49 Hari

 

Rompong Aldi Novel Adilang terlepas, terombang-ambing ombak di tengah samudera. Selama itu, hidup dan matinya ibarat tarik ulur tambang. Hingga pada hari ke-49, rompong dan nyawanya diselamatkan oleh kapal tanker MV Arpeggio berbendera Panama. Kisah hidupnya dan penyelamatan Aldi mencuri perhatian publik, dilimpahi sorot publisitas yang mengagetkan. Aldi dan keluarga menjadi selebriti mendadak. Bertahun-tahun kemudian, seorang penulis mendapatkan tugas untuk menuliskan kisahnya. Kisah perjuangan yang tak biasa, haruslah ditulis dengan tidak biasa pula. Berangkat ke Manado dan menyusuri kehidupan Aldi dan keluarga. Di balik gemerlap kesan ibukota, sejatinya si penulis menyimpan gejolak hidup yang tak berhenti beriak. Kisah Aldi dan si penulis adalah potret kehidupan manusia. Mereka menghadapi segala kegundahan masing-masing. Sebab hidup ibarat rompong yang tak selamanya bertemu lautan tenang. Ombak gelombang mengintai dari balik dinding rompong

Based on a true story:

49 Days. The number of days when this young boy was adrift in the ocean. From Sulawesi island to Guam sea, he was holding on to his dear life on a bamboo raft. About 1900 km, through the high tidal wave, stormy nights, and scorching heat of the sun. He survived.

Aldi was his name and he was working as a rompong keeper. A raft set in the middle of the ocean, function as a device to attract the fish before the fishermen harvest them. Aldi's job was to turn on the lights at the night times. 

One day, the raft detached from the anchor and there he floated to the endless sea. 

He caught international attention and one year after that a movie production house sponsored me to fly  to the island to write about him. The novel: "49 Hari (Kisah Penantang Gelombang)" is the record of his story and my journey in writing that. 

From Lansa village in Minahasa, to Siau island, to the raft where he used to work I spent a couple of months in those places, scribbling the thread of the story. 

The novel will be published in Indonesia (in Indonesian language) by Gramedia Pustaka Utama in January 2023.

Get a copy here (Indonesia)