Reading Response #8

After I have read Escaping Paradise for a month, I finally finished reading it. In the back of a book, it has a glossary of Indonesian words which make me think that "is this a true story?" The author must have a knowledge of Indonesian language or a lot of experiences in Indonesia because the author provides a very long definition of each word. For example, dukun: it means the shaman/witch doctor/clairvoyant. The author also says that although most Indonesians are Muslim, many villagers, both on Bali (where the scene depicted occurs) and other islands, believe that some people are gifted with exceptional spiritual abilities and mystical powers. I think these beliefs are buried in Indonesians' mind. It's like a traditional belief that most people will believe the dukun who is the shaman or witch doctor. Another example is Allahu Akbar which means God is great. This Arabic greeting forms part of muezzin's call to prayer, and may also be used as a war cry. However, from my view, I predict that the author or someone that he knows might encounter with this kind of situation before. The author might go to Indonesia on a vacation and was kidnapped by the freedom fighters or he might work in Indonesia for a long time or he might be Indonesian. What do you think?

I recommend Escaping Paradise for those who like a mysterious book. I would say that it was fun and a bit confusing in a way of flashing back. People who like mystery will like this book because they have to figure the clues out all the time. They have to be inferring while they're reading this book and if they can figure it out, it would be so much fun. For me, overall was great. It was challenging for me at first but when I reached to the point or understood what was going on, it was fun! I didn't learn just English vocabularies in this book, but also Indonesians too.