MINIATURES

  This volume brings memories of a long train ride -- The uncomfortable seat, the ripped pages, the farthing of a co-passenger, and the many swirling-turbulent thoughts that came while reading the book. Yes, it left deep impressions, the torment of wanting to confront the author. etc. In this story cycle, Pramoedya Ananta Toer introduced a character named "Minke", a young Javanese, descended from the native nobility. He reminded one of Rizal's Ibarra or even of Jose Rizal himself, the youthful native romanticist nurtured in both the native tradition and that of the West-- if l may say the "educated" of the colony with innate sophistication. The author conducted us into the life inside the colonial society of the then Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), unmasking its uniqueness and complexities. After three decades of Indonesian independence, a native author had put the country to open discussion to the world stage, right under the nose of a repressive regime -- Su...