Reda Gaudiamo, Childhood Memory, and Na Willa

Abstract

Reda Gaudiamo, Childhood Memory, and Na Willa Anna Elfira Prabandari Assa (bio) Remembrance is always shared intergenerationally. Even in the absence of the source memory, remembrance can still be done through the vicarious ones—photos, documentaries, museums, personal accounts, history, and novels (Erll et al. 111). A novel, or any literary text, becomes a medium of memories that the author deliberately creates, a space where the author can compose concepts for readers to remember. In this spirit, Reda Gaudiamo tries to bring her childhood memories back through her book Na Willa (2020). The manuscript, which she initially wrote as "Notes" on Facebook, was published by Aikon as Na Willa: Serial Catatan Kemarin. Following a change of publisher in 2018, Gaudiamo published the sequel, Na Willa dan Rumah dalam Gang (2018). The English translation, The Adventure of Na Willa, was released in 2019, and the third entry in the series, Na Willa dan Hari-Hari Ramai, was published in 2022. The series stars Willa, a five-year-old girl who lives in Surabaya with Pak (father), Mak (mother), and her maid, Mbok. As a child, Willa is far from being obedient. She is a naughty crybaby who questions everything. Her parents, Mak and Pak, are described as moderate figures who do not spoil Willa. This can be seen from how they respond to their only daughter. One day Mak is visited by their neighbor, Mrs. Wardiman. Mrs. Wardiman reports Willa's naughtiness after the girl pulled the leg of Warno, her disabled son. Warno fell to the wall and his face hit the ground. Willa does not remain silent when she hears Mrs. Wardiman getting angry. Instead, while stomping her feet, she shouts that Warno was mocking her as "asu Cino" (a derogatory name for Chinese Indonesian). Despite this, Mak continues scolding Willa for hitting Warno. Mak tells her that Willa should not hit other people, especially her disabled friend (17). In another story, Willa really wants to join Farida, her Muslim friend, to go to the mosque and learn salah (the Muslim prayer). Muslim women usually wear special praying clothes called mukena—made from a long white cloth to cover their whole body from head to toe. Willa, who is not a Muslim, does not have a mukena. To create her own mukena, Willa takes Mak's bedsheets from the clothesline. This of course results in Willa being scolded (again) by Mak. She is not scolded for joining the Muslim prayer, but because she soils Mak's sheets that had been washed, rubbed smooth, and starched. [End Page 75] When I got the opportunity to talk to Reda Gaudiamo about her creative process in writing Na Willa, I found several things related to childhood memories and how she reinterpreted those memories as her identity. Why did you write Na Willa? I want to talk to the parents and ask, "Why are children not being understood as children?" I feel that parents have forgotten about their childhood. But if I use parental characters and give it a title "Lessons I Took from My Mother," it will sound lame. That's why I chose a detour by using children's characters. Is it difficult to write for children? Absolutely difficult! In the past, my friends often sat waiting for me while I wrote short stories for magazines. It took me only around thirty minutes. Writing Na Willa is different—I had to spend years! Every time I finished a part, I would read that aloud. I tried to remember how I used to talk to my parents: What was it like? What were my parents like when they talked to me? I cannot remember completely, but I used whatever memory I have to create Willa. Where did the character Willa come from? I was inspired by a French children's novel, Nicholas by Sempé and Goscinny. The titular character is a seven-year-old very naughty boy. He runs here and there, plays with mud, and wants to have all the toys his friends have. And I thought, "Wow, this would be fun if there was a story about a stubborn child like this." He became my model for Willa, a character...