Travel - Indonesia
In preparation for my teaching experience in Indonesia with Teaching Global Classrooms Fulbright (TGC), I decided to explore some of the novels of the region. The first by Maggie Tiojakin, one of Indonesia’s emerging literary stars, Winter Dreams takes place in Boston, Massachusetts. This is the immigrant story as you have never experienced it. There is a poignant loneliness in our protagonist, that I found heartbreaking and true. The other text, This Earth of Mankind is the first of the four books that comprise Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s Buru Quartet. It helped me get a window into the history as well as the voice of the people of Indonesia.
Winter Dreams and the Invincible Summer by Maggie Tiojakin
"On the day George W. Bush took his oath as the 43rd President of the United States, I began my life as an illegal alien. It was a conscious decision and it felt a lot like I was crossing a line, invisible to others, though unmistakable in the eyes of the law. But this is America, I thought: life follows a different kind of logic here."
Nicky F. Rompa is a twenty-something Indonesian immigrant who comes to America with a bag of unresolved issues. To get away from his abusive father back home, Nicky goes on to stay with his relatives in Boston. Pretty soon, it seems as though he is living the dream: he meets a beautiful Russian girl, goes on road trips, gets a job, and finally experiences the America he had only seen on TV before. Yet, like any dream, it ends. And he is left with the choices of either going home or sticking around while hoping, against all odds, that the dream will return.
Originally written in and translated from Bahasa Indonesia by Maggie Tiojakin, one of Indonesia’s emerging literary stars, Winter Dreams is a modern cautionary tale of a broken man in a broken country. Set against the backdrop of a full-on battle waged against illegal immigrants in the U.S. following the horrific events of 9/11 - told in restrained, understated and compelling prose - this is a story that offers a fresh, poignant look into the invisible lives of sojourners.
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The Earth is Mankind by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Set at the turn of the century in the waning days of Dutch colonial rule, This Earth of Mankind is the first of the four books that comprise Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s Buru Quartet. A powerful story of oppression, injustice, and one young man’s political, emotional, and intellectual awakening. Pramoedya Ananta Toer wrote This Earth of Mankind while confined on the prison island of Buru, where prisoners did hard labor, clearing jungle with the crudest tools, and suffered starvation diets, beatings, and torture. Much of Pramoedya’s work has in fact been written under such circumstances. “I happen to be pretty productive when I am in jail,” he has said. “When you are in jail, you have to spend more time with yourself.”
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When Nyai discovers that Minke, our protagonist, wants to be a writer, she tells him to “Write always about humanity, humanity’s life, not humanity’s death. Yes, whether it’s animals, ogres, gods, or ghosts that you present, there’s nothing more difficult to understand than humanity. That’s why there is no end to the telling of stories on this earth. This Earth of Mankind is one such story. An unflinching portrayal of both the suffering caused by colonialism and of human dignity trampled upon, it is also a story of a valient struggle for freedom. It is one of the most compelling political novels of the twentieth century, and an unforgettable attempt to understand humanity in all its complexity.
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