Kayam, Umar

Umar Kayam (1932-2002) was himself one of those who in the years of transition from colonialism to independence passed through stages of that schooling he wrote about in this novel; albeit, his father being a teacher, he could recall and describe that experience from a more fortunate perspective than that of most village children, afforded scant education, if any. Following school, and a graduate of Gadjah Mada University (1955), he was among the first groups of Indonesians to be given the opportunity of studying in the U.S., during the reorientation away from Dutch-based instruction occurring...