Hi, pingu!
I actually have wanted to ask you about San Francisco since I finished it last month but life has been too busy that I always forget to come here and actually ask you the question. But right now I'm in the middle of work and suddenly i remember that i need to ask you something about this book (let's just hope the higher ups just think i'm diligently typing and working instead of writing this if they see me with my laptop) so i will write it now.
first thing first, i liked the book so much! maybe it's become my another favorite book of yours. i like the classical music references that Ansel always talked about, and I also loved how Ansel and Rani liked to share about random facts or something. Also, whenever Rani talked about Indonesia, i suddenly had this pride about Indonesia in my heart (it always reminded me of that popular video of a taxi driver saying "THIS ONE INDONESIA! NO ENGLAND NO USA!"). The ending of the story is not happy, and also not sad. The book is painful and there are parts where i felt like i was seen, but somehow overall felt warmth and comforting. Conclusion, i really like the book!
So, my question to you is, i noticed that when there are dialogues between Ansel and Rani, you always write it in English. At first I thought that's understandable because the set is in Francisco. But then, when it's a dialogue between Rani and other people, or Ansel and other people, or Ansel, Rani, and other people, it's in bahasa Indonesia. Is there a reason why when it's only Rani and Ansel, you wrote it in English?
That's all my question about this book. Thank youuuu for writing this book and have a nice day!
Hi!
Thank you! I have mixed feelings about San Fran but tbh I loved writing it (songs are fun).
But YES that was by design, attagirl :v IDK how to properly put it but... I think it has something to do with which language you feel more comfortable using in which situation? It's not only about multilingualism, but manners of speech in general. I think I tried to emphasise that Ansel & Rani instantly connected because they have a bubble language that, even though spoken by everyone else around them, is also a language of their own, if that makes any sense. They're excluding everyone else from their world, so if I did the writing right, they don't really speak in front of anyone. I think having "a world of our own" relationship feels interesting but eventually isn't very good. I think that makes sense???