This is quite possibly the best novel I have ever read.
As a person of mixed Indonesian-Australian heritage, it was a particularly potent, and personally relevant read.
This book has taught me so much about Indonesia's fascinating past , whilst simultaneously providing an intriguing, emotionally charged story line. I found myself in tears a number of times.
I felt an instant connection to Minke's character, a truly brilliant and courageous young man.
Pramoedya's writing exhibits enormous talent, and a deep understanding of the World, both past and present.
I highly recommend this book to anybody with an interest in Indonesia.
I won't forget it for the rest of my life. ( )

From one of the most influential authors of Southeast Asia, this book, first in a series, was written by Toer while he was a political prisoner in the island prison of Buru in the 1970s. It started as a verbal narration to his fellow inmates in 1973, and was written down only in 1975 after he was granted permission by the authorities. The book saw publication in 1980 through the efforts of his fellow former detainees, but was immediately banned by the Indonesian government.

The book is a compelling tale of love and colonialism. Set in the early 20th century, it is the story of Minke, a brilliant Javanese young man aspiring to be a writer, in the Dutch colony. His family being of local nobility and his talent enables him to become the only native student in the elite Dutch school in Java. He falls in love with Annelies, a mixed-blood daughter of an astute concubine of a prominent Dutch businessman and who now runs the vast enterprise. The strong-willed mother defies the stereotype of a concubine in this highly stratified society, she learns how to read, speak other languages, run a successful business, and shares Minke's progressive ideas. The family is ostracised by the community, and they are surrounded by intrigues. They pay dearly for their being themselves.

A thought-provoking novel that underlines the cycle of abuse and repression under Dutch colonial rule, and the struggle of natives against the injustice perpetuated by the distant but powerful government that prevailed in every aspect of theiir lives.

The theme is heavy and serious. Events in the novel turn for the worse, like a big drama unfolding. I felt, however, that in many instances, the language is a bit contrived, and the sequence of events which in normal life would happen over a stretch of time, felt shortened, compressed into narrow time periods. Perhaps it's got something to do with the fact that Toer wrote this from memory a few years after he made up the story. I also have a feeling that the translation was not very good, so the language didn't quite flow as I felt it should have. I also felt that the characters, sometimes, didn't seem real, they acted too much out of impulse.

At any rate, this book is still a highly recommended read. It's a book I've been wanting to read for years, only managing to get hold of a copy recently in a secondhand bookshop. The theme being what it is, and the development of the story, I think would make for a very interesting group read and discussion. ( )

It's true that during the last ten years I've read more fiction. It's as if every book is concerned with people's efforts and striving to escape or overcome some difficulty. Stories about happy things are never interesting. They are not stories about people and their lives, but about heaven, and clearly do not take place on this earth of ours.

This Earth of Mankind is the first of the Buru Quartet, four novels that were first orally recited by Indonesian political prisoner Toer to his fellow cellmates in daily installments. This book was interesting so the quote above works as a book review.

Basically a love story set in 1899 near Surabaya, Indonesia with the Dutch colonial environment and race/class relations providing a rich backdrop to the story. The book evokes anger and sadness, rarely happiness or humor. The last few pages were devastating. The second book in the quartet, Child of All Nations, picks up where this one left off. I'm squeezing in a Henry James book while my depression abates. Then I will continue with Toer's epic. I'm also throwing out my Dutch Lady ice cream.

At the beginning of all growth, everything imitates. All of us, when we were children, also imitated. But children grow up and begin their own development. ( )

Excellent work ( )

Pramoedya Ananta Toer's "This Earth of Mankind" is the first in a quartet of novels that focus upon an young upper class Javanese man's gradual realization of the depth of corruption in the Dutch colonial society around him. Toer (1925-2006) is considered by many to be the greatest contemporary Indonesian author; and now that he is dead, apparently more of his work is finally becoming available in his own country. For many years Toer was imprisoned or under house arrest, and his works were prohibited in Indonesia. "This Earth of Mankind" was written - actually verbally "composed", like Homer's epics - while Toer was in a high security prison and forbidden access to pen or paper. It's was a remarkable accomplishment. I enjoyed the love story between Toer's hero, Minke, and the beautiful Annelies, the "mixed blood" (or Indo) child of a dissolute Dutch settler and the hard-working and driven native Indonesian woman who is his mistress (but not his wife). On the other hand, the book is somewhat frustratingly uneven - not surprising given its genesis. Not all characters are fully developed, some plotting is rushed, and there are some themes which are well-developed in this volume.

I realize that perhaps these matters may be resolved in subsequent volumes, but I really don't feel motivated to pick up the remaining three books in the series. I read "This Earth of Mankind" for my book group, and I'm glad I did, but one of four was enough for me. ( )