"Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews"

In Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews, the third person perspective or POV centers on Dominika Egorova, a Russian girl who is worked in the ballerina show as a professional ballerina and then faced with the rigors of life when her father died when she was a teenager. After her father’s death, Dominika lives with his sick mother Nina Egorova who can only spend her days at home using a wheelchair as the exposition when the story began.

One time, another misfortune happened to this ballerina's life. During the ballerina show where the bad luck happened, Dominika suffered a severe injury to its leg. Hospital results say that Dominica cannot be a ballerina anymore, an event that later changed the journey of Dominika’s life, this event is the starting point as the rising action or conflict began in the story and later follower by another conflict.

After Dominika quit her job as Ballerina, Dominika stopped earning income from the ballerina stage which had been the source of her income and even the house where she and her mother lived were none other than the facilities provided by the ballerina company where she previously worked.

Now, slowly the problem begins to come to Dominika’s life, the ballerina company can no longer provide home facilities to her because she is no longer a part of the company, so it must pay a rent that is not of a small amount and not to mention other costs Dominika must pay such as medical expenses for her mother, the cost of the housekeeper and her mother guardian’s at the same time.

Amid the confusion and difficulties that Dominika experienced, his uncle, the younger brother of his father Ivan Vladimirovich Egorov, Deputy Director of SVR (The Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation) came to visit the house of Dominika. Ivan came and spoke privately with Dominika trying to show empathy for what happened to Dominika and his mother. Knowing that Dominica needed money now, Ivan Egorov offered a job to Dominika.

Dominika who didn't really like his uncle could not immediately receive help from Ivan because Dominika knew little about Ivan's work as an SVR Director who could sometimes do something against the norm. However, Ivan Egorov promised that he would only give one easy job to Dominika for a very favorable fee and promised that this was safe enough for Dominika and asked her to think of this opportunity well.

While thinking about the offer given by Ivan Egorov, Dominika trying to meet her boyfriend Constantine, who was her dancing partner on a ballerina, and because it was difficult to contact him by telephone at that time Dominika came to the ballerina practice site to meet Constantine and unfortunately Dominika caught Constantine making out with other ballerina, Anya.

Regardless of where the devil from possessing Dominika came from, she could not hold back what she was seeing, she was very shock and hurt, then with angry she used a crowbar to attack Constantine and Anya in the bathroom who knew nothing. Dominika killed them both sadly at the same time. After that, with all the chaos in her life that continued to occur, Dominika finally received an offer from Ivan Egorov her uncle. The assignment given to Dominika from his uncle was spying on Dimitry Ustinov to give a report to State Security, Dominica followed.

Dimitry Ustinov is the third richest businessman in Russia who is also a gangster leader in Russia who had watched the Dominican ballerina show, Ustinov was quite interested in Dominica and therefore Ivan Egorov asked Dominican to spy on Ustinov and make Ustinov believe in him. Following Ivan's plans and direction, Dominica came to the Andarja Hotel where Ustinov would have dinner.

Dominica prepared itself as attractive as possible with the clothes and accessories prepared by Ivan and his team so that Ustinov notice Dominica at that night. Her efforts were successful, of course Ustinov could not shift his focus from the beautiful ballerina, and he approached Dominika and tried to seduce her without thinking of anything like why Dominika at that hotel.

 Everything went smoothly, Dominika also managed to bring Ustinov to her room as directed by Ivan Egorov but surprisingly, at that room Dominika who was fighting Ustinov who sexually abused her was shocked by the arrival of a black man wearing a helmet which later turned out to be Sergei Matorin, an officer of the SVR, killed Ustinov right in the eyes of Dominika.

Dominika was very surprised by what happened, when she asked this angrily to Ivan Egorov and Ivan blamed Dominika said that it is a consequence that Dominika had taken her choice to accept Ivan's assignment. As the story goes, Dominika was faced with two difficult choices over the incident, because she witnessed the death of Ustinov, Dominika had to choose to die or follow what Ivan Egorov requested by entering Sparrow School. Dominika has no choice.

Dominika was sent to the Sparrow School, a secret agent training school in Russia that looked more like a training school to become a sex machine and killer at the same time. Both men and women who are members of the training facilities are educated to feel so much pain in the scope of abuse and then make their humanity die as well as Dominika. After finishing training to become a Russian secret agent at Sparrow School, Dominika changed her name to Katerina Zubkova for duty.

The first of Dominika’s task after leaving Sparrow School was to help Ivan Egorov reveal high-ranking officials who betrayed the Russian government in an intelligence agency. Dominika was asked to be a spy and find information about who is the high-ranking official betrayed by getting close to Nate Nash a CIA Operative and having to sacrifice anything Dominika could sacrifice. Dominika that really hate her uncle could not say no instead of following what her uncle said.

Nate Nash is a CIA agent who works in Moscow, during an operation in Gorky Park, Nate Nash and his team were intercepted by local police. Nash also created a diversion to try to complete his task but lost a mole in Russian ranks code named Marble. After the incident Nash was transferred back to U.S but still insisted on completing his mission and finding out who was the traitor behind the Russian government which had caused divisions and disputes between Russia and U.S. Nate Nash was assigned to go to Budapest to be able to complete his task.

Dominika with her main task is to approach and gain trust from Nate Nash, so Dominika can also get any information that Nate has also come to Budapest. Even though it was hard to leave her mother in Russia and do something that is not her but Dominika was trying as hard as possible to be able to carry out her duties well and according to Ivan's orders because her mother's safety and welfare depended on her. Dominika even doesn't know anymore what's right and what's wrong, she just tried to hear and do whatever Ivan said without fighting.

