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Title: Tales From Djakarta: Caricatures of Circumstances and their Human Beings (Studies on Southeast Asia) by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Benedict R. O'G Anderson, Pramoedya Ananta Introduction by Benedict R. O'G. Anderson Toer ISBN: 0-87727-726-5 Publisher: Southeast Asia Program Publications Pub. Date: 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $20.00

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Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)

Rating: 5
Summary: Thoughts of Tales from Djarkarta
Comment: A U.S. CITIZEN READS PRAMOEDYA

(Thoughts of Tales from Djakarta by M. C. Reitz)

In the U. S. a new genre of popular TV show has emerged, "survivor shows." Typically the producers round-up "average citizens" and arrange for a controlled experience of survival and competition. Of course no one dies, no one loses their mind or their identity, safety precautions are taken, medical teams are ready, no one must remain in this contrived condition against their will. The motivation is large amounts of money and instant fame. The characters become the subject of talk at work, in the car, on the phone, at the dinner table and other instants of casual conversation. Everyone has their favorite character and every one hypothesizes about the "human being" beneath the "caricatures."

At first thought, Tales From Djakarta by Pramoedya Ananta Toer puts to shame any suggestion that these survivor shows have any merit except to an overfed population whose energies are devoted to wealth and power rather than the basic need for food and shelter. The people of Ananta Toer's book are human beings who have endured a lifetime of degrading and hostile events. They are born into these events and die within these events. Ananta Toer's people adapt to small niches and yet their universal identity as human beings is never in question. Whether they experience fleeting moments of joy amidst poverty of spirit, kindness amidst destructive forces, love amidst hate, intimacy amidst lust or necessity amidst condemnation, their dignity and their worth as "human" is never in question.

On second thought, Ananta Toer's book reveals a universal truth for all of human kind throughout history. Beneath the caricatures caused by events lies a fully human being worthy of our respect and love. We can only look at ourselves and say, "What events produced this caricature called me and where is my humanity?"