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And the War Is Over: A Novel
Winner of the prestigious Pegasus Prize for Literature, And the War Is Over is a taut novel set in and around an Indonesian village as news of Japan's surrender gradually makes its way to her far-flung army.
War has transformed the quiet Sumatran village of Teratakbuluh, bringing with it the officious, often incomprehensible members of the Japanese army and a camp where Dutch internees are put to hard labor. Some of the Dutch are plotting escape, and the Sumatrans in the village are divided on whether to help or to avoid involvement. The Japanese officer Lieutenant Ose struggles with his conscience—how to handle the love he feels both for his Javanese servant and his wife, who has betrayed him for a powerful general, and how to cope with the impending end of a war he never wanted to be involved in. As the Dutch escape and the news of surrender loom nearer, tensions between the Japanese and the Sumatrans, within the Dutch camp and within the life of the village, explode into a final, heartbreaking act of violence.
"What is remarkable ... is that we finally get the familiar war from an unfamiliar, non-combatant, Asian point of view." —Bharati Mukherjee, The Washington Post Book World
War has transformed the quiet Sumatran village of Teratakbuluh, bringing with it the officious, often incomprehensible members of the Japanese army and a camp where Dutch internees are put to hard labor. Some of the Dutch are plotting escape, and the Sumatrans in the village are divided on whether to help or to avoid involvement. The Japanese officer Lieutenant Ose struggles with his conscience—how to handle the love he feels both for his Javanese servant and his wife, who has betrayed him for a powerful general, and how to cope with the impending end of a war he never wanted to be involved in. As the Dutch escape and the news of surrender loom nearer, tensions between the Japanese and the Sumatrans, within the Dutch camp and within the life of the village, explode into a final, heartbreaking act of violence.
"What is remarkable ... is that we finally get the familiar war from an unfamiliar, non-combatant, Asian point of view." —Bharati Mukherjee, The Washington Post Book World
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
About the author
Ismail Marahimin
9 books2 followersIsmail Marahimin was an Indonesian writer. After graduating with a degree in English from the national teachers' college (IKIP) in Medan in 1964, Ismail began his career as a teacher of English. In 1969 he left teaching to continue his education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, obtaining his masters degree in 1971.
Ismail dedicated most of his career to teaching as a lecturer in English language and literature and also Popular Writing at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta. However, he was also a frequent contributor to Kompas daily newspaper and to Tempo magazine. He was also editor for a time for the magazines Indonesia, Your Destination, and Eksekutif.
Ismail Marahimin's only novel, Dan Perang Pun Usai (And the War is Over) was published in 1977, and was named best novel of the year in the annual Jakarta Arts Council Novel Competition. Further acclaim came in 1984 when the novel was named recipient of the Pegasus Prize for Literature, a literary award established by the Mobil Corporation (now Exxon Mobil). The prize was presented to Ismail by Subagio Sastrowardoyo, a well-known Indonesian author, in New York.
He was an excellent teacher, great writer and inspired many people in his life.
Fanpage: www.facebook.com/ismail.marahimin
Ismail dedicated most of his career to teaching as a lecturer in English language and literature and also Popular Writing at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta. However, he was also a frequent contributor to Kompas daily newspaper and to Tempo magazine. He was also editor for a time for the magazines Indonesia, Your Destination, and Eksekutif.
Ismail Marahimin's only novel, Dan Perang Pun Usai (And the War is Over) was published in 1977, and was named best novel of the year in the annual Jakarta Arts Council Novel Competition. Further acclaim came in 1984 when the novel was named recipient of the Pegasus Prize for Literature, a literary award established by the Mobil Corporation (now Exxon Mobil). The prize was presented to Ismail by Subagio Sastrowardoyo, a well-known Indonesian author, in New York.
He was an excellent teacher, great writer and inspired many people in his life.
Fanpage: www.facebook.com/ismail.marahimin
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
November 6, 2018
Latarnya di suatu daerah terpencil di Sumatera, pada hari-hari terakhir sebelum kekalahan Jepang dalam Perang Dunia II. Dibuka dengan para prajurit Belanda yang merencanakan kabur dari kamp interniran Jepang. Ada banyak tokoh: Belanda tawanan, prajurit Jepang, romusha, wanita pelayan, gadis kesepian, saudagar haji, yang terombang-ambing dalam suasana serba mendesak.
