A Life

The Ruined Map by Kōbō Abe
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Judul: The Ruined Map
Penulis: Kobo Abe
Penerbit: Tuttle Publishing
Halaman: 299 halaman
Terbitan: 2006

Told in the form, and with the suspense of a mystery novel, The Ruined Map is a melodrama of the mind, its thriller-like excitement allied to a profound mythic quality that has placed Kobo Abe in the forefront of the world's avant-garde novelists. 

The central character is a detective - a hunter - searching for a missing person in the vast desert of the modern city. The pursuit, violent and nightmarish, leads deeper and deeper into the underworld of Tokyo, through shady commercial enterprises to back-alley nude shows, gangs of outlaws "gypsy" cab drivers, hoodlums preying on junkies and homosexuals, businessmen whose business is corruption and death. 

As the hunt quickens, the professional disciplines that bind the detective to the real world paradoxically demand that he "become" the man he seeks. He has no choice but to think, act, and feel as he imagines his quarry must. 

Gradually, he finds his own identity, personality, and map of his once familiar world and self blurring with that of the lost man. In this novel, Abe brilliantly dramatizes the ambiguity and flux of individual identity in the rushing, directionless, packed crowds of contemporary life.

Review
 
"The Ruined Map" bercerita tentang seorang detektif yang disewa untuk mencari seorang pria yang menghilang. Istri pria itu ingin tahu kenapa suaminya tiba-tiba saja lenyap. Apakah dia sudah mati, atau hanya pergi meninggalkan sang istri? Dengan berbekal foto dan kotak korek api dari salah satu rumah kopi, si detektif tanpa nama memulai pencariannya.

Sebenarnya agak kurang tepat kalau mau menyebut "The Ruined Map" ini sebagai novel detektif. Ya, memang tokoh utamanya detektif dan misinya adalah mencari orang, tapi sebenarnya bukan itu tujuan utama novel ini. Novel ini justru lebih fokus pada bagaimana si detektif justru kehilangan dirinya sendiri dalam pencariannya.


Untuk teka-teki lenyapnya si suami, sebenarnya sangat menarik. Petunjuknya minim dan para tokoh pendukungnya penuh tanda tanya. Misalkan saja, si istri yang alkoholik dan dicurigai hanya berhalusinasi soal suaminya. Ada juga kakak si istri yang misterius dan benarkah dia memang kakak wanita itu? Tapi yah, kasusnya... begitulah. Baca sendirilah.

Akhir ceritanya sebenarnya menarik, tapi rasanya kurang build up dan masih menyisakan banyak pertanyaan.

Secara keseluruhan, agak kecewa dengan novel ini. Misterinya sudah bagus, premisnya juga menarik. Hanya saja cerita diakhiri dengan banyak pertanyaan yang mengganjal.

Supposing I were to realize that this decagon was not a map to endless infinity. Suppose the savior who would come in response to my urgent call was a messenger from outside the map, who would make me realize that my chart was nothing more than an abbreviated map, full of omissions... then that person would again look beyond the curve which although existing was nonexistent. The telephone cord could also be a noose for hanging oneself. (pg. 297)

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