Art Original
Pulang (Sebuah Novel)
This abstract examines Pulang (Home), the highly acclaimed and award-winning novel by Leila S. Chudori. Moving seamlessly across decades and continents—from the political upheaval of Jakarta in 1965 and the student protests of Paris in 1968, to the dramatic fall of the New Order regime in 1998—the narrative follows the lives of Indonesian political exiles who were stripped of their citizenship and unable to return to their homeland. Through the dual perspectives of Dimas Suryo, an exiled journalist longing for his roots, and his daughter, Lintang Utara, who returns to Indonesia to confront her family's past, the novel brilliantly explores the agonizing weight of displacement, stigma, and the universal human quest for belonging.
Beyond its compelling prose and rich character development, Pulang serves as a vital literary monument that confronts one of the darkest chapters of Indonesian history. By weaving meticulous historical research with deeply personal stories of love, survival, and culinary nostalgia, Chudori transcends a simple political critique to deliver a profound meditation on national identity and collective trauma. For educators, literary scholars, and digital school library repositories, this novel stands as an indispensable educational resource. It encourages critical thinking, cross-generational empathy, and historical literacy, demonstrating how literature can bridge past fractures to foster true reconciliation and a deeper understanding of what it truly means to come home.
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