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Product Description
Product Description
With House Of Glass comes the final chapter of Pramoedya's epic quartet, set in the Dutch East Indies at the turn of the century. A novel of heroism, passion, and betrayal, it provides a spectacular conclusion to a series hailed as one of the great works of modern literature. At the start of House of Glass, Minke, writer and leader of the dissident movement, is now imprisoned - and the narrative has switched to Pangemanann, a former policeman, who has the task of spying and reporting on those who continue the struggle for independence. But the hunter is becoming the hunted. Pangemanann is a victim of his own conscience and has come to admire his adversaries. He must decide whether the law is to safeguard the rights of the people or to control the people. He fears the loss of his position, his family, and his self-respect. At last Pangemanann sees that his true opponents are not Minke and his followers, but rather the dynamism and energy of a society awakened.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book tells the story of Jacques, a native Indonesian policeman, and his conflict in carrying out the law of his European bosses to provide for his family. He seeks the rank and monetary priviledges of climbing up the administrative ladder, even though no native has been fully accepted in higher circles. But this same Western law demands that he attempt to destroy a well-known and loved native nationalist, Minke, whom Jacques greatly admires. As the story progresses and Jacques is given greater rank and responsibility in suppressing nationalist sentiment, the policeman feels his self-respect, integrity, and health slipping away. Every day is a constant battle to reconcile his own needs with those of his own people. His emotional and physical struggles are depicted in beautiful, flowing prose and dialogue. If ever a book could describe the colonial experience from the perspective of the native elite working within the European framework, this would be it.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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12 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating insight into Indonesian mind and history
25 Jun 1998
Format:Paperback
The great strength of this book is its thoughtful exploration of the often contradictory lures of Westernisation and nationhood for the early 20th-century Dutch East Indies. But for me, the real eye-opener was the insight it provided into the Javanese mind and its thought processes. It was illuminating to read the narrator's reactions to certain situations and statements -- I often found myself being surprised by the conclusions the narrator drew from the events around him, but eventually came to realise that the gap between his reactions and mine is exactly the gap between western and Indonesian culture with which the narrator is wrestling. The result is a book that makes the western reader more aware and appreciative of the differences between Indonesian and western culture and thinking, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each. And on the political side, the parallels between the Dutch colonial authority and the modern Indonesian government are striking. A must read for anyone spending time in Indonesia.
Side note: I was a little distracted by the phrasing, which was often choppy or even clumsy at times. Translation troubles?
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
I thought it was great!
23 April 1998
Format:Paperback
The character development and subtleties of the story as it progressed really got my attention. This book inspired me to read the other three books of the quartet, though I would recommend reading them in order. References to some of the minor characters of this book (which were major ones of earlier books) were confusing without the context of the first three, but echo larger with that context. The shift in perspective, revolving around events common to the third book but covering different ground, was done extremely well.
The author captures the erratic, rising wave of nationalism seeping out of an awakening people, and immerses the reader in the context of the age, without shying away from a lurking sense of tragedy.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
A colonial middleman's dilemna
1 Aug 1997
Format:Paperback
This book tells the story of Jacques, a native Indonesian policeman, and his conflict in carrying out the law of his European bosses to provide for his family. He seeks the rank and monetary priviledges of climbing up the administrative ladder, even though no native has been fully accepted in higher circles. But this same Western law demands that he attempt to destroy a well-known and loved native nationalist, Minke, whom Jacques greatly admires. As the story progresses and Jacques is given greater rank and responsibility in suppressing nationalist sentiment, the policeman feels his self-respect, integrity, and health slipping away. Every day is a constant battle to reconcile his own needs with those of his own people. His emotional and physical struggles are depicted in beautiful, flowing prose and dialogue. If ever a book could describe the colonial experience from the perspective of the native elite working within the European framework, this would be it
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