Kick

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It's a positive read, and while it may not be a 'happy ever after' ending, it does end with hope and the prospect of better tomorrows. Life is hard for him and his family, Mum, Dad and Grandma, and isn’t made any easier by the Dragon, “the most dangerous man in Jakarta”, who can do what he likes as his brother is chief of police and under his control. The Dragon forces Budi to help him in some evilness otherwise his family will suffer. Budi tries to work hard and fast to avoid the rotan the foreman swings. In his family is a strain of haemophilia that makes it hard to stop the blood flowing if he gets hurt. This debut comes out this month in September; it is a book primarily for teenagers (though this is fairly compatible with a certain type of adult reader!) and it follows a boy named Budi in who lives in Indonesia with his parents and his paternal grandmother; the family are very poor and they cannot afford to send Budi to school so he works in a factory which makes football boots for professional players. It is focused on ambition; it's focused on following dreams; it's focused on the injustice of a legal system, among many other things. The main focus of the novel is Budi's strong ambition to become a professional footballer and there are disadvantages barring that dream: 1) because of his poverty and therefore that situation being, at first glance, next to impossible and 2) Budi also has a genetically passed down condition which prevents his blood from clotting properly so not only does a cut need to be tended to a lot so as to prevent constant bleeding but also, he could potentially start bleeding internally due to an injury and not be aware of that until he dies suddenly. On the front of the book, it has the quote: "The Only Thing Standing In His Way Is Everything" and that is really symbolised through the telling of this story. The child-labour described in this story remind us that there are parts of the world where education is a luxury; children have bring in money to support the family. Other stories in similar vein is Boys Without Names set in India and Spilled Water set in China. I would recommend this book in reading lists like Diverse Books or Global Citizenship.

There is a story about Budi's family - his uncle, grandma and father that shows the underbelly of crime that takes root in any society - but for me the scenes I remember will be those in the factory as Budi sweats over his work, with a supervisor watching his every stitch, the boy knowing he could never afford to buy and wear a pair of the very things he is making for westerners. For example, at one point in the book, we see Budi's favourite football player in quite a difficult situation in terms of scoring a penalty in unfortunate circumstances. There is a lot of focus on the situation seeming near to impossible at first sight and the people in the audience thinking he won't manage it, yet we still see the football player just concentrating so intently despite all the difficulties and he does eventually score the penalty. So the lesson to always spur on with your dreams translates really well into football in that example. Menariknya, Mitch Johnson sepertinya tahu banyak dengan seluk beluk Jakarta. Aku tidak tahu apakah beliau ini pernah ke ibukota Negara. Atau memang pernah menetap hitungan tahun. Walaupun tidak sepenuhnya pas menggambarkan kehidupan ibukota. Tapi untuk debut perdana yang berhasil kurampungkan, novel ini menarik. The book begins and we also meet his friend Rochy who is, like Budi, a massive fan of football and there is a lot of focus in here on their mutual dreams and their connection of friendship through this shared love of football. Konfliknya mulai terasa pada suatu sore ketika Budi berlatih bola— itu hanya karena dia tidak suka menyebutnya bermain, lebih bangga menyebutnya berlatih— di sepetak tanah kosong bersama teman-temannya. Namun kesialan terjadi, belum dapat merasakan gurihnya rendang buatan ibunya, Budi malah harus berurusan dengan Naga karena satu tendangannya yang menyalang ke rumah 'Preman' Jakarta itu, mantan napi Nusa Kambangan yang menyeretnya pada komplotan mereka untuk melakukan aksi yang jelas berlawanan dengan kerjaannya— ya dia harus melakukan itu demi menyelamatkan dirinya 'hidup-hidup' dari si Naga sialan itu.

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Ketika membaca kisah Budi, aku sama sekali tidak merasa buku ini digarap penulis luar (baca : Mitch Johnson). Mengingat terjemahannya begitu mengalir, walaupun ada beberapa yang terkesan masih dipaksakan, terutama dalam dialog Budi dan teman-temannya. Di luar itu, it's really good! Keputusan tepat MJ— lebih nyaman memanggilnya begitu HEHE— mengeksekusi konfliknya secara perlahan dan menyenangkan, tak ada kesan terburu-buru di bagian manapun, hanya saja karena di puluhan halaman pembuka seperti yang kupaparkan di review sebelumnya— tepatnya penghantar konfliknya bisa kubilang sangat membosankan, karena itu 3.7/5⭐dariku untuk karya terbaik MJ ini. Meski begitu, tetap kerja bagus brother! Also Budi is a budding (excuse the pun) footballer and plays football whenever he can, commentating on his play in his head. “One day I’m going to be a world-famous footballer like Kieran Wakefield” – Wakefield, the Real Madrid player who cost the highest ever transfer fee, being his hero.

Mitch Johnson has skilfully used football as a vehicle to present many deeper issues. By doing so, the theme of football will grab the attention of many readers and gives a tangible way into the more complex strands of narrative. Of course, this is not a perfect book, as symbolised by the 3/5 stars. I had two issues with this book, one of which I have already partially highlighted:Whilst 'training' with his friends, his football crashes through a window of The Dragon's house, in trouble and with nowhere to go he follows one of the Dragon's brothers into the house where he is tasked with theft or finding his family out on the street and struggling to survive.