Autumn in Paris - Review

Novel Review

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Title                              : Autumn in Paris

Author                          : Ilana Tan

Genre                           : Metropop

Publisher                      : Gramedia Pustaka Utama

Year of Publishing       : 2007

Number of Pages          : 272 Pages

            Autumn in Paris is one of the four successful seasons tetralogy novel written by Ilana Tan. The story is set in Paris. It tells about the meeting of a girl who loves autumn, and a man who hates autumn. However, fate plays its own role between these two people.

  The next section of this review is the synopsis of the story. As a warning, there will be many spoilers ahead.

             The main character, Tara Dupont, is a girl of mixed ancestry who lives in Paris. Her father is a French, while her mother is an Indonesian. Her features are more like an Asian than a French. When Tara was still a little girl, her parents got divorced. However, both of her parents still remain in good term despite their status as ex-spouses. Tara lives in Paris together with her father, but in different apartments. Even though her parents has divorced, sometimes she still visits her mother in Indonesia.

         Tara works as a radio presenter in one of the popular radio broadcasting stations in Paris together with her co-worker and friend, Élise Lavoie. Tara works in a program that broadcasts popular songs and weekly chart, while Élise works in a program that broadcasts the letters from listeners called Je me souviens (I am reminiscing).

            Tara has a best friend named Sebastien Giraudeau. He has known Tara since they were little. He is a man with a tall build, blond hair, and wears glasses that works as an Architecture. Sebastien has a friend named Tatsuya Fujiwa. He later introduces him to Tara when they have dinner together.

Tatsuya Fujisawa, Sebastien’s friend and co-worker who he met in Tokyo, Japan when he visited there for business reason. Tatsuya actually had met Tara before Sebastien introduces Tara to him. He met her at an airport, where she accidentally bumped into him. Then, he met her later at a pub where she got drunk. Tara doesn’t remember meeting Tatsuya before, but Tatsuya knew it. He chooses to hide it from Tara, afraid that this girl will accuse him as being a stalker if he tell her that they have met twice before.

Tara feels that Tatsuya is someone familiar to her, but she doesn’t realize what makes him feels so familiar. On the other hand, Tatsuya feels interested towards Tara since their meeting in the airport. At first, Tara didn’t really want to know about Tatsuya. However, after Tatsuya smiled and pronounced Tara’s name, she changed her mind. Tatsuya Fujisawa is an interesting person. Sebastien tells Tatsuya that Tara is a radio presenter. Then, Tara reveals that at her work place, there is also a program that broadcasts the letter from listeners. She urged Tatsuya to send letters to that program. He was reluctant at first, but actually, he do what Tara asked him in the end.

Tatsuya starts sending e-mails to Je me souviens. He uses an alias "Monsieur Fujitatsu", a blend of his name, Fujisawa Tatsuya. In the e-mails, he tells about his meeting with a girl that has caught his interest at the airport and a pub. The identity of the girl is kept as a secret by him.

Tatsuya promised himself that if he met the girl that bumped into her at the airport again, he would ask her on a date. Actually, that girl is Tara. Since he meet her again, Tatsuya asks Tara to go on a date, accompanying him to look around Paris.

Since that time, Tara and Tatsuya grows closer. They often meet to have lunch or just to hang out together. It is revealed that Tara loves autumn. She loves it when she can feel the autumn wind on her face. It makes her nose and cheeks feel cold. On the other hand, Tatsuya doesn’t like autumn. It makes him remembers the sad feeling when he lost his mother in. To him, autumn will only just bring sad memories to him.

Then, Tatsuya continuously sends e-mail to Je me souviens. However, this time he writes about his time together with Tara that he dubbed as Gadis Musim Gugur (Autumn Girl). He then reveals the truth that Gadis Musim Gugur (Autumn Girl) is actually Tara in the e-mail that he sends to Je me souviens. Tara feels so shocked, yet happy because of this.

Before long, both of them realize their feelings toward each other. Tara’s existence has changet Tatsuya’s perception about autumn. Now, because of Tara, he slowly starts to like autumn himself.

During one of their meetings, Tatsuya tells Tara that his coming to Paris is not only work related, but also to look for someone. That someone is his biological father. It turned out that Tatsuya’s biological father is Tara’s father, Jean-Daniel Lemercier, or now known as Jean-Daniel Dupont. During Jean-Daniel’s stay in Japan, he met Sanae Fujisawa, Tatsuya’s mother and had a relationship with her. Sanae didn’t tell Jean-Daniel about her pregnancy because Jean-Daniel had left Tokyo and she lost contact with him. At first, Tatsuya didn’t know that Jean-Daniel is Tara’s father. Jean-Daniel’s family name was Lemercier, but after his mother remarried, his family name changed to Dupont. Jean-Daniel also tells Tatsuya that he has a daughter named Victoria. Unknown to Tatsuya, Victoria is Tara’s real name. Now, everyone calls her Tara. Only her father that still calls her Vicroria. This fact wasn’t known to Tatsuya. He didn’t know that Jean-Daniel has family relation to Tara.

Tatsuya finds out that his biological father is also Tara’s father when he attends Élise’s birthday, invited through Tara. The party is held in one of the pubs owned by Tara’s father. There, he meets Jean-Daniel. Tara introduced him as her father to Tatsuya. Tatsuya feels so shocked but he hides the truth from Tara and gives the signals to Jean-Daniel to play along with his game of lies in front Tara. This truth makes Tara as Tatsuya’s sister from the same father. Because of this, Tatsuya has to suppress his feelings towards Tara. He feels so broken inside. It hurts so much to realize that he loves someone that he can’t love. He loves his own sister.

Tara didn’t know about this, until she overhears the conversation between his father and Dr. Laurent Delcour, her father’s friend. They talk about the truth that Tatsuya Fujisawa is Jean-Daniel’s biological son. Upon hearing the bitter truth, Tara goes into breakdown. She almost try to commit suicide by jumping into a river. Luckily, Sebastien sees her and saves her from her suicidal attempt.

From that time, Tara has changed. She becomes more silent than usual. She even tells Sebastien that Tatsuya and she are brother and sister from the same father. This has made Tatsuya feels upset and left Tara.

During his distance from Tara, Tatsuya has decided to leave Paris, back to Tokyo. He tries to tell Tara about this, but she always refuses to get into contact with. This goes on until Tara and Tatsuya accidentally meet at a café. Tara tries to get away from him, but in the end, Tatsuya catches up to her. Then, Tatsuya tells Tara that he will go back to Tokyo and never return to Paris. Tatsuya tells his final goodbye, then leaves Tara crying there. Tatsuya thinks that this is the best for them. He plans to visit Tara later, if his feelings towards her has disappeared.

At the day of Tatsuya’s departure, Monsieur Fujitatsu that is actually Tatsuya Fujisawa, sends his last e-mail to Je me souviens. Élise tells Tara to listen to her program broadcast because of this. Tara listens to the Élise that reads the mail from her radio. The mail is Tatsuya’s confession that he actually loves someone that he can’t love. He loves Tara. Both Tara and he himself have fall too deep into each other. However, deep down, they know it the best that they can’t love each other.

After a month Tatsuya left Paris, Tara gets a call from someone asking to talk to her father. The caller is a girl that tells Tara about Tatsuya’s critical condition. Tatsuya got into an accident in his work. He fell from the third floor during his work. Because of that he fell into a coma for three days. The girl asks Tara and her father to come to Japan to meet Tatsuya. She believes that Tatsuya is waiting for them.

Tara and her father goes to Japan to visit Tatsuya. They goes straight to the hospital where Tatsuya is taken care at after they checked in at a hotel. There, the girl who called Tara before, Keiko Ishida who is also Tatsuya’s neighbor, tells them that the doctors has given up on Tatsuya. The doctors said that Tatsuya would only last for 48 hours. However, he is still breathing even after three days already. She also tells them that Tatsuya’s adoptive father, Kenichi Fujisawa, believes that Tatsuya is waiting for Tara and her father, Tatsuya’s biological father.

