From Now On Everything Will Be Different

by Eliza V. Handayani

As democratic reforms swept Indonesia in the late nineties, the nation’s young generation asked themselves: what does it mean to be free? Spanning fifteen years, this novel follows the struggles and hopes, loves and disappointments of two young Indonesians who came of age during Reformasi. Following the entwined paths of Julita and Rizky as they struggle to break free from a pattern of repeated disappointments and define themselves, Handayani presents a portrait of the changing and complex reality of contemporary Indonesia, and of the younger generation born out of revolution. This novel is a compelling study of freedom and love, community and conformity, told with humour, sensuality and a subtly sharp political intelligence.

Genres: Fiction, Indonesian Literature

160 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2014

About the author

Eliza Vitri Handayani’s novel FROM NOW ON EVERYTHING WILL BE DIFFERENT came out September 2015 from Vagabond Press. Her short stories, essays, and translations have been published in respected Indonesian literary outlets, as well as in the Asia Literary Review, Griffith Review, and Exchanges Journal. In 2004 she won an Anugerah Adikarya award, for best young-adult book, from the Association of Indonesian Publishers (IKAPI). In 2010-2012 she worked as an editor of Tesaurus Bahasa Indonesia.

Reviews

[Willy Akhdes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Salah keunggulan novel singkat adalah fokus cerita yang rinci, sensitif dan dalam yang membuat pembaca tertawan oleh intensitas dan suspensi cerita hingga selesai. Tentunya tidak semua novel singkat memberikan kepuasan seperti itu. Eliza V. Handayani, yang saya kenal dari novel sci-fi pertamanya Area-X, adalah salah satu penulis yang memberikan hal tersebut dengan penggunaan diksi dan metafora yang segar. Awalnya saya sangsi novel ini akan jadi bacaan yang berkesan. Sebab, bagi saya, judul dan sampul buku ini terlihat seperti novel chicklit. Beberapa halaman pertama pun saya mengira konflik dan karakter tokoh utama, Julita dan Rizky, tidak akan berkembang jauh. Beberapa adegan pembukaan serasa tengah membaca naskah FTV. Namun saya salah, semakin saya masuk ke dalam konflik novel ini, penulis memberikan perkembangan-perkembangan konflik dan karakter yang tak terduga. Yang paling memberi kesan adalah Kotak Karya Belum Selesai dan Kotak Memori Esensial yang, saya pikir, memiliki makna filosofis tertentu yang semakin menguatkan karakter Julita dan Rizky. Yang agak mengganjal adalah beberapa latar cerita seperti keadaan politik saat dan pasca reformasi seperti tidak berpengaruh pada konflik maupun karakter. Terlihat hanya tempelan nirmakna belaka.

[Puri Kencana Putri · Rating 1 out of 5]

Si penulis berusaha sangat keras untuk menunjukkan bahwa ia bisa menulis karyanya sekelas sastra, padahal tidak. Dengan alur waktu cerita yang berantakan, dua karakter yang diilustrasikan sangat lemah, reformasi 1998 hanya jadi tempelen mental-mental disorientasi manusia Indonesia. Saya heran kenapa buku ini sangat digembar-gemborkan luar biasa.

[Kate Walton · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting time period for Indonesia but sadly, I found the story rather uninteresting and the characters dull. I wasn't particularly concerned about either of them. The only time I felt an affinity with Julita was when she was walking along the side of the road at the end and yelled "Where do you want me to walk??" at the motorbikes trying to push her off into the drain. That is me, every single day.

The book's structure was also incredibly confusing, as current events and past events were not separated by even so much as a page break or a few asterisks. It was hard to work out the time period in which things were occurring.

[Lani M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this novel out of curiosity due to the controversy of its launching. However, sorry to say, the book doesn't live up to the hype. With all random plots and cheesy drama, I couldn't take it. Thank goodness it's not thick so I could finish it in one sitting.

[Prasdenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

...
MULAI SAAT INI SEGALANYA AKAN BERUBAH
Eliza Vitri Handayani

Melalui novel ini saya melihat wajah Indonesia dan manusia-manusianya. Bukan dalam bentuk yang lebih baik, menjanjikan ini-itu, atau hiperbolis memuakkan, melainkan dalam wujudnya yang membumi. Miris dan manis pada saat bersamaan. Semacam berkesiut naik-turun dengan roller coaster di tepi laut di tengah badai, mendebarkan sekaligus membebaskan, juga ada kalanya mengharukan. Ini adalah cerita tentang sebuah generasi-yang-tersasar dan jatuh-bangunnya dalam menemukan rumah baru bernama masa depan (Bramantio).
.
Semua orang mempunyai cita-cita, dan tidak semua cita-cita itu dapat diraih seutuhnya. Begitu pula Julita dan Rizky memiliki daftar cita-cita yang tersimpan dalam Kotak Memori Esensial milik Rizky dan Kotak Karya Belum Selesai milik Julita.

Julita berangkat ke Paris mendalami bidang seni dan fotografi. Rizky menjadi dokter dan menjalankan misi kemanusiaan ke berbagai pelosok negeri. Keduanya mengambil peran masing-masing dalam kehidupan. Mereka ingin menjadi sosok yang bermanfaat bagi sesama. Namun, mereka masih terpenjara oleh sebuah kenangan satu dasawarsa silam.

Dari novel ini kita bisa belajar tentang arti cita-cita, arti tujuan hidup dan makna cinta. Novel ini juga menawarkan begitu banyak renungan tentang jati diri, yang dibentuk ataukah dipilih.

Kegagalan Julita dalam meraih impian ternyata menjelma inspirasi bagi semesta kehidupan. Kotak itu dibaca seseorang, lantas turut menulis harapan. Sejak saat itu banyak orang yang kerap merenungi impiannya: yang telah tercapai maupun yang tergadai.

[Vannessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. To me, it captured what I imagine would be the difficulties of living in Jakarta in recent years in the post-reformasi period, particularly for the middle class - the constraints on the individual derived from restrictive laws, the inability to express oneself, the falling apart infrastructure, and the struggle to live a life that is true to oneself. So of course, this book probably doesn't speak to the mass of Indonesians whose daily struggle may be for a mouthful of rice and not to decide whether to go and work as an actor or a doctor, as Rizky, one of the characters in this book does. But the restrictions, and restlessness borne out of those restrictions, out of the hypocrisy, the keeping-up-of-appearances that threaten to strangle creativity, honesty and self-expression all ring true to me. And let's keep in mind that all those things affect society as a whole ultimately. This is a novel of yearning and of measured expectations.

[Anne Fenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at life in Indonesia from the Reformasai movement of 1998 on. The main characters are two young people in Jakarta. There's a focus on personal growth in difficult times. Very atmospheric and beautifully written, I liked it a lot

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the two main characters so insufferable. the jumping back and forth between present day. memory and correspondence was difficult to track. I have given this one extra star because I enjoyed learning more about the backdrop of Indonesia.

