Our literary tour of Indonesia spans the waning years of Dutch colonial rule and the turbulence at the turn of the new century

This Earth of Mankind by Pramoedya Ananta Toer

The first book in Pramoedya's epic Buru quartet, set in the waning years of Dutch colonial rule, is a bittersweet coming-of-age novel. The narrator and central character, Minke, is a gifted 18-year-old Javanese from an aristocratic family who goes to a prestigious Dutch school where he is the only "native" Indonesian. His talent and self-confidence arouse the envy and contempt of his "pure" (European) and "Indo" (Indo-European) classmates.

The tale quietly excoriates colonial society, in which Indonesians suffer injustices and humiliations because social standing and rights depend on the amount of European blood in one's veins. With his refusal to accept his place in a racially stratified society, Minke embodies nascent Indonesian nationalism.

He falls in love with the beautiful daughter of an absent Dutch father and an astute, strongwilled native "concubine". But their hopes for the future run up against Javanese prejudices and unyielding Dutch colonial law.

Pramoedya was imprisoned by the Dutch and then by the Indonesian government under Suharto. He spent 14 years in a penal colony on Buru Island, composing and memorising This Earth by repeating it to fellow prisoners after he was denied writing materials. He died in 2006.

The Rainbow Troops by Andrea Hirata

Hirata's autobiographical novel is an endearing and inspirational story of poor ethnic Malay students struggling against considerable odds to get an education.

On the island of Belitung, off the Sumatran coast, miner's son Ikal (Hirata's alter ego), who is six when the story begins, narrates the tale of his 10 motley classmates, called the Rainbow Troops. At great sacrifice from their parents, they seek the education the law guarantees them and a better future, rather than toiling in the menial jobs they would otherwise end up doing. Their school, Belitung's poorest, is constantly threatened with closure but its heroic, unpaid teachers keep things going.

The small island, "the richest land in Indonesia" because of its huge mineral deposits, is under the shadow of the giant PN mining company. The company extracts great wealth, but it does not trickle down. "We, the natives of Belitung, were like a pack of starving rats in a barn full of rice," says Ikal.

The simple, conversational prose draws the reader in to cheer on the resilient students.

Hirata's debut novel is the result of a promise he made to write a book for his selfless teacher. It is Indonesia's biggest-selling book (more than 5m copies and counting), and he has written three sequels.

In the Time of Madness by Richard Lloyd Parry

"This book is about violence, and about being afraid," says Parry, as he presents a slice of Indonesian history during a turbulent and chaotic time. At the end of the 20th century, Indonesia is emerging from three decades of Suharto's dictatorship, and pent-up frustrations are being released. "A struggle [is] taking place between something old, murderous and corrupt, and something new."

The book is divided into three sections, chronicling events to which the author is witness: savage ethnic conflict in Borneo; massive student protests in the capital, Jakarta, that bring down Suharto; and bloody violence in East Timor around the referendum on its independence from Indonesia.

This deeply personal, sometimes harrowing account of Indonesia's implosion lacks a central focus, but more than makes up for it in gripping narrative. Parry proves to be a lucid and intelligent guide to navigating the complexities of this vast archipelago with its various languages, ethnicities and religions. And his pungent reportage is of a kind that stays with you long after the headlines have faded.

A British journalist, Parry is based in Tokyo but often visited Indonesia to report for the Independent and the Times newspapers.