Tajuk : The Gates of Ivory
Penulis : Margaret Drabble
Sinopsis :
In London, psychiatrist Liz Headleand receives an unexpexcted package. Included in its contents are old newspaper clippings, postcards, a human finger bone, and scraps of manuscript and notebooks. She recognizes the handwriting as that of her friend, the Booker Prize-winning novelist, Stephen Cox, who has been travelling in the East. Initially alarmed by the suggestion of Stephen's death, then intrigued, Liz attempts to piece together some meaning from the parcel's random and ominous contents.
She gradually enlists the help of other friends, including: Stephen's literary executor, the high-powered, hard-edged Hattie Osborne; teacher Alix Bowen, concerned with her husband's illness and still involved in her friendship with a man behind bars; art historian Esther Breuer, who has recently come back from Italy and found, as Hattie eventually does, a surprising new love. This is Drabble calls it, 'The Good Time.'
'The Bad Time' lurks across the Cambodian border, waiting for Stephen Cox, a restless, idealistic traveller from the prosperous West. We gradually learn of Stephen's difficult pilgrimage, first to Bangkok, where he meets the decadent Miss Porntip and a charismatic photographer from England, Konstantin Vassiliou. From Bangkok through the horrific refugee camps, then Saigon, Hanoi, and closer to the terrible world of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge, at last into Cambodia.
Finally Liz decides to go properly in search of the man who might once have been her lover, leading to the novel's powerful conclusion.
Ulasan :
Kali pertama aku baca tulisan Drabble. Memang berbaloi. 461 muka surat saja tapi aku habiskan dalam seminggu lebih. Bukan sebab tak bagus tapi sebaliknya.
Bila tengok review dekat Goodreads baru tahu ini adalah karya trilogi. Emmm...tapi tak payah gelisah sebab Drabble akan bagi hint seimbas lalu jadi takdelah rasa ketinggalan kereta api.
Setiap helai adalah naratif watak utama. Ramai jugak. Liz, Stephen, Hattie, Alix, Esther, Konstantin. Tapi tidak meleret.
Maknanya memang sesuai dengan jiwa aku. Cuma aku kena cari bacaan ringkas tentang Pol Pot, Khmer Rouge dan sewaktu dengannya. Kalau sekadar tengok cerita Rambo dengan Chuck Norris tak boleh pakai sangat. Ada juga terselit Malaysia tapi hanya catatan yang tak penting.
4.5 🌟/ 5
