Customer Reviews

House of Glass (Buru Quartet)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The great strength of this book is its thoughtful exploration of the often contradictory lures of Westernisation and nationhood for the early 20th-century Dutch East Indies. But for me, the real eye-opener was the insight it provided into the Javanese mind and its thought processes. It was illuminating to read the narrator's reactions to certain situations and statements -- I often found myself being surprised by the conclusions the narrator drew from the events around him, but eventually came to realise that the gap between his reactions and mine is exactly the gap between western and Indonesian culture with which the narrator is wrestling. The result is a book that makes the western reader more aware and appreciative of the differences between Indonesian and western culture and thinking, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each. And on the political side, the parallels between the Dutch colonial authority and the modern Indonesian government are striking. A must read for anyone spending time in Indonesia.

Side note: I was a little distracted by the phrasing, which was often choppy or even clumsy at times. Translation troubles?

The character development and subtleties of the story as it progressed really got my attention. This book inspired me to read the other three books of the quartet, though I would recommend reading them in order. References to some of the minor characters of this book (which were major ones of earlier books) were confusing without the context of the first three, but echo larger with that context. The shift in perspective, revolving around events common to the third book but covering different ground, was done extremely well.

The author captures the erratic, rising wave of nationalism seeping out of an awakening people, and immerses the reader in the context of the age, without shying away from a lurking sense of tragedy.

This book tells the story of Jacques, a native Indonesian policeman, and his conflict in carrying out the law of his European bosses to provide for his family. He seeks the rank and monetary priviledges of climbing up the administrative ladder, even though no native has been fully accepted in higher circles. But this same Western law demands that he attempt to destroy a well-known and loved native nationalist, Minke, whom Jacques greatly admires. As the story progresses and Jacques is given greater rank and responsibility in suppressing nationalist sentiment, the policeman feels his self-respect, integrity, and health slipping away. Every day is a constant battle to reconcile his own needs with those of his own people. His emotional and physical struggles are depicted in beautiful, flowing prose and dialogue. If ever a book could describe the colonial experience from the perspective of the native elite working within the European framework, this would be it

The fourth volume of Pramoedya's Buru quartet investigatesissues of power and complicity through the narration of thehighest-ranking Native in the colonial secret police, whose task is to observe and obstruct the development of Indonesian nationalism in 1910s Java. Choosing career over conscience, he comes apart as he sinks deeper into the moral quagmire of colonialism. Historically rich, politically astute and psychologically complex, this compelling book by Indonesia's most original writer manages to make its thoroughly abhorrent anti-hero sympathetic.

Really an excellent series.... :

The book awakens national consciousness.It is an inspiration to those who dream of true freedom and oneness.

Interesting book that ends the quartet. As with the preceding three, Toer
invites your curiosity to turn yet another page to find out what happens next. His play of historic events with the character Minke pulls the reader into the story and the history of colonial Indonesia. This series
should be in the movies.

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

Those who know Java will probably most appreciate this tale of Javanese politics before and during WW1. However, it is a very well-written and extremely poignant story of how the oppressed gradually free themselves through the valiant, but often misguided, efforts of heros, and also how "power corrupts" even those who are aware of the homily and start out to be incorruptable. I read this last book of the Buru Quartet first, and it seems to not be a bad way to do it. I will go on to the first one. Most likely these are going to be classics in the fields of Literature, Socialogy, and Political Science.

This book is truly an inspiration for everyone. The story awakens your nationalism. It might be a little confusing in the beginning as the narrator is not Minke anymore, but this is the best thing of the last part of the quartet. The book is like a summary of all the parts of the series and given from a different point of view.