Pramoedya Ananta Toer

Willem Samuels

In 1965, Pramoedya Ananta Toer was a hero of the Indonesian revolution and widely regarded as one of the best writers the country had ever produced. That year, however, as Indonesia embarked on a period of intense social unrest, Pramoedya and tens of thousands of others were detained and eventually exiled to the remote island of Buru. Imprisoned there for eleven years without trial or formal accusation, Pramoedya, along with his fellow prisoners, was forced to clear dense tracts of jungle, build camps, and forage for food. They died by the hundreds of starvation, brutality, and disease. Only in rare moments of leniency was Pramoedya allowed to write, yet he managed to produce works, including four novels that make up the Buru Quartet. He also wrote journal entries, essays, and letters, many of which were confiscated or destroyed. What survived of these is collected in The Mute's Soliloquy, 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, The Mute's Soliloquy is Pramoedya's crowning achievement -- a passionate tribute to the freedom of the mind and a celebration of the human spirit.

A Memoir

The Mute's Soliloquy

"Centuries ago, there was, in the eastern part of the island of Java, a kingdom by the name of Daha..." So begins The King, the Witch and the Priest, a fable with contemporary allure that is based on the story of Calon Arang, a Javanese legend dating from the twelfth century. As tradition tells it, Calon Arang was a powerful witch from the village of Girah who had a beautiful daughter named Ratna Manggali who could find no husband. No man would have her for fear of her mother. Calon Arang became so angered by her daughter's plight that she spread pestilence throughout the kingdom. To deal with the problem, King Erlangga ordered his most respected priest, Empu Baradah, to get rid of Calon Arang. This proved to be no easy task as Calon Arang owned a book containing all the secrets of sorcery. This ancient tale, as retold by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, exhibits a remarkable relevance to contemporary life with timeless lessons such as the triumph of good over evil and the ever-possible eternal salvation of one's soul. Pramoedya Ananta Toer (1925-2006) is Indonesia's most celebrated writer, with over thirty works of fiction translated into over thirty languages. A recipient of many major international awards, he was most recently awarded the Grand Prize in the 2000 Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize competition, Japan's highest literary honor. Willem Samuels is a long-time resident of Jakarta and has translated several of Pramoedya's works including The Fugitive, The Mute's Soliloquy, The Girl From the Coast and All That is Gone.

Willem Samuels

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