Gelombang, Journey in Your Sleep

Gelombang, the most recent published book by Dee Lestari. I rather calling it a journey than a story. It is a fiction novel, yet you can feel everything that the main character felt. Your imagination needs to work hard, but it doesn’t seem ridiculous. It feels real, like the world Dee created belongs to you. You feel the anxiety and excitement. You get nervous and suspicious. A well done job for a genre that rarely seen in Indonesia.

Before I started to recap, let’s review shortly the previous supernova novels. The first one, entitled Kesatria, Putri dan Bintang Jatuh we are asked to think. Also asking ourselves, is our view and principles the only way seeing the word? The second one is Akar, a travel trip with Bodhi. We felt the hardship but also his willingness to live. This book makes me want to travel Asia. Backpacking for sure. Petir, the third, is a super light novel. It is funny, full of friendship embrace. Partikel, is indeed a mindblowing sci-fi novel. You are drawn to the main character sadness, her dark background life that made her the person she is now. Also one big question, Are there creatures outside the planet earth?

Those 4 novels got us to the 5th, story about Alfa Sagala. A boy who were born in Sianjur Mula-Mula. The beginning of the tribe Bataknese. The hold the spiritual values of Bataknese religion. But the boy with the full name Thomas Alfa Edison Sagala, is a little bit different. Since his birth he had creature looking after him called Si Jaga Portibi. It’s a creature from sky that have a pretty scary form. Alfa was scared at first when he realized Si Jaga Portibi’s presence. But long after he knew that this creature were made to protect him.

                One of the darkest moments in Alfa’s life is when he almost killed by a person he trusted the most. Ompu Togu Urat tried to make Alfa his student and gained Alfa’s trust. He tried to kill Alfa in the middle of the lake. Alfa barely escape and no one knew the fate of Ompu Togu Urat. Later he met Ompu Ronggur, one that he believed is evil turned out to be his guide to a jouney that Alfa cannot understand. He said that Alfa needs to find his group mates and left him with 2 dark rocks. Also a really big question marks that follows Alfa’s life ever since. Who is he and what kind of journey awaits him.

                Alfa’s dad decided to move from Sianjur Mula-Mula to the busiest city in Indonesia, Jakarta. Alfa is a smart kid and his dad dreamt that one day Alfa can have the title engineering in his name. One day, fate took him to Hoboken, United States. Alfa wants to reach New York. He thought Hoboken will get him closer to his goal, but reality is harsh. He lived there as coyote, terms for illegal immigrants. Just to get to his apartment, he risked his life.

                Still, Alfa is a smart kid. Close to genius. He taught his 2 closest friend, Troy and Carlos to sign up for scholarship in Ivy League colleges. Three of them got accepted in Cornell. Evenmore Alfa got accepted in 3 colleges. In Cornell, he took engineering. But fate introduced him to Tom Irvine. This man took Alfa to his company and introduced him to the game of Wallstreet. Alfa win big and he manage to get a fixed position in Irvine’s Company.

                Everything in Alfa’s life goes well at that time. But he is insufficient in one thing. Sleep. Alfa never slept more than one and a half hour. He always get nightmare where he got stuck in a dark place surrounded by grey walls. Dreaming was always Alfa’s biggest fear.

                Ishtar, a beautiful woman he met through NSA, No String Attached Company, made Alfa facing his greatest fear for 5 hours. A mindblowing one night stand almost got him killed. Ishtar was gone the next morning and Alfa rushed to the ER in a hospital. There he met Nicky, a young doctor who took his sleeping problem seriously. She suggested that Alfa have to go to the Somniverse. A sleep rehabilitation.There Alfa got one shocking fact about his dream. He is trying to kill him self in his sleep. Whether with suffocating himself with pillow or a major heart attack. He was drowned in his fear, but he decided to face it. He read a book by dr. Kalden Sakya titled Milam Bardo. It gave him revelation and better ways to face his dream. In his dream he found a place called Asko, a new dimension. There he learned his new identity as Gelombang.

                Alfa wanted to know more about his dream and he believed his only clue is dr. Kalden Sakya. He hired a Private Investigator, who happened to be ex thug called Rodriguez, who managed to inform him last places dr. Kalden was seen. It was in Tibet. Alfa flew there with Nicky, who insisted to tag along.

                He was looking for dr. Kalden everywhere with Pemba, his guide. But he finally met dr. Kalden with the strangest way possible. There Alfa learnt that there are 3 roles. Infiltran, Savara, and Peretas. Alfa is a Peretas, one that got Amnesia everytime he died and reborn. Infiltran is Peretas’ guide. Then Savara is an existence that is trying to kill Peretas.

                In order to explore Asko more, dr. Kalden took Alfa to Yarlung Valley. In the journey there, Alfa almost got killed by Pemba, who turns out to be Savara. And in Yarlung Valley Alfa started to realize who is he and what journey awaits him.

Yarlung Valley, Tibet

I love the thrill this book gave, kind of horor vibe but i like it. Without me realizing Gelombang got my heart racing. In every book, every character have one person that guide him or her. Helping the main character to explore theirselves. In Gelombang we finally know what the roles of each character in each book. This book discuss mainly about dreams. But I got sceptical about dreams. It is a place we cannot control. Maybe we can if we go lucid. But if you are doing it wrong who knows what might happen. Well, it is an individual choice.  

I love Alfa Sagala. He is smart, adapt quickly, wallstreet babe, and strict with his choices. He is quite strong eventhough he is surrounded with unexplainable situation. He is calm person facing those nightmares, I would freak out if I were him. His character kind of reminds me of Bodhi in Akar.

Of course, Alfa is Batak so unconsciously I am falling to him (A really weird laugh here). His love line with Nicky is cute but not really explored. One of the strongest love line is in Petir. Also Alfa’s love line with Ishtar (Bah) is really short, a one night stand got a guy crazy is really not believable (in my opinion). But 5 stars for other aspects!

GELOMBANG BY DEE LESTARI, A NOVEL REVIEW