Actually, this novel is not a book I recently read. I’ve finished reading it several months ago but I think there are some points I should share with you all about this teen lit. Macarin Anjing is second Christian Simamora’s best seller novel published by Gagas media in 2007. This novel tells about a girl named Libby who hates boy so much because she has betrayed by her ex, Dogma. Besides, her best friends Bianca and Miata also have trouble with boys. Those facts bring Libby to a perspective that a boy would not be better than a dog. Until one day she spreads a paper to her classmates which notes:
15 Reason Why A Dog Is Better Than A man
- Dogs do not have problems expressing affection in public
- Dogs miss you when you’ve gone
- Dogs feel guilty when they’ve done something wrong
- Dogs don’t brag about whom they’ve slept with
- Dogs don’t criticize your friends
- Dogs admit it when they’re jealous
- Dogs don’t feel threatened by your intelligence
- Dogs understand what ‘no’ means
- You can home train a dog
- Middle-aged dogs don’t feel to abandon you for a younger owner
- Dogs don’t mind if you do all the driving
- Dogs don’t step on the imaginary brake
- Dogs admit it when they’re lost
- Dogs can’t feel threatened if you earn more than they do
- Dogs mean it when they kiss you
(Taken from macarin anjing page:53)
Some girls admit it even they add more facts that man is worse than a dog based on their own experiences. But boys contradict it. They feel Libby’s note is not fair and shrinking boys too much. Since that day, Libby keeps up dating the list with new facts about boy’s jerkiness.
As Niko comes to Libby’s life, everything’s changing. Through many processes, finally Libby changes her mind. Niko is different from any boy she knows. And so Bianca and Miata, her closest friends in the end find their Mr. Right guys who are not jerk. The story ends as Libby throws her notes ‘Reasons why a dog is better than a man’ away and decides to make a new note ‘Reasons Why a man is better than a dog’ even she doesn’t know what to write yet. She only writes one thing, dog’s kiss would not be as hot as boy’s.
I love this novel; it’s not because of the story. Honestly, the plot is kind of cliché. But I like how Simamora delivers the story in his fresh language style; humorous, flowing, and crunchy. As a man, he begins the story by mocking and cursing boy. But at the and of the story, man’s role becomes very lovable. Christian Simamora perhaps wants to make the reader learn that in a thousand jerks there must be one man who is not jerk. It’s proved by Niko’s character. Besides, Simamora puts many information and references at the foot note, it shows that he is knowledgeable and experienced.
“Sekarang dia ganti menuntut pada Tuhan, kok bisa-bisanya cewek dipasangkan sama cowok? Kenapa? Apa karena persamaan rima kata: cewek-cowok, man-woman? Kalo memang alasannya bukan itu, Libby mo ngasih masukan buat Tuhan supaya cewek dipasangkan sama sesuatu yang lebih mudah diatur aja… dengan badak, misalnya. Yah, memang aneh sih berjodoh sama badak, tapi paling nggak dia ngga bakalan nempelin upilnya sembarangan kan?” (Macarin Anjing:58)
This novel raises gender issue as woman here (Libby) gives judgment about men in half of eyes. She always thinks that boy is a mess based on her experience and some friends’ experiences. In boy’s point of view, boys are jerk since girls love the jerks. They think it’s not boy’s fault. It is girl’s for they are so foolish to be fool.
However, this novel makes me realize that man and woman are different in any kind of thing. But God has many reasons why he creates man and woman to be different. One of them is to complete each other.
Now, it’s your turn guys! Do you agree that a dog is better than a boy? Or the vice versa?
BY: GHEA LISANOVA (0608211)
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