There is something I really like from Ben Anderson’s obituary for General Soeharto in NLR. It is his frankness in giving nasty comments on our elites. Quite straightforward and honest, he describes Megawati as lazy and overweight while not losing his sarcastic remarks to address the General’s children as either monster or nonexistent.
But that’s not the only article I enjoy. Scholarship on Indonesia and Raison d’etat: a Personal Experience is no less awesome. It tells Ben’s experience with Indonesian government after the publication of Cornell paper. As we know very well, Ben was forbidden to enter Indonesia because of his testimony on Indonesia before US congress and analysis on 1965 coup.
Then I just realize that I missed Ben in my reading list. How come a good writer like him can stay out of my list? Maybe it was because the first of his writing I read was a translated version of Imagined Communities. Speaking of the translated version, it was a typical Jogjakarta-based-publisher translation. You know what I mean.
No surprises if it makes me refrain from reading him any further. But a good writer is a good writer after all; you can’t escape his works. One day I found the English version of Census, Map, and Museum and I couldn’t help telling myself how foolish I was in my premature judgment of Ben’s writing. I should find his original writing instead of lamenting its translation.
A good friend of mine, Hatib, just gave me a bunch of Indonesia articles written by several Indonesianists including Ben. I’m enjoying them now. In case you want to read Indonesia articles as well, you can go right away to the site. I provide a link for you at the right corner of this blog.
Happy reading!
ya ya. you’re nice mediator.
hi..what a nice blog you have here. re: translated version, I heard that Ben was furious to find out how bad the translation of the book was. I think the book then was then translated again by another publishing company under his direct supervision. I have not read this second version of the book though, but i hope it’s better than the first one. I agree that Census, Map, and Museum was brilliant as it was the whole work of Imagined Communities.
btw, are you studying at the University of Adelaide? I studied there too. I really enjoyed my time there.
salam kenal
pjv
If you really have a passion for this man, then perhaps you should come to study in my uni. Why? Coz we have many professors who once became his students at Cornell and knew him well.
ptr