Set in Jakarta during the Indonesian revolution, A Road With No End asks the question, “What must we do to free ourselves from fear?” The novel’s two principal characters, Isa and Hazil, are put to the test by the times they are living through. Isa is timid and submissive by temperament; Hazil, on the other hand, appears to harbor no doubts and does not know physical fear. But by the end of the novel, when the two are in the hands of Dutch Security, their personalities and how they react to incarceration produce markedly different responses.
Mochtar Lubis co-founded the Indonesia Raya newspaper, where his strong criticism towards the government led to numerous imprisonments. In 1958 Lubis shared the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication with Robert Dick. Lubis founded and co-founded numerous magazines and foundations, including the Obor Indonesia Foundation in 1970, the Horison magazine, and the Indonesian Green Foundation. Lubis is known as an honest, no-nonsense reporter, and he is the author of six novels and two short story collections.
