Books: Savage Tamed

Coolie&151;Madelon Lulofs&151;Viking ($2).

Reginald Heber, author of From Greenland's Icy Mountains, thought savages vile; Jean-Jacques Rousseau thought them noble. Modern anthropologists make finer distinctions, think them a little of both. Madelon Lulofs, who has seen, smelt and heard many a noble-vile Javanese, would like to side with Rousseau but her conscience will not let her. Her story of how a potentially noble savage was made into an ignoble coolie would be considered too sentimental by empire-builders, too tolerant by professional friends-of-the-oppressed. To her Javanese hero it would doubtless not be comprehensible at all.

Ruki knew nothing outside...

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