Girl From the Coast, The (Paperback)

She was a young girl from a poor fishing village on the coast and was unfortunate enough to be so beautiful she caught the attention of the Bendoro, a rich and powerful Muslim nobleman from the city. From her family's point of view by marrying the Bendoro she is stepping up into a better life, from his she is nothing but a concubine or practice wife, and certainly not the first young virgin he has married then divorced and discarded. Used to a free and open life in the fishing village where all have to work together for their daily food and where she has lived in humble surroundings, she does not know how to adapt to the isolated and lonely life she is forced into in the grand home of the Bendoro. There is no other function for her other than to serve his needs when he chooses to see her, even when she eventually gives birth to a daughter, she has no claim on her own baby, her body nothing but a vehicle for bearing his child.

The girl from the coast is unforgettable though we never even find out her name, and the final ending so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes. I did not realize until the end how much this was a true story, how incredible that Toer ever met his grandmother at all and what an influence this woman had on his life.

Known to the reader only as "the girl", the principal character in The Girl from the Coast is profoundly affecting. This amazing young woman shines throughout the pages with an irrepressible spirit. Taken from her simple fishing village for an arranged marriage to a city nobleman, the girl leaves the safety of her parents to begin a life for which she is totally unprepared. She is isolated and frightened in an untenable situation where she has no skills. She has one servant, who counsels the girl in the ways of the household. But when the servant is dismissed, her husband becomes the central figure in her world, and her days are spent awaiting his visits. The girl understands that her entire world depends upon his good will alone. To her dismay, she is informed that hers is only a "practice" marriage, not binding at all should the "Bendoro", or master, choose to divorce her.

This is a story about powerlessness, the impoverished vs. the privileged in a society that turns a deaf ear to anyone not of noble birth. But the girl is extraordinarily courageous in the face of terrible choices and heartbreaking circumstances, yet hopeful, for her spirit burns brightly. Alone and isolated, she uncovers her hidden strengths and nurtures her independence.

The Girl from the Coast is sprinkled throughout with intimate descriptions that draw the reader into the somber air of the very rooms the girl inhales in her solitude. This novel ripples with the energy of the plot as the story unfurls in unexpected ways. We witness the girl's plight as she is thrust along a path into the future, one that is almost preordained by a system that denies the humanity of the disenfranchised. In spite of her trials, the girl triumphs as the embodiment of the will to survive and to live a life of contentment, if not fulfillment.

With each stroke of Toer's pen, this country comes alive, his vital prose full of love for the people and the land, the intensely blue skies, waves breaking against a beach, the sound of a young girl's heart breaking. He defines the bond of commonality found in all humanity. His seductive language is as fluid as poetry: "At that moment it was only the dancing wind that ruled the world. Time moved forward, sometimes creeping slowly, sometimes advancing in wild leaps". The Girl from the Coast will haunt this reader long after the last page is turned. Luan Gaines/ 2003.

We only get to know her as "The Girl", a stunningly beautiful teenager from a fishing village, who is picked to marry the local aristocrat "Bendoro". She objects to leaving the safety of her home, but is given no choice by her poor parents. They consider the marriage proposal from the powerful man in the nearby city to be a guarantee for a future of prosperity and good reputation.

So she is transformed from a village girl to Mistress, confined to the large manor with all its power plays. No longer is she able to move around freely. She is not to take part in the daily work. Her only obligation is to serve her husband obediently whenever he decides to order her attention.

"The Girl from the Coast" is a fascinating study about the system of social classes, not only in Indonesia, but in general. Trying to understand, the girl repeatedly turns to the servant who has been assigned to her. Why is her husband away all the time? What does he think of her? Why are there so many secrets in the manor?

Slowly she realizes what is happening in her new life. Materially she has no complaints, but she has lost her freedom. In Bendoro's world women are just another piece of property, to be enjoyed for entertainment or as a piece of furniture. In time she will be discarded, as all Bendoro's previous wives have been.

Two years after her marriage, the husband grants the girl permission to visit her parents in the village. It is a shocking experience. Far from enjoying the freedom of her village, she is now treated diffently. In the eyes of the villagers she is no longer the same as them; rather she is nobility.

Thus Toer describes when she first meets her former family and neighbors:

"All eyes were upon her, but each time she looked into a person's eyes, that person bowed his or her head quickly, as if nervous because of her presence. The girl winced. She couldn't remember her fellow villagers ever having acted that way toward her. No, of that she was sure, and now she felt even more strange than before, separated from her kinspeople, like a monkey in a cage."

Pramoedya Ananta Toer is Indonesia's master novelist, well known for books like "The Buru Quartet" and "The Fugitive". He was also a much respected dissident during the Suharto era, spending years in Indonesian prisons. Mr. Toer has been mentioned a number of times as a possible candidate for the Nobel literature prize.

In his epilogue Mr. Toer explains that "The Girl from the Coast" originally was intended as the first volume in a trilogy of novels on the growth of the nationalist movement in Indonesia. However, the two other novels in the trilogy were destroyed by the Indonesian military. That being said, "The Girl from the Coast" stands perfectly well on its own feet.<P