Goodreads | Hiroshima

Irene rated it:

(review of isbn 0679721037)

05/22/08

Read in May, 2008

recommended to Irene by: Erika

This story was published in 1946, just one year after the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. With exquisitely captured yet mundane details, Hersey tells how six ordinary folks who ultimately survived the catastrophe were going about their business when the bomb dropped. “The frequency of the warnings and the continued abstinence of Mr. B [B-29 bombers:] with respect to Hiroshima had made its citizens jittery; a rumor was going around that the Americans were saving something special ...more This story was published in 1946, just one year after the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. With exquisitely captured yet mundane details, Hersey tells how six ordinary folks who ultimately survived the catastrophe were going about their business when the bomb dropped. “The frequency of the warnings and the continued abstinence of Mr. B [B-29 bombers:] with respect to Hiroshima had made its citizens jittery; a rumor was going around that the Americans were saving something special for the city.”

Several pages later, “Everything fell, and Miss Sasaki lost consciousness. The ceiling dropped suddenly and the wooden floor above collapsed in splinters and the people up there came down and the roof above them gave way; but principally and first of all, the bookcases right behind her swooped forward and the contents threw her down, with her left leg horribly twisted and breaking beneath her. There in the tin factory, in the first moment of the atomic age, a human being was crushed by books.”

I first read this book in high school, in the early 1960’s, and decided to read it again when I read Erika’s comments about it. The Wilmette Public Library has two copies, one shelved in the adult non-fiction section, and the other in the youth section. Is it still assigned reading in English classes? Or perhaps history classes?

What did I remember when I read the book again? Certainly this image: “...there were about twenty men, and they were all in exactly the same nightmarish state: their faces were wholly burned, their eyesockets were hollow, the fluid from their melted eyes had run down their cheeks...Their mouths were mere swollen, pus-covered wounds, which they could not bear to stretch enough to admit the spout of the teapot. So Father Kleinsorge got a large piece of grass and drew out the stem so as to make a straw, and gave them all water to drink that way. One of them said, ‘I can’t see anything.’ Father Kleinsorge answered, as cheerfully as he could, “There’s a doctor at the entrance to the park. He’s busy now, but he’ll come soon and fix your eyes, I hope.’”

Now as I read the book, I kept thinking about how there must be thousands of similar stories about the people caught in two present disasters, the aftermaths of the cyclone in Burma and the earthquake in Szechuan. Similar, because each has been caught in the midst of sudden devastation that was totally beyond their control. Different, of course, in that the bomb was dropped as a result of a conscious decision by humans, whereas cyclones and hurricanes are “natural”. Similar, in the incredible humanity of so many of those who survive, each bringing the strength of their individual quirks to the task, some heroic, some not so much. Some, of course, give up. I wonder what I would do.

Different also in the resources that are brought in for “rescue” and reconstruction. The Americans occupied Japan, bringing a huge influx of dollars and expertise to rebuild, partly to avoid the repercussions of economic collapse, but certainly also to assuage the guilt of inflicting such unprecedented destruction. The Chinese seem to be pulling out all stops to help the earthquake victims, with unprecedented access being given to the press. Are the motives humanitarian or taking advantage of a public relations opportunity? Does it matter? And then there are the Burmese dictators, fending off all credible efforts to help the devastated flood victims as the stunned world helplessly watches.
The present book differs from the one I first read, because in 1985, Hersey wrote a final chapter. In it we learn about the ne
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Mellyana rated it:

(review of isbn 0679721037)

07/17/07

bookshelves: narrative-journalism

Read in May, 2007

Membaca Hiroshima, membuat aku lupa aku sedang membaca sebuah laporan. Serasa baca novel. Fiksi. Apa ya istilahnya, page turner. Aku sulit berhenti membacanya. Padahal, aku mulai membaca jam 11 malam, dan sampai jam 12 malam, aku masih bersemangat menyelesaikan Hiroshima.

Oya, aku musti bilang, aku tidak suka cerita perang. Aku tidak suka film perang. Kalau aku menonton film perang, syarat utama adalah film itu harus memiliki gambar yang bagus. Bukan gambar indah, tapi gambar yang bagus, gamb...more Membaca Hiroshima, membuat aku lupa aku sedang membaca sebuah laporan. Serasa baca novel. Fiksi. Apa ya istilahnya, page turner. Aku sulit berhenti membacanya. Padahal, aku mulai membaca jam 11 malam, dan sampai jam 12 malam, aku masih bersemangat menyelesaikan Hiroshima.

Oya, aku musti bilang, aku tidak suka cerita perang. Aku tidak suka film perang. Kalau aku menonton film perang, syarat utama adalah film itu harus memiliki gambar yang bagus. Bukan gambar indah, tapi gambar yang bagus, gambar yang kuat, warna yang kuat. Tapi, tanpa darah bercucuran. Aduh, kalau pakai darah, mendingan aku tutup mata saja, deh. Aku juga tidak suka membaca cerita perang. Capek. Kesal. Marah. Ingin menangis. Sesak. Napasku betul betul sesak.

Untuk Hiroshima, semua perkataan di atas harus aku tarik. Hiroshima, bercerita tentang perang, tanpa harus mengumbar kekerasan perang dengan kata-kata yang keras dan menyakitkan. Justru dengan kata-kata yang terlihat lembut, kekejaman dan kekerasan peristiwa itu begitu kuat. Memukau.

Membaca Hiroshima, seperti menonton Hiroshima. Tapi, aku tidak sedang berbicara tentang Film Hiroshima yang disutradai Koreyoshi Kurahara dan Roger Spottiswoode, aku sedang membaca Hiroshima yang ditulis oleh John Hersey.

Bagian-bagian awal tulisan, Hersey bergantian bercerita tentang orang-orang yang berbeda di lokasi yang berbeda. Kalau ini film, aku suka sekali gaya seperti ini. Model Pulp Fiction atau Love Actually. Di awal bacaan belum kelihatan, apa sih kaitan satu tokoh dengan tokoh lain. Tidak lama, akan segera diketahui, bagaimana keseluruh tokoh adalah “hibakusha”, survivor, mereka yang lolos dari bom atom yang dijatuhkan di Hiroshima.

Semuanya begitu detail. Kegiatan para hibakusha itu sebelum, pada saat, dan setelah kejadian. Apa yang sedang mereka pakai, bahkan apa yang sedang mereka pikirkan. Bagaimana tiap cerita bergantian tertulis, tanpa terasa ada jeda atau pergantian orang dan tempat. Sungguh, sulit membayangkan ini adalah hasil wawancara. Sulit melihat ini bukan fiksi, bukan rekayasa. Bagaimana bisa John Hersey mengingat semuanya seperti ini?

Tunggu, aku rubah pertanyaaannya. Bagaimana bisa John Hersey bercerita seakan-akan dia ada di dalam hati dan jiwa tiap tiap tokohnya, dan seakan-akan dia mengalami semuanya. Aku tidak tahu. Bagaimana dia bisa melakukannya.

Sayang, aku tidak akan bisa hadir di kelas yang membahas Hiroshima. And I hate that so much. Aku ingin tahu, apa yang akan dibahas. Aku ingin tahu, bagaimana tulisan ini bisa dibuat sebegitu rupa. Aku berharap, bisa memperoleh cerita dari siapapun yang hadir saat itu, dan membuat aku merasa seakan-akan aku hadir di kelas (walaupun saat itu aku ada di seberang pulau), sebagaimana John Hersey membuat aku seakan-akan hadir di Hiroshima, di tahun 1945.
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