January 11, 2022
Winner of the prestigious Pegasus Prize for Literature, And the War Is Over is a taut novel set in and around an Indonesian village as news of Japan's surrender gradually makes its way to her far-flung army. War has transformed the quiet Sumatran village of Teratakbuluh, bringing with it the officious, often incomprehensible members of the Japanese army and a camp where Dutch internees are put to hard labor. Some of the Dutch are plotting an escape, and the Sumatrans in the village are divided on whether to help or to avoid involvement. The Japanese officer Lieutenant Ose struggles with his conscience -- how to handle the love he feels both for his Javanese servant and his wife, who has betrayed him for a powerful general, and how to cope with the impending end of a war he never wanted to be involved in. As the Dutch escape and the news of surrender loom nearer, tensions between the Japanese and the Sumatrans, within the Dutch camp and within the life of the village, explode into a final, heartbreaking act of violence. The whole book was very interesting that is why I rate it 5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2022
Novel legenda sastra Indonesia ini membuktikan ampuhnya sebuah sebuah riset langsung di lapangan. Dengan pilinan cerita ke sana kemari menjadi tetap fokus dengan adanya deskripsi yang akurat serta padat. Ending? Luar biasa.
November 5, 2025
Suka alurnya. Semua tokoh dapat cerita dan tidak terlalu banyak tokoh untuk diceritakan sehingga mudah diingat tempat mereka masing-masing dlm alur. Yg agak mengecewakan pd bagian akhir: ose dan satiyah. Ke mana mereka akhirnya?
November 10, 2025
Sudut pandang penulis pecah di beberapa tokoh tiap bab, namun tetap saling bersangkutan satu sama lain. spoiler, di bagian akhir plot twistnya lucu banget 🤣. kira-kira, si tokoh perempuan bakal hamil anaknya Letnan Ose ga ya? sepertinya harus kupikirkan sendiri...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2026
This book offers new perspective on the Japanese occupation during WW2. Usually stories like this are written in the Indonesian revolutionaries' POV. But here, the writer tells the story from the POV of the Japanese soldier themselves along with their POWs.
March 9, 2021
Endingnya maaaakkkkkk tegaaaa 🙄🙄🙄
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September 10, 2023Yyyu
December 28, 2024
a whole corner of the war i know nothing about! also fuck the dutch lmao buncha racists
July 22, 2015
This short novel of 192 pages came to my attention because I had read the short stories of Lily Yulianti Farid and discovered the Lontar Foundation, which seeks to enhance the profile of Indonesian writing by fostering its translation into English. There are not many titles to choose from at Amazon, which is, regrettably, the only affordable way to access this collection, but the title of this one appealed because I know so little about the impact of the Pacific War on Indonesia.
The story takes place in a small Sumatran village called Taratakbuluh, where the Japanese have established a prisoner-of-war camp for Dutch internees. Although there is some of the violence that we have come to expect when reading about Japanese POW camps, Lieutenant Osé runs the camp without excessive brutality, so much so that Sergeant Kiguchi – who suspects looming trouble – feels frustrated that he’s not allowed to use his usual strategies to get information. Marahimin alludes to this with restraint, as he does in other instances of violence.
In the past his swiftness of manner had caused the death of six or seven detainees. A fair number of Dutch internees, forced labourers and civilians as well had suffered broken bones or other physical damage at his hands. His style had done little to raise him in rank but he didn’t mind. An enemy was an enemy and should be treated as such, even if he had surrendered. If the enemy won, Kiguchi would be treated in the same manner. As for the romusha, well, they were a colonised class of people, little better than slaves. (Chapter 1).
The romusha were Indonesians forced to work for the Japanese, as distinct from those left to continue their traditional way of life as best they could under the Occupation. The romusha were despised as collaborators by their own people and as unpaid labour by the Japanese. Kliwon is a sort of gopher with considerable freedom of movement but he has been displaced from his own people and no one trusts him, while Satiyah has been assigned to Lieutenant Osé as a house servant and ‘comfort woman’. She was widowed by the Japanese treatment of her schoolteacher husband but paradoxically she marvels that under the Japanese regime, she is now treated by Osé with more respect than she ever was under the Dutch – because Osé wants her only to perform the tea ceremony and not for anything else. Her previous master, Osé’s friend, had raped her.
To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2015/08/10/an...
