ATHEIS Book Review

By Siti Shella S.A

Title : ATHEIS
Author : Achdiat K. Mihardja
Publisher : Balai Pustaka
Pages : 232
Publication Year : 2022

The novel written by Achdiat K. Mihardja entitled Atheist was first published in
1949. This novel tells the story of a character named Hasan, who is pious and devout in
worship, but sometimes he is implied by doubts in his heart, half-heartedly believing in
everything. And often unsure of his stance. Starting from being in love with a girl named
Rukmini. Apparently their love story could not last long because Rukmini’s parents had
arranged for her to marry a rich merchant. The incident broke Hasan’s heart. He became
frustrated . To get rid of the shadow of Rukmini from his life, he follows the teachings of the
congregation as adhered to by his parents, and Hasan becomes a person who is increasingly
firm in his faith and obedient to worship, but his life changes when he meets his old friend,
namely Rusli. Rusli comes with a woman named Kartini. She is a modern woman and her
association is free. She is also a widow . It turns out that since that encounter, Hasan has a
crush on Kartini, because Kartini has almost the same character as Rukmini. Since Hasan
loved Kartini , he also hung out with Kartini ‘s friends . Because it has a strong religious
foundation. Hasan tries to awaken Kartini and Rusli by giving lectures, but because Rusli is
also good at talking.
The situation turned around so it was Hasan who was advised by Rusli. Unknowingly
, Rusli ‘s thoughts were stuck in Hasan ‘s head . At first , Hasan was not affected .
However , his belief began to waver when he was introduced to a man who did not believe in
God , namely Anwar . Anwar’s knowledge of divinity is vast. Since then, Hasan’s
understanding of religion began to change. He began to doubt the existence of God. Hasan
is getting lost from religion, his association is getting freer. He later married Kartini, but the
marriage was not recognized by Islam because it was not in accordance with the Shari’a.
Their marriage was based on consensual feelings. Their marriage turned out to be unhappy,
their home life was a mess. Kartini’s association is increasingly free. Eventually, Hasan
becomes jealous because Kartini and Anwar are getting closer. Hasan thinks Kartini is
having an affair, but the incident has reawakened Hasan about religion. He was sorry and felt
guilty for what he had done. His promiscuous association with friends who do not believe in
God makes him lost and doubts the existence of God .
Hasan decides to divorce Kartini and he returns to his hometown. He wanted to
apologize to his father. Arriving at the village, he found his father was seriously ill. It turned
out that his father did not want to forgive Hasan, even to the point of death, Hasan’s father
remained in his stance. Hasan could only regret what he had done and felt that all of this had
happened because of Anwar’s actions. He has a grudge against Anwar and intends to teach
him a lesson. One night , he planned to kill Anwar , then he looked for Anwar with a burning
feeling of anger and hatred . Because at that time the situation was not safe , a curfew was
imposed . However , Hasan had not had the chance to kill Anwar , he was instead shot by a
bullet in his left thigh and then fell and covered in blood , but before meeting his death he still
managed to remember Allah and repeatedly chant His name .
Atheis novel by Achdiat K. Mihardja consists of 15 parts. Each section is marked
with Roman letters. In my opinion, the themes and story ideas taken are very interesting,
discussing beliefs and religion. Language writing is easily understood by readers. The
description of the atmosphere and characters used is so detailed that it seems as if the reader
is looking directly at it and can feel what is going on along with his emotions. However, the
illustrations used in the novel are less interesting.
This novel describes the character Hasan who is full of doubts , half in believing
everything , following along and often unsure of his convictions . The character behaves
unstable due to environmental factors and bad associations. Starting from the heartache of
having love with her lover, then learning to believe in certain teachings, then meeting friends
who have no religion and behaving freely, and ending with regret towards her parents.
Perhaps that is the nature of young people whose psychology is not stable so they are easily
entangled in things that come their way.