This Earth of Mankind: The Post-Reading Emotion

After six years, I am very relieved that I am being very much occupied with enthusiasm to share whatever I feel and think about This Earth of Mankind, an Indonesian novel by the late Pramoedya Ananta Toer. The previous post detailed how much I have been struggling with enjoying Indonesian novels. Too much exposure to the English Language and English Literature has cost me more than I had predicted. Through some unfinished Indonesian books, I am glad that “the literary homecoming” finally starts to bear fruits.

I believe most Indonesians will first immerse themselves in Indonesian novels before reading books in foreign languages. Funnily enough, that works contrary to my story. English novels are the first fiction that I read. Because of the deep love in that sort of fiction, I am so comforted by the authors. I think I didn’t read any Indonesian novels for a very long time. Given that, English novels are my first home in terms of literature.