Book Summary: Minke is a young Javanese student of great intelligence and ambition. Living equally among the colonists and colonized of 19th-century Java, he battles against the confines of colonial strictures. It is his love for Annelies that enables him to find the strength to embrace his world.

This historical fiction book took place in Dutch-Indie [Indonesia, before it got its name] around 1890’s. Minke is a native, a priyayi [Javanese aristocrat] who’s fortunate to be allowed to study at HBS [Hogere Burger School: Higher Civil School] where at that time, only pure and mixed Dutch blood could attend it. But also Javanese aristocrats. He and Robert-Jan Dapperste were the only native in the class. Robert-Jan is an adopted son of Dapperste family. Minke was a son of a Javanese regent [bupati], a writer full of ambition and passion. Although Minke is a native, he always wears modern clothes. He’s in love with a mixed blood Annelies Mellema, a daughter of a Dutch agricultural farm owner Herman Mellema and his nyai, Nyai Ontosoroh. Their relationship and marriage brought chaos into their world. [Nyai means concubine].

My comment:

This novel is about Dutch oppression in Indonesia. But it’s not just that. The plots are very intriguing where you’ll be summoned into the life of native Indonesian vs Dutch people. Honestly, I had never read Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s books before, despite having Indonesian blood in me. I have this book both in e-book form [english] and physical book [Dutch. Aarde der Mensen] form. I was curious to read this book because of Netflix film with the same English title. And yes, there are differences between the film version and the book version, but it doesn’t take away the joy of reading it. The film is a shortened version but it doesn’t go out of context. Not completely. And although this novel is a fiction, there’s some fact in it. If you like history in a form of non-fiction but also historical fiction, or if you like reading classic and want to explore classic books written from another country, then I recommend this book [and all the books written by Pramoedya Ananta Toer].

This novel is a page-turner and a nerve wracking. I’m sorry but it did make me curse the colony in my heart, and it also made me want to punch a few of the fictional characters 😀 if you’re Dutch, be prepared for shocking events. Pramoedya wanted the world to know how it feels like to be oppressed, to be discriminated, and how they suffered.