The story takes place in a small Sumatran village called Taratakbuluh, where the Japanese have established a prisoner-of-war camp for Dutch internees. Although there is some of the violence that we have come to expect when reading about Japanese POW camps, Lieutenant Osé runs the camp without excessive brutality, so much so that Sergeant Kiguchi – who suspects looming trouble – feels frustrated that he’s not allowed to use his usual strategies to get information. Marahimin alludes to this with restraint, as he does in other instances of violence.
In the past his swiftness of manner had caused the death of six or seven detainees. A fair number of Dutch internees, forced labourers and civilians as well had suffered broken bones or other physical damage at his hands. His style had done little to raise him in rank but he didn’t mind. An enemy was an enemy and should be treated as such, even if he had surrendered. If the enemy won, Kiguchi would be treated in the same manner. As for the romusha, well, they were a colonised class of people, little better than slaves. (Chapter 1).
The romusha were Indonesians forced to work for the Japanese, as distinct from those left to continue their traditional way of life as best they could under the Occupation. The romusha were despised as collaborators by their own people and as unpaid labour by the Japanese. Kliwon is a sort of gopher with considerable freedom of movement but he has been displaced from his own people and no one trusts him, while Satiyah has been assigned to Lieutenant Osé as a house servant and ‘comfort woman’. She was widowed by the Japanese treatment of her schoolteacher husband but paradoxically she marvels that under the Japanese regime, she is now treated by Osé with more respect than she ever was under the Dutch – because Osé wants her only to perform the tea ceremony and not for anything else. Her previous master, Osé’s friend, had raped her.
To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2015/08/10/an...
March 23, 2008
Baca ulang setelah lebih sepuluh tahun berselang sejak saya membacanya pertama kali.
Dibaca ulang untuk siaran Klub Siaran GRI tema Perang Dunia II, Agustus 2019
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Bulan ini saya kebagian siaran mengenai #PerangDuniaII bersama @klubsiarangri
Kita sudah belajar sejak bangku sekolah menengah bahwa matra utama perang tersebut ada di dua lokasi: Eropa dan Asia Pasifik. Sayangnya, kebanyakan buku (fiksi) dengan tema perang ini yang pernah saya baca ternyata berlatar cerita di Eropa. Sulit juga mencari buku dengan tema ini yang berlatar di Pasifik.
Setelah tanya sana sini, bongkar rak cepat-cepat, eh ternyata saya punya koleksi buku ini, #DanPerangPunUsai karya #IsmailMarahimin. Melihat catatan goodreads, dulu buku ini saya baca sekitar tahun 2008. Lalu terlupakan.
Baca ulang, dan ingatan saya disegarkan dengan bayangan "ketiadaan" perang pada kisah ini. Lokasi cerita adalah Desa Teratak Buluh, di tepi hutan di kawasan Riau, sekitar pertengahan Agustus 1945. Saat itu penguasa wilayah ini adalah penjajah Jepang, bukan Jerman tentu saja. Sudah jelang proklamasi kemerdekaan Indonesia, saat yang sama ketika Sukarno dan Hatta dibawa ke Rengasdengklok, namun tentu saat itu orang di Riau belum tahu.
Ada tiga pihak yang jadi tokoh. Pertama para prajurit Jepang di bawah pimpinan Letnan Ose. Ose ini bukan tipe tentara kejam, cukup mengherankan untuk kasus pimpinan pasukan Jepang di tanah jajahan.
Pihak kedua adalah orang-orang Belanda tawanan Jepang dengan dua karakter menonjol berlawanan keinginan. Ada Wimpie yang ingin segera kabur, dan "Pastoor" Van Roscott yang yakin Jepang segera kalah dan mereka bisa bebas.
Pihak ketiga, warga Teratak Buluh plus Kliwon, seorang romusha asal Jawa, dan Satiyah, perempuan Purwokerto yang terjebak nasib menjadi pelayan Letnan Ose.
Semua tahu, dunia sedang berperang, tapi belakangan Teratak Buluh tak mencium aroma mesiu. Seakan desa itu terlena, desas-desus yang mengabari kekalahan Jepang bukan fokus utama. Mereka punya perjuangan sendiri mempertahankan nilai hidup masing-masing.
