Achdiat Mihardja – author of Atheis

ATHEIS (The Atheist) is a masterpiece of the Indonesian literary history. The novel was published in 1949 and written by Achdiat Karta Mihardja, an Indonesian author of the 45 generation, a generation that was creative around and after the independence of the republic between 1942-1966. Achdiat was a contemporary of Indonesian poets, authors and journalists such as Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Chairil Anwar, Asrul Sani, Idrus, Mochtar Lubis, etc. Despite its controversy, Atheis has been studied not only in Indonesian schools and universities but also in the other regional countries, including Australia, Singapore and Malaysia. Even in several Indonesian blogs, focusing on the Indonesian literary, many young people actively discuss the novel. In addition, it has been translated into English and is included among UNESCO’s collection of representative works.