David Van Reybrouck from Belgium has officially published the Indonesian edition of his book, ‘Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World’. This is no ordinary piece of work, as the book, researched for almost 6 years, now spans 730 pages. The title may seem heavy, but according to David, it suits the content of his writing. ‘Indonesian history is complex; I had to interview around 200 sources for this book,’ he said when met at Gramedia Jalma, Blok M, South Jakarta, on Monday (11/3).
After interviewing and gathering data from the sources, David admitted to dividing it into several periods. He mentioned starting from the colonial era, the Japanese occupation, Indonesia’s independence proclamation, post-independence period, and the Bandung Conference. ‘So these are figures that really built the structure. They became my friends; as a reader, you must feel like they are biographical characters, and I have very tiny handwriting. From that outline, I have a very fine and small pencil,’ he said.
He has interviewed sources who were romusha, Dutch people in Japanese concentration camps, as well as sources in Japan. David Van Reybrouck then started building the story from each of these sources’ accounts. He analogized it to Ernest Hemingway’s words, ‘Easy reading is damn hard writing.’ ‘Yes, that’s true. This is a very challenging job,’ he said.
Not only did he interview and visit them one by one, but he also read various other reference materials. He had 27 books in his notes. While having croissants for breakfast, David mentioned that his 730-page book is the thinnest one he has written. ‘My books are usually long and thick. This one is relatively small. I had to edit it again to make it concise and appropriate for readers in Indonesia and beyond,’ he concluded.
After a long journey of various panel discussions, public lectures in Surabaya, East Java, and participation in the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, the book ‘Revolusi’ was officially launched at Gramedia Jalma, Blok M, Jakarta, yesterday. Now, his book is available in various online and offline bookstores.
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