You Just Entered the Colorful World of Galaksi Kinanthi

Original Title :Galaksi Kinanthi

Author :Tasaro GK
Pages :432
Publisher :Salamadani
Book Review By :Ainun Mardhiah (120710024)

For the most of us, maybe the life with so no enough money, broken life of parents and nobody wants
to be our friend could be a nightmare that haunts our lives for a long time, or maybe forever. But in
Galaksi Kinanthi, Tasaro is success in formulating that nightmare to be a long beautiful way which
brings us to an unpredictable happy ending.
This 432 pages novel has a power to take control of readers’ emotion. The unusual words combination
but still popular, unpredictable plot, plus an issue that is always interesting to talk about will make the
readers amazed, surprised, silent, smile, cry, laugh, wonder, and mad. But overall, the most important
thing is that readers can find a new much better way to see the meaning of suffering, dignity, family,
friends, love, being a stranger, and so many more.
Taking place in several areas from several different countries, which are Indonesia, Middle East, and
Europe, this novel has three important elements that build the whole amazing idea:
First, the theme is very strong. It is about women named Kinanthi who struggle in life after entering the
trafficking network. Starting from her life in Gunung Kidul with her banished family - consisting of her
father who likes to play gambling, her mother who has three dead husbands before finally meet
Kinanthi’s father, it is the reason why she is called a whore, and her little brother who likes to cry a lot
– then to Bandung where she spends her junior high as a housekeeper, then to Middle East where she
becomes a female immigrant worker, and finally to America where she is brought by one of her evil
boss to torture. Her suffering as a female immigrant worker ends when she reports her boss family’s
crime to the court that handles immigrant issues. There, in America, she becomes a successful woman
as a doctor and writer. Kinanthi proves that suffering does not always bring someone to a terrible
ending. She faces everything with tears and nobody with, but in the end she finds a beautiful path to
walk on.
Second, Galaksi Kinanthi does not tell a low quality romantic story. There are also valuable effort,
unlimited longing, uncountable tears, and being separated for a very long time without one single
communication. They – Kinanthi and Ajuj - face the time when they are separated wisely. They don’t
loose their mind but still feel the love of each other. I can say that their relationship is the one that
keeps Kinanthi believe herself in the first part of her suffering. They do not meet each other for a long
time, but still believe. Ajuj said once to Kinanthi when they were young and Kinanthi still did not
understand what love is, “Find me in Love Galaxy, I’ll always be there… Allah loves you more than
you need”. So, Ajuj loves Kinanthi from the first place because of Allah, and this kid of love is very
meaningful and sincere.
Third, the main character is real. This novel is inspired by a real woman who became a victim of
trafficking. Knowing that this comes from a real story will make the readers feel more real to the
emotion. Readers can feel and imagine the feeling of Kinanthi and other characters without feeling any
doubt. We also can find many novels that are inspired by a true story and become a best seller. This is
the proof that true story inspiration strengthens the emotion of the readers
The final thought is that this book is so much worthy to read and remember because there are many
interesting things to talk and think about, such as; the humanist, education, women, love, life,
trafficking, etc. Maybe I am not wrong to say that Galaksi Kinanthi is one of Indonesia’s most wanted
novels after Ayat-Ayat Cinta and Laskar Pelangi.