Ya, dan perang pun usai. Kutipan yang membekas buat saya adalah ini, "Perang itu agaknya sekarang sudah berakhir. Sekarang muncullah satu keadaan: banyak orang tidak tahu di mana dirinya berada, dan ke mana tujuannya."
.
Dibaca ulang untuk siaran Klub Siaran GRI tema Perang Dunia II, Agustus 2019
.
Bulan ini saya kebagian siaran mengenai #PerangDuniaII bersama @klubsiarangri
Kita sudah belajar sejak bangku sekolah menengah bahwa matra utama perang tersebut ada di dua lokasi: Eropa dan Asia Pasifik. Sayangnya, kebanyakan buku (fiksi) dengan tema perang ini yang pernah saya baca ternyata berlatar cerita di Eropa. Sulit juga mencari buku dengan tema ini yang berlatar di Pasifik.
Setelah tanya sana sini, bongkar rak cepat-cepat, eh ternyata saya punya koleksi buku ini, #DanPerangPunUsai karya #IsmailMarahimin. Melihat catatan goodreads, dulu buku ini saya baca sekitar tahun 2008. Lalu terlupakan.
Baca ulang, dan ingatan saya disegarkan dengan bayangan "ketiadaan" perang pada kisah ini. Lokasi cerita adalah Desa Teratak Buluh, di tepi hutan di kawasan Riau, sekitar pertengahan Agustus 1945. Saat itu penguasa wilayah ini adalah penjajah Jepang, bukan Jerman tentu saja. Sudah jelang proklamasi kemerdekaan Indonesia, saat yang sama ketika Sukarno dan Hatta dibawa ke Rengasdengklok, namun tentu saat itu orang di Riau belum tahu.
Ada tiga pihak yang jadi tokoh. Pertama para prajurit Jepang di bawah pimpinan Letnan Ose. Ose ini bukan tipe tentara kejam, cukup mengherankan untuk kasus pimpinan pasukan Jepang di tanah jajahan.
Pihak kedua adalah orang-orang Belanda tawanan Jepang dengan dua karakter menonjol berlawanan keinginan. Ada Wimpie yang ingin segera kabur, dan "Pastoor" Van Roscott yang yakin Jepang segera kalah dan mereka bisa bebas.
Pihak ketiga, warga Teratak Buluh plus Kliwon, seorang romusha asal Jawa, dan Satiyah, perempuan Purwokerto yang terjebak nasib menjadi pelayan Letnan Ose.
Semua tahu, dunia sedang berperang, tapi belakangan Teratak Buluh tak mencium aroma mesiu. Seakan desa itu terlena, desas-desus yang mengabari kekalahan Jepang bukan fokus utama. Mereka punya perjuangan sendiri mempertahankan nilai hidup masing-masing.
Ya, dan perang pun usai. Kutipan yang membekas buat saya adalah ini, "Perang itu agaknya sekarang sudah berakhir. Sekarang muncullah satu keadaan: banyak orang tidak tahu di mana dirinya berada, dan ke mana tujuannya."
.
March 25, 2016
Buku setebal 244 halaman terbitan PT Dunia Pustaka Jaya (Jakarta, cetakan keenam, 2005) ini merupakan novel pemenang kedua Sayembara DKJ 1977 dengan judul asli Tiga Lagu Dolanan. Memang buku ini terbagi menjadi tiga bagian; tiap bagian diawali dengan penggalan lagu anak-anak yang masing-masing dalam bahasa Belanda, Jepang, dan Indonesia.
Buku ini mudah dibaca dan dapat dihabiskan dalam waktu beberapa jam saja, mungkin karena penceritaannya yang sederhana dan mengalir. Walaupun tokohnya ada banyak, tetapi karakterisasinya kuat sehingga masing-masing terasa perbedaannya. Latarnya (hari-hari terakhir pendudukan Jepang di Indonesia, khususnya di suatu daerah di Sumatra) memberi wawasan sejarah dan kedaerahan.
Dibuka dengan rencana pelarian sekelompok Belanda interniran dari kamp Jepang, pembaca dibuat penasaran apakah mereka akan berhasil mewujudkan hal tersebut. Selain itu ada pula hubungan segitiga antara Kliwon, Lena, dan Anis, yang juga dapat membangkitkan penasaran mengenai keputusan lelaki mana yang akan menjadi pasangan Lena. Di akhir cerita ada yang mati, ada yang lari, dan ada yang bercinta, namun tentu saja itu belum akhir dari perjalanan tokoh-tokoh yang dibiarkan hidup dan pembaca seakan ditinggal untuk menerka-nerka sendiri.
