VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Welcome back to Book and Film Review, where we will review Indonesian books and movies. In today's edition, we will review a novel entitled "Claires" written by Valerie Patkar. Valerie Patkar herself, besides being a writer, is a mining engineer. Claires is her first work which was released in March 2018. Before published as a book, Claires had been published online in 2015. For Valerie, her writing inspirations are simple things: strangers on the street, dining table, empty cups, and many others. The other works of Valerie can be found online, namely Nonversation, Loversation, and Deverra which soon to be published. The book is about Claire Paveitria and her love story with Kai Deverra and Ares Nota. Claire Paveitria is an England-Bali descent student who possessess beautiful appearance and a boyfriend named Kai Deverra - an aspiring formula one racer in Silverstone, England. Claire and Kai are perfect pair: both having good appearance; loving, supporting, trusting, and understanding each other. During 4 years of relationship, they never fight. Their relationship is perfect from the outside, but apparently empty inside. Claire and Kai never have revealed what they feel. The long distance relationship began without problem. The meeting of Claire and Ares changes everything. Ares Nota, son of a billionare - Serge Nota, is a 24 year old childish guy who never knows the meaning of love. For him, women are just toys, disposable when he is bored. Their coincidental meeting changes both's lives. Ares who never believes in love, finds comfort in Claire. While Claire learns with Ares that loving must  be happy. From Claire, Ares learns to grow up and to respect love. The closeness of Claire and Ares, as well as Kai still with Claire, force her to decide between Kai - the home she can returnt to which promises perfection; or Ares - the third person who suddenly come, but brings her true happiness. Valerie Patkar presents every character with strong traits. Claire who is matured, loves order, and hates to do childish things; Kai is ambitious, matured, but boring; and Ares is selfish, unpredictable, and childish; they were depicted along with the plot. Every description of every events and or characters' behavior are clear, making it easy for the reader to imagine it. The beauty of Bali Island as the setting incrases the romance between Claire, Ares, and Kai. Although the story starts boring and predictable, the author put a surprise in the middle, making the readers curious about the end of Claire's story. The 377-page novel can play readers' emotion. The diction can truly tell the love between Claire and Ares, and make the readers' cry when Claire, Kai, and Ares are at their lowest point. The message from Valerie Patkar is also conveyed well. All components of the novel complement each other, making it an interesting and entertaining to read. 

"Love those who makes you happy, not those who makes you perfect. Since perfection does not guarantee your happiness. But, happiness can always make your life perfect." 

It was a quote from a dialog between Claire and her father, telling that perfection cannot always present happiness. What is perfection, if there is something to sacrifice or to ignore? Sound selfish, but we can learn from this book that being selfish is not always bad. Sometimes we need to be selfish to be happy. Like two opposing magnetic pole, the book tells that two opposites can create something beautiful. Claires helps the reader to know love from different perspectives and forms. The appeal of Valerie Patkar's work is the qutoes, about loves, family, and many others.  That was our brief review of a novel entitled "Claires" by Valerie Patkar.