'kamu'.

Aku suka dengan pemilihan sudut pandang orang kedua yang digunakan penulis di sini. Rasanya seolah-olah aku yang jadi tokoh utamanya, yang memakai sepatu merah cantik dari Iblis Kekasih, yang pergi mengelilingi dunia dengan mandirinya bersama segudang cerita dan petualangan. Membaca buku ini rasanya seperti diajak jalan-jalan mulai dari Jakarta, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berlin, Amsterdam, sampai Tijuana. Jalan-jalan yang bukan sekadar wisata di tempat-tempat yang indah.

Aku juga suka dengan gaya penulisan Intan Paramaditha. Simpel, tidak berbelit-belit, dan kental dengan nuansa gotik. Misteri yang disajikan membuatku nggak bisa berhenti membaca. Saking excited-nya, aku harus menahan-nahan diri supaya buku ini nggak terlalu cepat tamat.

5 out of 5 stars, will definitely looking for more books like this.

kateemily's review

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

bookaneer's review against another edition

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4.0

Such a cool book! Choose-your-adventure book and what adventures I had. I am enjoying the time I had and all the scenarios and little stories I witnessed. The English translation is available: [b:The Wandering|46158533|The Wandering|Intan Paramaditha|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570294046l/46158533._SY75_.jpg|71112395].

Witty and hilarious, especially if you grew up in more less similar environment with the author. I just had to laugh several times when she made remarks on Indonesians' lifestyles (then and now) and cultural references. What's also good is that you don't have to be Indonesian to enjoy this book since most of my non-Indonesian reading buddies enjoyed it as well.

little_librophile's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

appelmoes's review

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25