Footsteps (novel)

Footsteps

The cover of the book's 1996 English edition
Author	Pramoedya Ananta Toer
Original title	Jejak Langkah
Translator	Max Lane
Country	Indonesia
Language	Indonesian
Series	Buru Quartet
Genre	Historical fiction
Set in	Batavia, Dutch East Indies
Publication date	1985
Published in English	1990

Footsteps (Indonesian: Jejak Langkah) is the third novel in the Buru Quartet tetralogy by the Indonesian author Pramoedya Ananta Toer. The tetralogy fictionalizes the life of Tirto Adhi Soerjo, an Indonesian nobleman and pioneering journalist. This installment covers the life of Minke – the first-person narrator and protagonist, based on Tirto Adhi Soerjo – after his move from Surabaya to Batavia, the capital of Dutch East Indies. The original Indonesian edition was published in 1985 and an English translation by Max Lane was published in 1990.

The novel, like the tetralogy, is based on the life of Indonesian journalist Tirto Adhi Soerjo (1880–1918). This novel – the third installment of the tetralogy – covers the period 1901 to 1912 and is set on the island of Java, Dutch East Indies (today Indonesia). The protagonist, also the narrator, is Minke (a fictionalization of Tirto). Minke leaves Surabaya, where he studied in a prestigious high school, to go Betawi (or Batavia), the capital of Dutch East Indies, to continue his education. There he attends the STOVIA, a school for native doctors, the only avenue for higher education available to the natives in the Dutch East Indies. He continues to encounter racist colonial policies; for example, he is not allowed to wear European dress, but instead must wear indigenous dress. While studying there he meets Mei, a Chinese activist who is working on forming an organization for the Chinese in the Indies. They marry but she soon dies of malaria.

After Mei's death, Minke continues to be drawn to politics and forms a grassroots political organization for the Indies natives. The organization is called Sarekat Dagang Islam (Islamic Traders' Union), which later becomes Sarekat Islam (Islamic Union); in real life this organization is credited as the first native grassroots organization in the Indies. Minke's writings, which are critical of the Dutch authorities, and his poor grades lead to his expulsion from the medical school. He then realizes that his passion does not lie in medicine, and becomes a journalist. He founds first a magazine and then the first newspaper to be owned and operated by natives. As writer and editor, he tries to instill political and social knowledge to his fellow Indies subjects. He also meets and marries an exiled princess, whom he loves and finds happiness with.