justice for Ina

[Yong Feng · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated reading this story set in a period that I know little about, and featuring the struggles of people living in revolutionary change. However, the characters are thinly sketched and the constant switch between different time periods makes it confusing to follow.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Now On traces the relationship between two would-be-free spirits as they strain against mainstream society’s strictures. We are introduced to Rizky as a thirty-something doctor while he prepares to catch up with Julita, a feisty photo-journalist, for the first time after a period of years. The twin threads of Rizky and Julita preparing/travelling to their meeting point comprise a core strand of the novel.
We then meet them as high-schoolers in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, getting into strife because of their unconventional values. Their story is next picked up in 1998, a time of severe unrest against the government and the established order. Here the themes of their resistance to social and political norms, together with their individual struggles to find freedom and identity in their personal lives, are more firmly established, forming the double motif that provides the novel’s focus.
The characters of Julita and Rizky are well drawn, both being likeable but with flaws and foibles. Their efforts to achieve workable lifestyles, ones that reconcile their Bohemian temperaments with mundane realities, are for the most part pursued separately, and circumstances dictate that their relationship is expressed mainly through phone calls, texts and letters. Rizky is the less assertive of the two in terms of breaking free and wears the cost of that, while Julita takes a more non-conformist route, with its own attendant price. Their pains are palpable and one aches for them.
Their personal struggles take place against the Indonesian nation’s own struggle to forge a reformed society after the easing out of the quasi-dictator Suharto and the social order that went with him. This backdrop is in no way intrusive, however, and it won’t harm your enjoyment of the novel if you have no knowledge of the politics or culture of the place.
There are, however, two minor issues I’d raise about the book. First, there are a few slips of grammar, but not to any distracting extent. What was an occasional bother to me was lack of clarity about exactly where I was in terms of time, as the novels keeps shifting time-wise. Editorial guidance could have easily fixed this.
That said, From Now On is an intriguing read with two endearing main characters, even when you feel like giving them a slap to wake up to themselves. As they edged slowly closer to their rendezvous, I couldn’t help feeling the tension and had to resist flipping to the end to see what finally happens.
I recommend From Now On to anyone who likes a well-written novel about characters you can care about. Whether it represents “a new dawn of the Indonesian novel” as has been suggested, is too early to call. It is nonetheless a real advance on a lot of literature from that country in that it explores moral issues more fearlessly than Hanadayani’s compatriot writers usually do. From Now On is an engaging novel from a new talent and I look forward to her next offering.
(This is an abridged version of a review I wrote for Rochford Street Review at http://rochfordstreetreview.com)

[Lucky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dari segi bentuknya, novel ini sangat menarik. Saya pikir alur yang dibangun dengan sangat acak namun teratur (dan logis, karena sejauh saya melakukan pembacaan, saya tidak menemukan kecacatan pada logika waktunya) adalah kelebihan novel ini. Pengarang berhasil membuat saya kembali terkagum dengan teori naratif (sekuen-sekuen itu!).

Selain itu, gagasan untuk menjalankan cerita melalui Kotak Karya Belum Selesai dan Kotak Memori Esensial sangat menarik karena selain oleh Rizky dan Julita, cerita tidak mungkin berjalan tanpa kedua "tokoh" tersebut.

Namun bukan berarti tanpa cela, memang kisah dalam novel ini masih terasa terlalu didramatisasi, maksudnya, bagaimana perkembangan kedua tokohnya bisa demikian "rapi" (?):
1. Rizky dan Julita sama-sama nakal di sekolah namun sama-sama lulus dengan nilai terbaik;
2. Meski keduanya menempuh masa sulit dan memiliki konflik dengan keluarganya, mereka mampu bertahan dan (hampir) meraih yang diinginkan: Rizky sarjana kedokteran meski jiwanya di berkesenian, Julita sanggup pergi ke Paris untuk melanjutkan studinya;
3. Keduanya ideologis, benar menggambarkan generasi yang dijanjikan akan mengalami perubahan tapi terlampau tidak realistis karena keduanya demikian kuat memiliki pemikiran yang terbuka dan bijak dalam berkata (diketahui dalam surat-surat mereka).

Membaca suatu karya memang membutuhkan kerendahatian. Saya pun mulanya sangsi dengan cerita dalam novel ini yang sangat terasa FTV, belum lagi saya sangat menyayangkan sampulnya yang sekadarnya dan tidak mewakili isinya. Namun diksi yang digunakan pengarang, dengan dibantu alurnya, saya pikir membuat karya ini layak untuk diapresiasi.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of you may have heard about this novel for all the wrong reasons:

The launch of From Now On Everything Will Be Different by Eliza Vitri Handayani at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival 2015 was cancelled after warnings from local police, ostensibly because of references to the 1965-66 massacres of communists in Indonesia. There are sensitivities best left undisturbed, it was thought.

