Yuda di Padang Maya (YDPM) – [Personal] Review

Finally the 496-page novel felt so light in my hand. Why was it heavy?

Firstly because I hadn’t finished reading it for so long & I had to read it knowing that I have this review task once I’m done as appointed by the writer himself to all the SBNNA winners.
Secondly, I was disturbed & annoyed at some points due to the language aspect (but this may be only applied to my condition at approaching this novel that is to relive & enrich my Malay language experience).
& if I may add a third reason, it was the 1st Malay novel that I read in years…!?

So please read on with an open mind & if you don’t like it, you may resort to the third reason above & have no worries afterwards. However, discussion is certainly open here :)

The novel has 2 prologues, which is very much apt as it revolves around 2 different ‘entities’; humans & djinn. Consequently, you would expect an epic & for that matter, the novel is divided into 3 ‘books’ to refer to the Realm of Human, Realm of Jinn & the Return to the Human Realm.

Yes, I got excited at the idea as I did enjoy some of Tamar Jalis series of “Bercakap dengan Jin” (Communicating with Djinn) during my childhood. But I know I can’t compare this with that as the writer’s aim in writing is different as described in ‘About Xarine’ on page ‘497’.

The learning process (of educating my human self) in terms of religion, humanity, psychlogy etc. was pleasant for me, even soothing at some points as humans are always in need of ‘reminders’. I agree with many parts & I learned from many parts. The ‘other parts’ would require me to do further reading elsewhere to really appreciate or understand the core meaning i.e. physics lesson. But I do give credit to the writer for bringing the readers closer to what is more than just about emotions and feelings.

I also like the humour that is injected throughout the novel. & I think perhaps the readers could actually put themselves in the same situations as I felt that some are quite familiar ;)
The suspense element & its rise towards the end is great as I kept imagining at certain points if the novel is turned into a movie…………………………………..wow!?

So, what the heck was I so disturbed about?

Back to my situation; obviously I would pay more attention on the use of language. It is what I look forward to in any of my reading experience. The realization that I have left Malay novels for quite some time & the need for new perspective from them, brought me to participating in the SBNNA contest. Hence, get my hands on the prize.
It is not that I did not like reading Malay novels. But I had to be choosy ;p I would go for mysteries, thrillers & those of experienced writers. Because then I would get the most of the language experience & use without having to worry on the ‘reading’ part.

It doesn’t matter if the writer mixes the language use with other languages. All the more reasons for language experience! But the use has to be clearly or creatively defined. Tombiruo by Ramlee Awang Murshid is an example. My friends & I really like learning the Sabahan/ Iban language used inside albeit very minor.

So, I would have to agree with Starsyeea in this matter that some of the words, which are in Arabic (I think) are not clearly defined or even described. If they are not enough to be made a glossary for, then it would suffice to explain them in brackets perhaps? Well, I did learn Arabic till varsity years but I’m thinking of the general public. Oh, that reminds me, I’m losing touch with Arabic also…*sigh* (I should have bought “ThiflulQaryah” by Dato’ Lat!?)

I think the language use/ aspect in YDPM is inconsistent. Some informal words / English, Arabic & Chinese/ dialect / slang words are rightly italicized but some are not e.g. ‘standard’ & ‘introvert’ including ‘hijab kabir’.

Must Malay words be italicized just because they are not used as frequent or… for what reason? It might make ‘uninformed’ readers confused whether the words are Malay words like ‘meladeni’ & ‘merona’. These are Malay words & thus need not be italicized. Bukan?

“Di sebelah sana adalah banjaran Tranta…” or “Di sebelah banjaran sana adalah Tranta…” or the Tamil way, “Di sebelah sana banjaran adalah Tranta” ? (but why would the djinn that were described to be users of Arabic would speak Tamil style out of nowhere, right?) (p.290)

There should be no ‘tetapi’ in the middle, if the sentence starts with ‘Jikalau’, right? (p.282)

It should be ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ (p. 315), right?

I don’t remember which page but there is ‘pendalaman’ when it should be ‘pedalaman’ (when the characters were exploring the realm of djinni) & Amsyar’s name doesn’t start with capital A, similarly the Oggur at some points. Such use of language & typo (technical aspect) bugs me throughout my attempt in finishing the novel because it makes me think if what I learned all this while is wrong & that if the publishing is done hastily or…??? (Forgive me, I am trying to get in touch with Malay reading materials, remember?)

The part that reveals it were Garmodus & Vilgor posing as Silfia & Arissa was also not presented clearly. I believe there should be something like a caesura or a certain section/ division in between what Azmi believe & what Azmi did not know to be true. The enlightenment should come separately thus benefitting the suspense readers are always in hunger of.

However, I must say the idea of impostors is brilliant. It fits the infamous skill of the djinn. At the same time, of the possibility of what humans can do in their part of the world (is it really possible?). This is another part/ element that would greatly interest audience if it were a movie.

Hmm, I had to search & refer to p. 269 to see the light as I got confused suddenly when seeing (reading) Azmi the Oggur had killed 3 Oggurs (5 chapters later) while I had been so engrossed reading the scenes that explain of him killing 2 Oggurs (p.270 jumps to 287-289.)

Yes, there are several ‘scenes’ that required me to flip to the previous pages. That is my bad perhaps, as I would do the same in reading Lord of the Rings by Tolkien, which has its own issues of language, wars, maps, entities, magic etc. It’s a trilogy in movie, remember? That is why I consider YDPM to have the potential as an epic if not for some parts having superficial treatments (it seems).

Oh well, what I can say is, it’s not free of typos (it seems). Nothing is perfect but you could be near perfect. And like what most people would agree, a novel brings a reader to a different world. A reader depends on the flow & clarity of the description (words) in ‘colouring’ the world in his mind.
My mind however, was a lil’ bit marred in its process…

[Don’t forget the 3rd reason ;) ]

*peace*

p/s: Perhaps…I was given the wrong copy of the novel??