Ada beberapa bagian yang mengganjal buat saya, yaitu, pertama, kenapa tentara Jepang langsung membunuh Kliwon, Lena, dan "Pastoor", dan bukannya menahan, menginterogasi, dsm dulu?; kedua, kenapa dua tokoh perempuan dalam novel ini kok terasa "gatelan" sama laki-laki?
Selain itu, bagian tentang kampung Paktua Hasan serasa menjentik benak saya untuk memikirkan tentang lembaga pernikahan.
Buku ini mudah dibaca dan dapat dihabiskan dalam waktu beberapa jam saja, mungkin karena penceritaannya yang sederhana dan mengalir. Walaupun tokohnya ada banyak, tetapi karakterisasinya kuat sehingga masing-masing terasa perbedaannya. Latarnya (hari-hari terakhir pendudukan Jepang di Indonesia, khususnya di suatu daerah di Sumatra) memberi wawasan sejarah dan kedaerahan.
Dibuka dengan rencana pelarian sekelompok Belanda interniran dari kamp Jepang, pembaca dibuat penasaran apakah mereka akan berhasil mewujudkan hal tersebut. Selain itu ada pula hubungan segitiga antara Kliwon, Lena, dan Anis, yang juga dapat membangkitkan penasaran mengenai keputusan lelaki mana yang akan menjadi pasangan Lena. Di akhir cerita ada yang mati, ada yang lari, dan ada yang bercinta, namun tentu saja itu belum akhir dari perjalanan tokoh-tokoh yang dibiarkan hidup dan pembaca seakan ditinggal untuk menerka-nerka sendiri.
Ada beberapa bagian yang mengganjal buat saya, yaitu, pertama, kenapa tentara Jepang langsung membunuh Kliwon, Lena, dan "Pastoor", dan bukannya menahan, menginterogasi, dsm dulu?; kedua, kenapa dua tokoh perempuan dalam novel ini kok terasa "gatelan" sama laki-laki?
Selain itu, bagian tentang kampung Paktua Hasan serasa menjentik benak saya untuk memikirkan tentang lembaga pernikahan.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 4, 2010
The war in question is World War II, but it's not our World War II. This is Indonesia, where the Japanese weren't the villains they are here--they liberated the country from the Dutch. Marahimin's novel takes place in an odd corner of the world, where the Japanese, defeated in the wider war, are still in control of a Dutch prison camp in Sumatra-- Nagasaki and Hiroshima are unheard of even at war's end. The Indonesians are almost as varied as the Japanese and Dutch who live among them: locals, traders, and Javanese forced to labor or uprooted by war. The Dutch try to escape, not knowing yet about the end of the war, and all the inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic tensions that Marahimin constructs come to a tragedy that seems a bit forced. But the journey into this forgotten time and place (by the West) is interesting by itslef.
January 31, 2008
Ismail Marahimin memang bukan penulis produktif, namun sekali menulis langsung mendapat tanggapan yang luar biasa secara internasional. Novel ini pernah memenangkan sayembara novel Dewan Kesenian Jakarta, dan mendapat penghargaan Pegasus. Novelnya menarik, dengan setting masa penjajahan di Indonesia.
Ia adalah dosen menulis saya di UI dulu (tahun 1990-an) dan penulisyang saya minta memberi pengantar pada buku pertama saya: Ketika Mas Gagah Pergi (1997). Dia membuat saya benar-benar menjadi penulis! Salut!
February 24, 2009
Set near an Indonesian village on Sumatra, where Japanese soldiers manage Dutch internees in work projects, the novel brings all the voices to life: Indonesians of the village and more distant places, Japanese, and Dutch. It gives insight into the complexities of relationships changed by way, of alliances and friendships across barriers. Fascinating book.
July 18, 2013
this is one of the best novels i've read coming out of Indonesia. really one of the best i've read in the last few years.....
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March 29, 2018The book “And The War Is Over” is an entertaining novel over the Japanese ran Dutch internment camps. It describes the conditions in the camps. As well as the treatment of the detainees. Even though it is a good novel it is also very jumpy and choppy. Its changing locations sometimes from paragraph to paragraph. Even at times from page to page.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews