Dian yang Tak Kunjung Padam was written by Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, a Minang writer from Natal, North Sumatra born in 1908.

[1] He spent three to four months writing it in 1930 while he worked at Balai Pustaka, the state-owned publisher of the Dutch East Indies.

Socialist critic of Indonesian literature Bakri Siregar describes Dian yang Tak Kunjung Padam as having a sentimental, lyrical, romantic style, similar to that used by Haji Abdul Malik Karim Amrullah in Tenggelamnya Kapal van der Wijck (The Sinking of the van der Wijck).

[1] Alisjahbana later wrote that he felt the novel still resounded with teenage sentimentality, although not as much as Tak Putus Dirundung Malang.

Literary critics Maman S. Mahayana, Oyon Sofyan, and Achmad Dian write that Yasin and Molek achieve a spiritual victory, despite losing their physical struggle.

[6] Dutch critic of Indonesian literature A. Teeuw writes that, although the novel has several shortcomings, including several overly melodramatic scenes, it is worth reading and studying.