BOOK REVIEW: 'LIAR' BY DIANA NUZUIN

Photo credit: Diana Nuzuin

By Farhira Farudin

I remember reading 7 Tahun 7 Hari during my diploma years and being intensely fixated by Diana Nuzuin's writing. Each chapter of the book can only bring two meanings: 1) A representation of my repressed anger I've had in my teenage self for years or 2) A pep talk for my future self for all the heartbreaks I would have to endure soon. I've visited the book more than I can remember - it's safe to say reading the book is now a biannual occasion for me and I would finish it in one sitting. Akin to how she describes herself, I was too a flower witnessed by everyone else to bloom. I am still that flower somehow. Still blooming, in hopes to become the person I would look up to as a child.

That was in 2015. Five years later, 'Liar' was born and I can only say my admiration for her writing has only blossomed since then.

Like its predecessor, I finished Liar in one sitting, one night. I was gripped on every word on every page. Her writing has grown more mature and wise, and yet her honesty in telling her stories remain as candid as ever. I've never read any work of a writer who's as honest as Diana Nuzuin. And that's what I like the most about her books; its sincerity. Her sincerity in telling her true feelings for friends, broken family, former lovers and current partner. The world is merely a stage and she's here to narrates her life in the most genuine way possible - and by accident, it's heart-wrenching and endearing too. It's hard to not finish her book without having an uttermost respect for her strength. Writing a book about some of the most painful times of your life - the past everyone would choose to leave behind but you had embrace it instead - requires courage and Diana Nuzuin has always been ready to reveal it all. 

A particular chapter that stands out the most - perhaps for its heartbreaking subject and it's only appropriate that it's the final chapter of the book - would be 'Surat Untuk Ayah'. It's a letter written for her distant father, recalling her painful childhood that scarred her to her willingness to forgive him as an adult even if no apology is given in the first place. It's a love letter from a child to her father, except the love is in the longing and the answers to her questions are beyond her reach. I could read it a hundred times over and the impact would still be the same. As a fan of her writing, I am whom she would consider as a silent reader. I've been following her on social media for years, and one of the chapters in her life I find interesting is her stay in Luxembourg. I wish this was written in the book but I was surprised to see that it was not included. 

'Liar' left me wanting for more. To see Diana Nuzuin reverting to her blogging days would be a dream for her fans. It's a wishful thinking to see her write more of her life than what she has offered but it's also selfish to think she owes us more than what she has presented in her writing. (I have this feeling that no artist is obliged to give the fans more than what they should, the urge to create more art should only be stemmed from the artist themselves and not to please the fans who are thirsty for more. That's when the magic of sincere art can happen.) 

Liar is a book I will revisit more in the future. The book is a pep talk for my current self. A long distance emotional guidance in the form of writing from one woman to another. An experience belonged to none other than the writer herself but with the permission for readers to have a glimpse on. Liar is indeed a fascinating comeback and a worthwhile read.