Novel Review Winter in Tokyo by Ilana Tan

Book Identity :
Title: Winter in Tokyo 
Series: Season Series # 3
Author: Ilana Tan 
Publisher: Gramedia Pustaka Utama 
Publication: Ninth Printing - March 2010 
Thickness: 313 pages 
ISBN: 978-979-22-3983-6

This novel tells the story of the love of a girl (Indonesia - Japan) named Ishida Keiko with Kazuto.

Keiko Chan, who works in a public library in Shinjuku and lives in one of the modest apartments in downtown Tokyo, is obsessed with his first love, Kitano Akira. Keiko hopes that one day she will meet Akira and realize her hidden love.

One day, Keiko's apartment arrives a new resident, a man named Nishimura Kazuto, who occupies apartment 201. Kazuto returns to Tokyo, after 10 years living in New York, United States, along with his parents. Kazuto's return to Tokyo for wanting to escape his memory of the girl he loves, who married his own best friend.

Finally intertwined the intimacy between the two, when Kazuto plans to express his feelings to Keiko, returning from a new year's stay in Kyoto, where Keiko's parents live. Kazuto suffered a concussion from being beaten by a number of thugs, forgetting everything that happened during his stay in Tokyo.

Kazuto forgets his feelings for Keiko, especially after he learns that Keiko has met her first love, Kitano Akira, who has become a doctor and classmaker Kazuto in his junior years. The arrival of Iwamoto Yuri, the girl who loved Kazuto, also immersed Keiko's feelings for Kazuto. Moreover, the arrival of Yuri to Tokyo, not only matters of work but also asks Kazuto back to New York, with her.

That's when Keiko realizes how she feels about Kazuto. She feels so lost. And very hurt when Yuri came to Japan. But feelings can not lie. Despite forgetting his memories with Keiko, Kazuto still falls into the same love trap. He once again fell in love with Keiko. However, Kazuto can not move when Keiko's relationship with Kitano Akira becomes more intimate. Everything feels so wrong. How did fate get to play with them in such a way?

My Review :

In Winter in Tokyo, the story is set in Tokyo. Just like Summer in Seoul, the female character is made as an Indonesian crossbreed girl (maybe the same thing happens in Autumn in Paris). Winter in Tokyo uses the author's perspective as a third person like the Summer in Seoul novel. Each character has its own thoughts. The term is, what is it. I myself do not know about a term like this.

Each character is given the opportunity to express his thoughts but Ilana Tan still uses the author's point of view as a third person. Ilana Tan's language style in Winter in Tokyo is similar to a translation novel. Raw words and sentences are typical translation novels. But, the flow is good followed. The story idea is interesting. Other settings of the novel products of most countries. And I once again fell in love with Ilana Tan's work. And more than that, I love story telling using standard structured sentences. Somehow, although I also enjoy the Teen-lit, I am somewhat less comfortable with the style of language without the EYD. Points plus for Ilana Tan from me.

However, it can not be denied, the characterization of Ilana Tan in Winter in Tokyo this time, although it is better than characterization in Summer in Seoul, I think is still less strong. Character of a Keiko who has the imagination to excessive enough to cause anxiety is strong, but other that I feel all the characters are similar but not the same. Just vague. Nothing stays at heart. 

Kazuto's profile-from the physical point of view-is also unclear, how high, the color of his skin, his physical characteristics (whether facial, has a dimple, handsome, brown eyed, etc.) is not well described Tan Ilana. Likewise with the portrayal of the physical side of other characters. Indeed Ilana Tan gives a description of the color of hair, eyes wide, and so on, but I feel still floating (meaning less strong and not memorable). So I just see a vague print of gray on the image of another character besides Keiko. Just a series of names and blurry figures only. But more than that, Ilana is able to lead his readers to read his writing until the end of an unexpected story. The narrative about the location of the story is also interesting, so readers can at least know the beat of people's lives in Tokyo.