Arriving in Budapest, Dominika, living in an apartment with another Sparrow named Marta Yelenova, it is not known whether Marta Yelenova is her real name or not. Dominika also introduced herself as Katya. Marta also helped Dominika enough and gave several messages from all of her experiences as a Sparrow. In Budapest, Dominika did not directly work under Ivan Egorov, Dominika boss or in Budapest was Maxim Volontov, an old man of one of the government leaders who was also a masher.

The first meeting of Dominika with his boss in Budapest, Maxim Volontov did not give a good impression to Dominika, while discussions about information and strategies that Dominika had to do to approach Nate Nash's target, Dominika  received indecent treatment from Volontov, but learned from Sparrow School Dominika already killed pain and shame against herself. She no longer cared about what happened to her if she successfully completed her task.

It didn't take long for a Dominika who was born charming to appear and slowly attract the attention of Nate Nash. Dominika began to approach her target by registering in the same swimming pool with Nate Nash, repeatedly trying to signal Nate Nash's interest in swimming pools, at the third meeting Nate Nash finally approached Dominika and tried to get to know her further instinctively of course as an agent The CIA.

After spending time with Dominica, Nate knows that Dominika was an agent of Russian Intelligence. Dominika who had spent quite a lot of time with Nate began to feel that she could trust Nate. Dominika also showed her identity about who she is to Nate and they decided to work together and be on the same side. After deciding to become a partner, Nate and Dominika always exchange information and of course interspersed with their deeper relationship.

One day, Dominica began to place suspicion on her apartment’s friend Marta. Dominika felt something was strange about Marta, as Marta often took the phone secretly and did not really want to discuss the task she was carrying out. Dominika also began to find out and try to investigate Marta, she found the contact number of Stephanie Boucher, U.S Senator's Chief of Staff at the last call at Cellphone Marta, Dominika also learned that Marta was a double agent for Russia and US.

Soon, Marta was found dead killed in her room. Dominika also lied to her uncle Ivan, that Dominika helped Marta to gather information from Stephanie Boucher as a spy. Dominika does not tell the truth that Marta is a double agent. After Marta's death, Dominika offered Nash to work as a double agent, she continued Marta's work before and met Stephanie Boucher to get information for the CIA in the form of a flash disk. After a meeting with Dominika, Stephanie Boucher was killed because the CIA learned of a Dominika identity as a Russian agent, this is the climax of the story.

After the incident, Dominika and Volontov returned to Moscow, Dominika was convicted and interrogated for several days for what had happened, not only by Volontov but also by Ivan who began to suspect Dominika of being a defector. Dominika continued to say that she was only carrying out orders. Dominika was finally released and returned to Budapest and tried to meet Nash. Dominika, which at that time had begun to strengthen her goal to staying with Nash, finally met in Nash's house quietly.

As the falling action of the story, Dominika and Nate Nash tried to arrange a plan to find out who the traitor they were looking for in the Russian government and try to keep their position secure. After spending the night with Nash, Dominika woke up bound and tortured by Sergei Matorin, a very cruel SVR officer.

Likewise, with Nate Nash, Dominika in a tortured condition tried to convince Matorin that she was on the same side with Matorin and only carried out orders to approach Nash. Matorin then trusts Dominika and releases Dominika who promises to help Matorin to kill Nate Nash. After being released, Dominika prepares to kill Nate Nash, but ends up killing Matorin and rescuing Nash.

Not long after that, Dominika was awakened in the hospital and was surprised to see who came to see her. He is General Vladimir Korchnoi who is one of the government leaders in Russia and the leadership of the SVR. Korchnoi had been watching Dominika since the beginning when Dominika joined Sparrow School and learned what had happened to Dominika. Unexpectedly Korchnoi also admitted that he was Marble who had been sought by the CIA and the SVR. Korchnoi also told Dominika why he had betrayed Russia and asked Dominica to convey this truth to Ivan Egorov.

Seeing what had happened and remembering what Ivan had done to Dominika, Dominika finally worked with Nash to exchange Marble's identity from Korchnoi to Ivan Egorov for her revenge. She gave the evidence she had found to her senior in the SVR and made her uncle Ivan Egorov who had destroyed her life as Marble the Russian traitor. Then, Ivan Egorov was killed by the SVR team and only Dominika knew the truth. Finally, Dominika completed her work with congratulations from other SVR members.

After that incident, Dominika returned to Russia as the resolution of the story. She back lived with her mother and leaving the SVR that full of darkness for her and looking for another job. During her life, sometimes Dominika gets an unknown phone call that just plays Grieg’s Piano Concerto through the telephone, which is a call from Nash who tries to give of her existence of him to Dominika.

Red Sparrow’s setting place are in Russia, NY, Washington DC, SVR basecamp, Dominika’s house, Dominika’s apartment, hotels, bar and pub, coffee shop, restaurant and many more. For the development of characterization all of the character except Dominika is static character, since all of them doesn’t have any changes of their personality during the story. Meanwhile, Dominika is the one and only character that changed from just the ordinary woman into a sparrow personality as the dynamic character.

Talking about theme in modern prose, Red Sparrow itself has combined some of the theme, they are physical, social, egoism and organic as we can tell from all of the event that happened during the story.

To sum up, from this book the writer can tell that Dominika is a woman who can do anything even a revenge for her uncle when faced the injustice in her life. This novel also tells the dark story of Dominika that must living her life so dirty for some people if they say so at that time. This story perhaps just one of an examples about what happens in the conflict or even a war between countries in reality.

Since the old time, women are used to be a tool and sometimes as an object. Dominika proves that in order to save her life as a woman she need to fight dirty first and just believing what she wants to believe and at the end she is the one that controlling her life. She as a femme fatale in this story success to give an impression for the reader with the dark story finally she can manage it well.

First Pocket Books paperback edition March 2018

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