The Mute's Soliloquy: A Memoir

Rating:
Summary: Cerita Pak Pram
Review: He's a fantastic writer, and a hero indeed. Not many people dared to really stand up during Soeharto's time, until the huge riot in May 1998.

Read the book, and you shall feel his pain during arrest.

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Summary: Please Read this Book!
Review: I just attended the three-day symposium on Pramoedya's literary work and life in New York City. It was a celebration of The Mute's Soliloquy's translation into English for the first time, and Pram's first visit to the United States. Pak Pram discussed his books, his life, and Indonesia; Joesef Isak (Hasta Mitra), Goenawan Mohammed, and John McGlynn were also present. All courageous, brilliant people. It was such an amazing gift to be able to meet Pak Pram and hear him speak in his own words. He has endured so much and maintains a sense of humor that is astounding. Hearing him speak leaves no doubt about his convictions or his struggles. This book is a collection of writings that were writted by Pram during his fourteen year imprisonment on Buru Island, all of which were either smuggled out by Pram or hidden in a church in Namlea during his incarceration. That any writings survived is a miracle in itself. This book is a unique and rare opportunity to read about, and to simultaneously inhabit, a time which should never be forgotten or repeated. It is not only a beautifully complex and haunting literary work: it is a written record complete with a list of the dead at the back of the book which negates the denials heard too often regarding the events of the past. Too few people are aware of the genocide and repression that has gone on in Indonesia under the New Order regime. Beginning with the blood bath in 1965 that claimed over a million innocent lives in death, stealing whole decades from others in life, it continues to this day. The situation in Indonesia is something that the world has not taken seriously enough, and as Indonesia now looks toward its first democratic elections, we hope change will bring what Pram and others began fighting for over fifty years ago. Please read this book and continue to give voice to what the New Order had hoped to silence.

Rating:
Summary: a heroic work
Review: I was so impressed after I read Pramoedya Ananta Toer's deft review of Eduard Douwes Dekkera's "Max Havelaar" in the NY Times, that I knew I had to find other works written by him. Fortunately, I found the "The Mute's Soliloquy" shortly thereafter.

This book is the about the heroism of a life, a writer who does not see himself as heroic, but whose survival as a writer keeps alive the stories of all those who did not necessarily return home from the penal colonies. The book also imports a historic contextualization that shifts the world view East: how did World War II, how did colonialism, how did history impact Indonesia? How does this relate to Indonesia's current internal conflicts? This book is both personal and global.

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Summary: A book about human suffering written by a humanist.
Review: Lots of feeling came to me upon reading this latest novel by Pramoedya. This is the first story I've read about the experiences of tapol ('TAhanan POLitik' or political prisoner in Indonesian) in Buru Island because the tapol story is banned in Indonesia. I have read many moving stories about Auschwitz. In a smaller scale, reading The Mute's Soliloquy was like reading the Indonesian version of Auschwitz. Reading about the suffering of the prisoners in the Buru Island penal colony was like reading about people in a 'leper colony', the outcasts of the society. I started to read Pram's books when I was at a young age. From what I remember, his writings almost always represented the poor and the oppressed, the downtrodden and the outcast. So, it is a bit ironic that he became one of them. That's why the book is a very interesting read for me. If you are familiar with what's happening in Indonesia these days, you would be able to understand a little bit more of the 'why' from reading this book. There are so many corruptions in all facets of life including corruption of the mind of the people. This book doesn't have a happy ending, the only bit of satisfaction I get is from knowing that as I am writing this commentary, Pramoedya is on his way to visit the U.S.A. and Canada, for the very first time in his life. If you are for human rights, this book is a must read because it's written by a humanist.

Toronto, April 4, 1999