A nation is exiled from itself to prison; a nation is re-awakened through the storytelling of its origins; understand Indonesia through Pramoedya's books

In 1981, a new company, Hasta Mitra, founded by three men just released from over a decade in prison, published a novel written in a prison camp by Pramoedya Ananta Toer. The novel was This Earth of Mankind. It told the story of the early gestation of the Indonesian national awakening. The dictatorship eventually banned it after several months of tactical struggle by the three men, Pramoedya himself and the fighters of Hasta Mitra, Joeoef Isak and Hasyim Rachman. In defiance of the dictatorship, they went on to publish the three sequels to This Earth of Mankind, each time followed by another battle and then a ban.

About the Author
Max Lane has been engaged with Indonesia for over 50 years. In the 1970s, he translated W.S. Rendra's play The Struggle of the Naga Tribe, which was performed in English in Australia and Malaysia. He spent time with Rendra's group, Bengkel Teater. In the 1980s, he worked in the Australian Embassy in Jakarta when he started translating Pramoedya Ananta Toer's This Earth of Mankind and its three sequels, together now known as the Buru Quartet. He was withdrawn from the Embassy by the Australian government for translating these banned books. He later translated Pramoedya's novel Arok Dedes and historical work, The Chinese in Indonesia. Returning to Australia, as its first editor, he helped found Inside Indonesia magazine. In the 1990s, he actively supported the democracy movements in Indonesia and East Timor and as a journalist wrote hundreds of articles about Indonesia. He has written several books on Indonesia, including Unfinished Nation- Indonesia Before and After Suharto, Catastrophe in Indonesia, An Introduction to the Politics of the Indonesian Union Movement and Indonesia and Not, Poems and Otherwise- Anecdotes Scattered. Some have been published in Indonesian alongside other original writings. He has lectured at the University of Sydney and Victoria University and at universities in Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States. He has been a research fellow at Murdoch University, the National University of Singapore, and the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies - Yusof Isak Institute, also in Singapore. He is married to Indonesian playwright and theatre producer, Faiza Mardzoeki.


Book Information
ISBN 9789814914178
Author Max Lane
Format Paperback
Page Count 1
Imprint Penguin Random House SEA
Publisher Penguin Random House SEA
Weight(grams) 328g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 155mm * 20mm