A FEW minutes before he was shot dead, Hasan was still comparing himself to "Hamlet, prince of doubt".

We remember Hasan. He was the main character of Atheis (Atheist), the memorable novel first published in 1949. Its author, Achdiat K. Mihardja, who was born in Garut, West Java, died last week in Canberra, Australia aged 99. But, like other authors of significant works, his long life will yet be outlived by his writing.

Particularly because Atheis