From the author of the Buru Quartet and one of the greatest writers of our time comes a remarkable memoir of imprisonment and survival. In 1965, Pramoedya Ananta Toer was detained by Indonesian authorities and eventually exiled to the penal island of Buru. Without a formal accusation or trial, the onetime national hero was imprisoned on Buru for eleven years. He survived under brutal conditions, somehow managing to produce his masterwork, the four novels of the Buru Quartet, as well as the remarkable journal entries, essays, and letters that comprise this moving memoir. Reminiscent of the work of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Mute's Soliloquy is a harrowing portrait of a penal colony and a heartbreaking remembrance of life before it. With a resonance far beyond its particular time and place, it is Pramoedya's crowning achievement—a passionate tribute to the freedom of the mind and a celebration of the human spirit. "A haunting record of a great writer's attempt to keep his imagination and his humanity alive."— The New York Times Book Review "A story too vast and serious to ignore."— San Francisco Chronicle (front page review)
Author
Pramoedya Ananta Toer was an Indonesian author of novels, short stories, essays, polemics, and histories of his homeland and its people. A well-regarded writer in the West, Pramoedya's outspoken and often politically charged writings faced censorship in his native land during the pre-reformation era. For opposing the policies of both founding president Sukarno, as well as those of its successor, the New Order regime of Suharto, he faced extrajudicial punishment. During the many years in which he suffered imprisonment and house arrest, he became a cause célèbre for advocates of freedom of expression and human rights. Bibliography: * Kranji-Bekasi Jatuh (1947) * Perburuan (The Fugitive) (1950) * Keluarga Gerilya (1950) * Bukan Pasarmalam (1951) * Cerita dari Blora (1952) * Gulat di Jakarta (1953) * Korupsi (Corruption) (1954) * Midah - Si Manis Bergigi Emas (1954) * Cerita Calon Arang (The King, the Witch, and the Priest) (1957) * Hoakiau di Indonesia (1960) * Panggil Aku Kartini Saja I & II (1962) * The Buru Quartet o Bumi Manusia (This Earth of Mankind) (1980) o Anak Semua Bangsa (Child of All Nations) (1980) o Jejak Langkah (Footsteps) (1985) o Rumah Kaca (House of Glass) (1988) * Gadis Pantai (The Girl from the Coast) (1982) * Nyanyi Sunyi Seorang Bisu (A Mute's Soliloquy) (1995) * Arus Balik (1995) * Arok Dedes (1999) * Mangir (1999) * Larasati (2000)
