Such was the love of this grandson for his grandmother that two years after the death of his mother, when she herself fell gravely ill, he vowed to her that someday he would try to tell the world her life story. 'But why?' she asked humbly. 'I'm no one, just a girl from the coast' 'But you are everyone, Grandma,' the young Pramoedya told her. 'You are all the people who have ever had to fight to make this life their own.

A mother knows what her child's gone through, even if she didn't see it herself.

I did not succeed in everything I did. And even where it did seem I was succeeding it was not always the case. The human heart has a million facets.

I'll do as I please. My mind is not to be imprisoned.

At the beginning of all growth, everything imitates.

Every book that is banned is a badge of honor.

Life can give everything to whoever tries to understand and is willing to receive new knowledge.