Renjana - The Majapahit Love Story A Historical Romance

Once upon a time, there was a glorious kingdom known as Majapahit. This kingdom is the last Hindu kingdom in the country that was beyond its time. It had an established political system, a sophisticated society, and even a habit of savings. Unfortunately, the empire began to decline due to some challenges, such as succession conflict and Islam's arrival in the region, which made this empire end in the late 15th century. _{ref Majapahit empirehistorical kingdom, Indonesia}

𝘙𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘊𝘭𝘶𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘪𝘴 Which historical period fascinates you the most, and what book set in that period have you enjoyed reading?". 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 : 𝘏𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘊𝘭𝘶𝘣 𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 #322

Today, not many of its physical remains exist in the country. Still, because people at the time had a habit of documenting everything, historians have been able to learn about this great empire through the literary works that survive.

This empire, given its nature—it seems like it is lost without much of a trace—makes people curious and attempts to reimagine society and lives during that era. Among everything that I have read, I came across a novel that was written back in 2022 and set in Majapahit. It reimagined the glory days and love story of the characters involved in the empire.

Renjana is historical fiction set across time that weaves together the past and the present in a captivating narration. Written by El Alicia, it was initially published on Wattpad before making its way to print. In the novel, readers can find footnotes that basically discuss how the author is unsure of the historical objects.

The story reimagines the grandeur of the empire's day while revealing the shocking secrets behind its glory. In today's time, a mysterious character is cursed to live in eternity, longing to break free from that seemingly wretched fate.

Through Goodreads, the author included a personal note explaining the reason she wrote the story while she was in high school. Her fascination with mysticism and her infatuation with Javanese culture inspired her to create this fiction.

Although the narrative doesn't have strong roots in scholarly research, the setting and imaginative portrayal of the characters are noteworthy. As someone who has extensively visited museums, ancient sites, and historical structures and documented all of them, I was pleasantly surprised by her vivid imagery. Her Goodreads also noted that she has never visited Yogyakarta and the places included in the story. So, I had to give her a thumbs up for the description, which was quite engaging.

There's definitely room for improvement in this novel. I wish it had received a proper editor's note before printing. Some of the diction and word choice can sometimes feel a bit off. However, I found it quite enjoyable as simply popular literature, even though it doesn't quite reach the level of high Indonesian literature within the same genre.

Another criticism I had about this book is the steamy chapters. I know that historical fiction tends to have this, but I had high hopes with Indonesian romance, especially when it comes to setting like the Majapahit eras. If it had been worded much better, it would have been better to show the intimacy between the characters.

That said, this book has the potential to spark young readers' interest in the history of the Majapahit empire.

Unfortunately, this book isn't available in English, so I can't recommend it to most of you. However, let me know if you've encountered any historical fiction, I'd love to hear about it!