Rating: 
Summary: Indonesian Gone With the Wind
Review: A beautiful and fun read. This book offers an uncanny combination of escapism and romance with social, historical and cultural commentary. A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. It makes you think and feel...in a very effortless way.It was fun being transported to Indonesia at the turn of the last century. I haven't read a book like this in a long time. Try it. You won't regret it. It has something for everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: a good way to understand history
Review: As an Indonesian, this is one of the best book to understand and learn about our colonial history, and better still learn it from the more personal level. Also as an Indoneisan (and from Java to boot), I know that the writer is faithful to the feelings and atmosphere of the 'native' people of the time. I enjoyed so much reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: An original voice and a powerful novel.
Review: For those who feel that one of the functions of a
novel is to transport the reader, either to a different time, place or point of view this novel will rank very high. I find myself comparing it most often to the first of the Mafouz Cairo trilogy, "Palace Walk." In both books I found myself in a cultural and historical context so different from what I've experienced (or read about) that I was disconcerted -- but in the best way. A very powerful novel by a writer whose life is equal in tragedy and adversity as any of his characters.
Rating:
Summary: A magnificent book that touched my soul!
Review: I am a black, 5th generation Canadian and have often felt non-patriotic not knowing where I really come from. After reading this book, I feel so fortunate being born in Canada. The book touched my heart and my soul as well as teaching me about history and politics. After reading the book, I searched for everything that I could find by and about the author. A must read, extraordinary piece of art.
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Summary: Amazing window on the story of Java
Review: I am impressed by this English translation of BUMI MANUSIA, but the original is still more rich and colorful. I lived for a decade 30 miles from Pramoedya's home town of Blora, presumably the B____ from which Minke comes. All of Pram's books were banned then and Pram himself was in the midst of his imprisonment on Buru, but I had discovered what an amazing opening they provided to the world of turn-of-the-century colonial Java. I am a student of Javanese history and culture, but Pram's works, beginning for me with TJERITA DARI BLORA (Stories from Blora), provided a florid vision to the realities of that world for people of every caste of the colonial social structure. Every time I went into a used book shop I searched for his works. THIS EARTH OF MANKIND is in my mind an unparalleled gift to Indonesia and the world, providing innumerable images of the range of human experience in colonial Java. The Kirkus reviewer needs to know that "nyai" is not a person's name but an appelation applied to unofficial "rightless" wives of European men who were part of the colonial system. There were many of them in every town. Read CHILD OF ALL NATIONS to learn how this particular woman became Ndoro Mellema's nyai. Pram's story opens the window for us to see a whole range of human experience heretofore hidden from public view even from present-day Indonesians who were denied access to Pram's works until recent years. The subsequent novels in the quartet carry on the stunning and poignant revelations. Grievously last month when I out of habit looked again for Pram's works in bookstores in Indonesia they had again disappeared from the shelves of major stores! The story goes on.
Rating: 
Summary: This Book is Not Worth the Paper it is Printed On
Review: I cannot understand why everyone gave this book 5 stars except for the fact it is politically unkind not to (the author is, after all, under house arrest for his political activities and this book is banned in his own country of Indonesia). However, this is some of the worst writting I have ever read. He makes grand, over the top statements about how his characters feel about each other with nothing to back it up except his pronouncements that he hits you over the head with every so often (just in case you had regained consciousness and had forgotten). He waxes poetically about his mother-in-law and how smart and well educated she is and yet spends the end of the book melodramtically wringing his hands when she loses everything because she moronically thought as a concubine she could keep everything after the death of her master (if she understands the political situation of the day as well as he claims, why did she not have a plan in the event of his death?) I can't wait to get rid of my copy of this book, but then that means some poor sap will be stuck reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: what about the women?
Review: I started reading the Buru Quartet a little while ago and just finished reading the second book, which is by far superior to the first one. But, in a way, This Earth of Mankind sets the stage of things to come. It gives a glance into the culture and the understanding of classes.
However, I was more than disappointed by the women in this book. Minke's mother-in-law is described as this strong person who built the business, always says the right things and is incredibly self-educated. However, why did Annelies not inherit any of that? Or get taught any of it? Annelies can't stand up for herself even if her life depends on it. Why is she such a soft and pityful woman? How could her mother's ideals NOT be installed in her? And the son is incredible rude. Why doesn't she, with all her cunning, have any control over her children? I found this bothersome.
So, despite it, I will say that it was worth reading it, and I will finish reading the whole series, I'm sure, because the second book already has proven it's worth.
Rating:
Summary: Tragedy is a good teacher
Review: I weep after reading the original version, Bumi Manusia. I hope English translation can keep its soul-touching content. I believe that everyone can make mistakes. And Pramudya tells us very human people and very, very human mistakes. It reminds me how cruel people can be, and that we must remember that history is very single-sided, depends on who write it. This book is highly recommended, it pictures perfectly Indonesian (especially Javanese) culture. Reading it without the rest of the quad is a mistake, for you will miss many more beautiful tragedies.
Rating:
Summary: A must read for every Indonesian
Review: I'm from the same village as Mr. Toer, in fact, I was born only a mile away from his family home in Blora. My uncle went to school with him, my mom went to school with his sister and I went to school with his nephew. Since his exile, his family disowned him and I only heard bad things about him. But being in the US, I'm able to get access to the ban books in Indonesia and have been rewarded from reading his books. This book is a start of an "anti-christ" series that exposes our bad sides honestly. This, and the following books, clearly narrates the dutch rule in the late 1800 and early 1900 that is used in the exact same manner by Suharto during his rule (i.e. oppression). It also brings out our (esp. Javanese) bad character, submissiveness, in a painful but awakening way. So, for my fellow Indonesians, read this book as an instrospect! You will be stressed out for awhile but enlightment is on its way.
Rating:
Summary: A deep glance on Indonesian society
Review: If to understand a country or culture is understand its people, after reading this book you will understand the traditions and struggles of indonesian society. i found it fun, beautifully written, poetic, sensitive and mind opening. I recommend to anyone interest in learning not only about indonesia but about mankind and its contradictions.
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