Max Lane
In this article:
Indonesia Out of Exile
Max Lane
Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Written by John Krich, originally published in Nikkei Asian Review
Jul 13, 2023
Indonesia Out of Exile
Max Lane
Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Written by John Krich, originally published in Nikkei Asian Review
Jul 13, 2023
New history recounts writer-activist Pramoedya’s brave fight against persecution
Imagine being a young Australian Embassy official having your first look at hundreds of rough, tattered pages smuggled out of a remote island prison camp and quickly recognizing it as one of the literary masterpieces of the 20th century -- a seminal work of historical fiction and postcolonial identity for Indonesia and Asia.
"It was a big responsibility, heavy and stressful," Max Lane says, speaking half a century later to Nikkei Asia. "Because the author, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, wasn't known as a writer to the English-speaking world, only to some as a political prisoner."
Imagine being a young Australian Embassy official having your first look at hundreds of rough, tattered pages smuggled out of a remote island prison camp and quickly recognizing it as one of the literary masterpieces of the 20th century -- a seminal work of historical fiction and postcolonial identity for Indonesia and Asia.
"It was a big responsibility, heavy and stressful," Max Lane says, speaking half a century later to Nikkei Asia. "Because the author, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, wasn't known as a writer to the English-speaking world, only to some as a political prisoner."
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