Footsteps (Buru Quartet) [Paperback]

Pramoedya Ananta Toer (Author), Max Lane (Translator, Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Buru Quartet | Publication Date: May 1, 1996

The third in a series of four novels, set at the turn of the century, which chronicle the birth of modern Indonesia through the story of Minke, an aspiring Javanese writer who struggles to understand his divided world. Here, he begins to find his feet as a political organizer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A vibrant portrait of a people coalescing into nationhood, this third volume of a projected tetralogy (the Buru quartet) by Indonesian novelist Pramoedya continues the story begun in Child of All Nations and This Earth of Mankind. The protagonist is again expelled Javanese medical student Minke, who now becomes a journalist, then a grass-roots political organizer and eventually a crusading publisher of the archipelago's first Native-owned daily newspaper. Set in the period 1901 to 1912, this novel measures Minke's dream of a unified, multiethnic Indonesia free of Dutch rule, against the harsh realities of colonial occupation. The picture is bleak: oppression, exploitation, slavery and brutal subjugation of the Netherlands Indies' indigenous people by the Dutch military, working in concert with a local ruling elite. Inspired by the life of Indonesian journalist Tirto Adi Suryo, the story is rich in human drama and history. Minke corresponds with Ter Haar, a roving liberal Dutch journalist; battles his old nemesis, racist terrorist Robert Suurho; and matures emotionally through two dramatic marriages. Lane's introduction will help readers new to these books to plunge into the engrossing narrative.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In the third volume of the "Buro Tetralogy" (e.g., This Earth of Mankind, LJ 9/1/91), Toer continues the story of Minke, an activist in the struggle for native rights in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). He travels to Betawi (now Jakarta) to study medicine but soon realizes that he must fight for an end to the political system of apartheid kept in place by the Dutch government during the early 20th century. The uneven writing style varies between stilted (but heartfelt) expressions of ideology and very moving accounts of Minke's experiences. Toer's books are all banned in Indonesia, and he is under house arrest in Jakarta. Minke's story is a courageous record of colonial repression and unrest. As a novel, however, Footsteps will be most appreciated by those who have read and enjoyed the first two volumes, so libraries should purchase accordingly.
Nancy Pearl, Washington Ctr. for the Book, Seattle
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 474 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (May 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140256342
• ISBN-13: 978-0140256345
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #356,331 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Development of a Nationalist Critic, April 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Footsteps (Buru Quartet) (Paperback)

As we follow the developing story of Minke, we watch his footsteps leave the place of the former story and begin to explore the outside world through the study of medicine. It is clear that this study will yield for him government employment and the opportunity to help his fellow people. At the same time this is happening, he is constantly aware and being made more aware by those around him of his own people and how little he knows about them since his preference for Dutch language and education i.e. the filter of colonialism prioritizes everything and weights it in a certain manner. Influences from a developing China, the Philippines and a budding new anticolonial spirit begin to flourish in the greater environment and bring freshness, humility and depth to concepts previously understood only in a colonial fashion. In Footsteps we watch Minke grow in consciousness, develop leadership skills and independence and begin to listen to a different drummer both in terms of who his people are, and what he might best do, for them and with them. His path is changed and word by word, experience by experience, we are present at the birth of an organizer, a political journalist and a nationalist critic.

5.0 out of 5 stars Should have won the Nobel Prize for Literature - !, April 22, 2011

By 

Joshua Mailman - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Footsteps (Buru Quartet) (Paperback)

This is an extraordinary series , written by a man who spent many years on the island of Buru , as a political prisoner , during the years of Suharto . The books were confiscated and burned . He remembered them by telling the stories to other prisoners and eventually smuggling them out . Pram would have won the Nobel if it weren't for the Suharto leftovers still wanting business as usual . I read the series in one sitting years ago and bought this set for a friend .

5.0 out of 5 stars Great historical novel, January 12, 2007

By 

D. Delaplain (Reno nevada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Footsteps (Hardcover)

This book is a great novel about Dutch occupation of Indonesia. Very interesting and good history presented in novel form.