The cancellation raised a storm of protest about censorship and (in Australia anyway) a rehash of the historical events of 1965, publicity which seems to have defeated the censor’s purpose (if there was one, rather than just over-officious local intervention).

Well, since I’m interested in Indonesian books and writing, and I really, really don’t like book-banning, I bought a copy from Vagabond Press to see what the book was about…

From Now On Everything Will Be Different explores the relationship between two young people during the Reformasi era in Indonesia. This is the period when people power demanded an end to the Suharto ‘New Order’ era and its associated repression and cronyism, and democratic reforms were put in place. The transition period was not without new challenges...

To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2016/01/13/fr...

[Delmarrich Bilga Ayu Permatasari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kesan awal terpaksa harus saya jatuhkan kepada cover. Terlalu ringan dibandingkan dg isinya.

Selain cover, plot mnjadi sesuatu yg (sesungguhnya) menarik. Kesatuan unsur2 cerita ditampilkan dinamik dg kenyataan dn kenangan yg saling bersahutan. Sayangnya, pembaca harus dibuat bingung dg sistematika penulisan yg sulit dimengerti karena ketirisan editorial.

Penulis kreatif membuat reformasi sebagai latar penceritaan. Hadirnya reformasi lebih dr sekadar hiasan. Ia menentukan perjalanan Julita Rizky.

Namun, Sekali lagi, sayangnya, yg mengecewakan, terlepas dr cover, kisah Julita Rizky terkesan sangat FTV. Rizky yg anak genk nakal SMA harus mnghadapi perempuan yg berani dn berbeda spt Julita. Padahal, plot dn bahasa yg sudah "nyastra" akan terkesan lbh wah apabila disandingkan dg kisah problematika hidup yg lebih berbobot. Terlebih lagi reformasi, tdk dgunakan sbagai hal yg dapat mnggoyah hidup lakon2nya.

Cobaan hidup hanya hadir dr dalam diri, tntg cinta, jati diri, dn pencapaian yg gagal, yg jalan keluarnya hanya berasal dr diri sendiri. Selebihnya, dg pnggunaan diksi2 yg imajinatif, karya Eliza ini dpt diadikan sarana rekreasi bagi penikmat sastra (ringan) Indonesia.

[Iwan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ada dua tokoh di buku ini - Rizky dan Julita. Julita adalah perempuan independen yg menjadi seniman, sementara Rizky pilih untuk tunduk kepada keinginan orang tua dan menjadi dokter. Mereka berdua menghadapi macam2 kesulitan dan ketidakpuasan, akibat pilihan mereka. Mereka mencoba membebaskan diri dari pola-pola berperilaku yg tidak memuaskan, tapi kemudian mereka selalu tertangkap dalam pola baru.

Pilihan hidup mereka begitu berbeda, meskipun mereka punya banyak cita-cita yg mirip. Mungkin itu yg buat mereka menjadi tertarik pada satu sama lain. Tapi jangan pikir ini buku romance.

Yg saya paling suka dangan buku ini adalah Julita, karena ia adalah tokoh perempuan yg mau menjadi mandiri, dan hidup sesuai hati nuraninya, meskipun ia tidak selalu mampu menjadi kuat, berprestasi, atau percaya diri. Itu juga akibat dari bagaimana masyarakat melihat perempuan seperti dia. Perjuangannya sangat terasa.

[Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bold, brave book by feminist Eliza Vitri Handayani which tells the love story of Rizky and Julita set in the reformasi period of Indonesia. The love between Rizky and Julita spans over 15 years. It's a book about belonging, acceptance, social norms and mores and finding your own identity. From a writing perspective, Eliza is a stylist. The story is brave for not only what she writes about, but how she tells it.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this well wrought novel about two young people making art and falling in love in Indonesia just after the fall of Suharto. Julita is a talented photographer inspired by the likes of Nan Goldin and Diane Arbus, while her friend Ritzy is a good son who would rather be an actor than a doctor (which is what his mother wants him to be). Cleverly constructed and elegantly written, this novel establishes Handayani as a writer to watch.