Book Review of Tak Kenal Maka Taaruf by Mim Yudiarto

Student Center Hall, UIN Online News - UIN Jakarta Press in collaboration with IPB Press held a book review event written by Mim Yudiarto entitled 'Tak Kenal Maka Taaruf' on Thursday (14/3/2024) at UIN Jakarta Student Center Hall. The event was attended by the President Director of IPB Press, Erick Wahyudyono, Head of Research and Publishing Center of UIN Jakarta, Siti Ummi Masruroh, and several UIN Jakarta lecturers who also discussed the contents and messages in the book.

In his speech, Erick gave a response regarding the content of the book. According to him, the novel entitled Tak Kenal Maka Taaruf is an inspirational and educational novel that is packaged humorously so that it is easy to read by young people or gen z. Ummi in her speech also added the importance of novels as a window to the world, this novel according to her relates to the current state of gen z because the contents of the novel show that ta'aruf is not only inclined to Islam, but can be seen from a universal side.

The event moderated by Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) lecturer, Biaunik Niski Kumila, M.S., invited two FST lecturers as discussants of this book review, namely Prof. Dr. Ambran Hartono, M.Si., and Dr. Iwan Aminudin, S. Hut, M.Si. Dr. Iwan said that taaruf is not the same as dating so that this book can add to the views and knowledge of the younger generation regarding the true meaning of taaruf.

"This novel is refreshing, easy to understand, and addictive. The type of novel that is very worth reading because it is not entirely a religious novel, there is also a joking language that is very suitable for the younger generation," she said.

Mim has previously written 50 books, including novels, poems, and short stories. The novel Tak Kenal Maka Taaruf is her 51st work, and she admits that it only took her eight days to complete one book.

"I spent eight days to finish this book, when I started writing I felt like 'trance' so the plot just flowed because I am not the type of writer who uses an outline like the majority of other writers, if I use an outline it is like imprisoning my mind so it is not free. So I look for research and sources while writing. I also asked my children for their opinions on language and how the younger generation behaves because my children are gen z," said Mim.

Writing a witty romance genre novel with light language is a big challenge for Mim because usually the genres of books she writes are heavy, such as horror, sadness, and thrillers. The challenge was also given to Mim because not only the writing style, Mim also had to incorporate educational and religious meanings into it.

On the same occasion, Mim also gave tips and messages to students who are interested in trying the world of writing. She said that criticism and feedback from readers are very important, so don't feel down with harsh criticism, instead the criticism should be a stepping stone for writers to produce much better work.

"Good writing is finished writing, so whatever you write is finished. Just like you write scientific papers, theses, short stories, the important thing is that the writing is finished. Whether it's good or not will be subjective judgment from the reader," he said.

The novel is planned to be elevated to a feature film directed by Fajar Bustomi, the screenplay drafting process has been carried out and is currently entering the casting process. The film is expected to hit theaters in late 2024 or early 2025. (Nadia Nur Fadilah/Novia Syifaputri Ramadhan/Fauziah)