Book Review #01

Sing To The Dawn.
Read the book, not the movie.

Story Plot :
The storyline revolves around this girl, Dawan, who won the scholarship to study in the city. However, in some villages of Asia, they still keep the traditional thinking that girls are just going to grow up to be mothers, to do housework at home, and there's no need to further their studies, or even study. She also have to compete with her brother, who came in second, and whom their father is more in favor of to send to the city for further studies.
Although her mother, grandmother tries to help her, they are still under fear of the man of the house, who disapprovals of the female to go for further schooling. Dawan also tries various means to persuade her father into letting her go to the City instead of her brother. However as hard as she try, it seems that things were not working well. Even her own brother is contemplating on whether to tell their father that he came in second, so that he might have a chance to go to the City too.
Both of them aspire to help their poor village by further studying, to come back to the village to teach the people how to plant better crops, how to take the land from the landlords, how to divide the land, to help the people.

Opinions:
Dawan's determination to go for further schooling, even though everything was against her, was admirable. She tried every possible means, even approaching the old monk of the village, to ask him to help persuade her father. She felt that even though she was a girl, she had earned the chance to go for further schooling, and she should get it. So she wanted to prove that she was worthy, and she could help the people in the village to have better life when she comes back.
The bond between her brother and her was also very strong. Although they did quarrelled over who was going to the City, or should her brother tell their father about his results. In the end, the problem was solved, because of her brother's firm stand that his sister, Dawan, should go, cause she was the one who won the scholarship.
Towards the end of the story, it wasn't who was going to the City, but the sadness and loneliness of Dawan, who was going alone. And how she wished that she could bring the bridge, the river, the sunrise with her, and her brother.
Although they did quarrel, but it showed that they didn't want to be separated. Even though the matter of who was going to the City did strain their relationship, but both of them still cared for each other, and wanted things to be the same again, where they thrash all things out at the bridge by the river, talked about what they would want to do for the village if they got to further study, and even sing.
Nearing the end, the story also showed that the father still cared about the daughter, and searched for her as she went missing before she was leaving for the City.

Eileen L.