“Larasati” by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
This is an incredible story about Indonesia in the post-independence era (17 August 1945 – 27 December 1949), which often dubbed as Indonesian National Revolution. It was when not long after Indonesia declared independence from Japan, the Dutch forces came back with the backing of the allied forces to re-capture the country that they have occupied for centuries.
The story evolves around Larasati, an actress who pledged her allegiance to the Republic, in the battle between the Republic (the natives) vs. NICA (Netherlands-Indies Cicil Administration). In the story she travelled from Republic-controlled Yogyakarta (where she has made her living) by train to NICA-controlled Jakarta to come visit her mother, only to find herself caught in the middle between the Republic guerilla movement against the NICA.
Along the journey, she met with various different types of characters: The NICA officers, the Dutch jail warden that forced her to witness her fellow natives being tortured, the native traitors that supported the NICA, the local youths in the slums creating independent rebel group, the local grandpa and grandma, the struggling poet, the rich Arab, and more men who will cheat her freedom and even her posessions, and some who will save her.
Indeed, the book has strong characters with rich details, and it also shows the impressive descriptions about how horrifying life was like during those highly turbulent 4 years, that brings the rigid textbook history into life. Too real, in fact, that I can almost feel myself being inside the frightening story and feel the nationalism burning through my veins. That’s what makes Pramoedya a maestro.
THE CHAOS THEORY 