Pram delivers the second volume of his Buru Tetralogy with devastating effect. Continuing with the characters of This Earth of Mankind (1991), the story focuses on Minke, a young, European-schooled Javanese writer--an "educated native"--fighting for his rights in the Dutch East Indies at the turn of the century. Minke is in the process of recovering from the death of his wife, who was murdered by Dutch colonials, and trying to assert his voice and the voices of his people. Everywhere he turns, the colonial forces and the all-powerful sugar companies build walls against his words. He struggles over which language to write in and which plights to address--there are so many languages, so many castes, and so many problems. In the end, Minke and his beloved mother-in-law are still trapped within their society but have gained a greater understanding of the possibilities of independence and stronger voices with which to shout. Ironically, this novel--and all of Toer's work--is banned in his native Indonesia.