Tara refuses to see Tatsuya. If he is still alive because he is waiting for them, then if she sees him, he will give up on waiting. She doesn’t want that to happen. Then, Keiko asked Tara to go with her to see Tatsuya’s apartment, by the request of Kenichi Fujisawa. Tara agrees with her to go to see Tatsuya’s apartment.

At Tatsuya’s apartment, Tara discovers that Tatsuya has taken her photograph without her knowing. The last photograph that she sees makes her tears flow down uncontrollably. It is a photograph of her and Tatsuya during their visit to Disneyland Paris together. She flipped the photograph and sees something written at the back, "Aku Aku dan segala yang kuinginkan dalam hidup..." (I and everything that I want in life). On the table that she finds the photograph, she sees a laptop lays there. She curiously opened it and sees through it. She finds out that Tatsuya asked Sebastien to be his ‘personal spy’ to give him news about her. After that, Tara decides that she will face Tatsuya, knowing that she will lose him forever.

Tara goes back to the hospital. She gathers her will to see Tatsuya inside his room. Upon entering, she sees him lays on the bed. His face is bandaged. There are some wires that connect Tatsuya’s body into machines that supports his life. Tara starts to talk to Tatsuya, but Tatsuya didn’t give any respond. He lays there sleeping deeply. Tara keeps on talking to him. She realizes that there is a teardrop falling from Tatsuya’s eye that isn’t covered by bandage. Tara then tells him that she will be okay so that he shouldn’t worry about her. She also tells him that she will always love him (as a sister, not romantically). However, deep in her heart she says that she loves him (romantically), but she doesn’t say it to him. She promises him that she will return to her cheerful self.

After she says everything, she hears a long, monotone sound coming from a machine that shows Tatsuya’s heart rate. A chill runs down her spine. Suddenly, a group of people in white clothing enters the room and tries to save Tatsuya. In the end, his life can’t be saved. Tara’s father, who is also Tatsuya’s biological father enters the room and takes Tara away from Tatsuya. Tara hugs him and she cries in his hug together with him. She recalls her promise to Tatsuya, “Jangan marah padaku kalau aku menangis.... Hari ini saja.... Kau boleh lihat sendiri nanti. Kau akan lihat tidak lama lagi aku akan kembali bekerja, tertawa, dan mengoceh seperti biasa.... Aku janji....” (“Don’t be angry with me if I cry…. Just for today…. You can see for yourself later. You will see that soon I will be working again, laughing, and babbling like usual…. I promise….”)

In my opinion, I think this is a good novel. The author, Ilana Tan, presents the story in an interesting way that makes me impatiently want to read the continuation of the story. Her way of delivering the plot is easy to understand. She also gives some surprises in her story. The plot twist really give a strong impact to the story line. She successfully puts the strong feeling through her story. Honestly, it made me feel carried away by the story to the point of crying. Personally, I dislike sad ending, but this one is a worth ending. There is also a moral value in story. From Tara and Tatsuya’s point of view, it tells us that reality might be the opposite of what we expect it to be. We, humans, can only expect things, but never put our hopes too high in our expectations. We have to prepare ourselves for the worst thing that might happen to us. Reality is harsh, we have to face it wisely. From Jean-Daniel Dupont point of view, it tells us that we have to think carefully through things before doing something. If we recklessly do things without a thorough consideration, we might regret it in the end. The mistakes that we did in the past might backfired to us in the future.

From reading the novel, I also find that it has a weakness. The author uses a formal language, too formal I think, that is kind of makes me feel a bit uncomfortable in reading it. It makes me feel like I was reading a translated novel. Aside from that, there is nothing that I can complain about the novel.

Overall, this novel is worth reading. For anyone who likes a romance story with sad ending, I recommend to read this novel. Just one thing, I don’t take any responsibility for the sad feeling and tears that will come to you when reading this novel. I hope everyone who reads my review will find this novel interesting just like I do.