Pramoedya
Ananta Toer does something really brilliant in the fourth book of The Buru
Quartet HOUSE OF GLASS. The prior three
books were all told in first person from the viewpoint of Raden Mas Minke showing
how he developed into a visionary leader for Indonesian independence or at
least a fighter for human rights under a colonial system.
The
fourth book however is told from the viewpoint of someone else M. Pangemanann (“with
two n’s”) a military policeman who starts off as a commissioner but gets promoted
further during the events of the book becoming a special agent in the colonial
government fighting against those inspired by Minke and the burgeoning
anti-colonial movement and also who is assigned with taking Minke himself down.
What’s
even more interesting in the narrative structure is the first three books in
the quartet – THIS EARTH OF MANKIND, CHILD OF ALL NATIONS, and FOOTPRINTS
appear as books written by the Minke character. They are real in the book as well as in real life
by Toer.
The
third book FOOTPRINTS is the longest and most action filled of the four
books. Here Minke marries for a second
and third time as the second wife, a Chinese nationalist who turns him on to a
certain type of revolutionary organization, dies. Minke fails to finish medical school and instead
becomes editor of a magazine for natives where he exposes the crimes of the
colonial government. This magazine
becomes extremely popular and leads to the formation of a native group for
activism which in turns brings Minke to the attention of the colonial government
and leads to his arrest and exile.
One
interesting topic I would like to study further is the differences described
ethnically in the quartet – native vs. Madurese vs Javanese vs. pure
blood. I didn’t quite understand all
these terms and how the characters judge one another based on this although I
do know that Indonesians didn’t see themselves as the inhabitants of one
country in those times (about 100 years ago).
These
four books are an amazing achievement. A
human story set among real history. Literary
experimentation side by side with historical narrative. There is a tendency to minimize colonialism
these days and to talk about it as if was a good thing. Talk like this is part ignorance and part
racism and it’s good to read a well researched masterwork that shows how bad
colonialism really was for the Indonesians and also how it involved pitting
groups against each other so as they will ignore the real exploiter something right
wingers still do particularly in the US for example public worker controversy
in Wisconsin.
Toer
really is, was a great writer….Here’s some info about the guy the Minke character
is based on (translated into English). http://translate.google.com.my/translate?hl=en&sl=id&u=http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirto_Adhi_Soerjo&prev=/search%3Fq%3DTirto%2BAdi%2BSuryo%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1047%26bih%3D482%26prmd%3Dimvnsb&sa=X&ei=Rj3pT_3uF8zwrQfahpT_DQ&ved=0CFMQ7gEwAA
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