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Liked It “Linda vG said: 4 stars |
Didn’t Like It “Even though the subject is a noble one, a complaint against the repression of the local East-Indian people by the Dutch kolonists, I really didn't like this book. |
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“This is an important book; this is a tough read. I suspect there are nuances in the original Dutch that are lost in translation, but it's worth pushing through. Ironically, it probably would not be published today because of its complicated literary style, but that may have been intentional. Indonesian society is incredibly complex; it is not realistic to expect a book about it to be simple, especially one concerning the Dutch colonial period. Any internationalist should read this book for its historical context.”
Wall Street wrote this review Friday, December 21, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Linda vG said: 4 stars
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die Shelf wrote this review Tuesday, January 31, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Not always easy to read, in 'old Dutch'. But with explanatory footnotes it's definitely manageable. If you place this book in the time when 'Multatuli' (which was a pseudonym) wrote this it is groundbreaking. Many happily ignored the way the Dutch behaved in their colonies as long as it brought profit, it was absolutely unimaginable to speak of the ill-treatment of the people. This book deals with the story of a man who goes to Indonesia and sees what goes on, on the coffee plantations. It's set up rather complex because in reality this was the story of Eduard Douwes Dekker but he wrote it under a pseudonym and then in the book it is told from a different perspective and the actual person who's story this is (namely the author) is called 'Sjaalman' and it not the main character.
Regardless of the complexity it is an historic must read to get another perspective of how 'golden' the 'golden century' in Dutch history really is.”
“A very important work for anyone who is interested in Dutch and Indonesian history. Definitely a Dutch classic. Describing some very nice thoughts on literature, ethics and several other subjects, this book essentially carries the message of the Javanese people being suppressed and exploited for the profit of the Dutch Trading Companies.”
Carola wrote this review Tuesday, January 17, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Even though the subject is a noble one, a complaint against the repression of the local East-Indian people by the Dutch kolonists, I really didn't like this book.
Monica S wrote this review Monday, May 30, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I've started it again on several occassions, but I never got past the first chapter.
But the writing is terrible; repetitive, boring and needlessly complicated by creating a story within a story within a story.
The message is a good one, but I'm affraid the author scared a lot of readers away by his style of writing.”
“It is an excellent book indeed but it remains somehow difficult to read and all the different perspectives make the book rather difficult to seize. Probably the author wanted to be safe and he adds many voices and opinions like screens to protect himself from the colonial authorities. The result is that you're jumping all the time from one opinion to another and it makes the begining rather hard and dry. However it is a must read and an incredibly modern pamphlet against colonialism. The Indonesian novelist Pramoedya Ananta Toer wrote an article about Max Havelaar in the New York times Literary Supplement and it's a must read for anyone interested.”
Marie-Caroline wrote this review Tuesday, April 19, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Not always easy to read, in 'old Dutch'. But with explanatory footnotes it's definitely manageable. If you place this book in the time when 'Multatuli' (which was a pseudonym) wrote this it is groundbreaking. Many happily ignored the way the Dutch behaved in their colonies as long as it brought profit, it was absolutely unimaginable to speak of the ill-treatment of the people. This book deals with the story of a man who goes to Indonesia and sees what goes on, on the coffee plantations. It's set up rather complex because in reality this was the story of Eduard Douwes Dekker but he wrote it under a pseudonym and then in the book it is told from a different perspective and the actual person who's story this is (namely the author) is called 'Sjaalman' and it not the main character.
Linda vG wrote this review Saturday, January 8, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Regardless of the complexity it is an historic must read to get another perspective of how 'golden' the 'golden century' in Dutch history really is.”
“A classic in Dutch colonial literature, but despite bringing attention to the lives of Indonesian characters and how they are abused by their local lords, they're never more than servants and they barely get any dialog. The same, by the way, applies to women.
Frans wrote this review Friday, August 20, 2010. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The parts of the story that don't take place in Indonesia are meant to be amusing, but they're more like boring, tedious passages in an otherwise interesting read.”
0 of 1 members found this review helpful“Over threehundred pages of blabbing about what can be said in ten pages, max.”
Eveline wrote this review Monday, October 26, 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I read for pleasure. This book was not a pleasure. Admittedly, I gave up at chapter 5, which was set in Java (I guess) while the previous chapters took place in Amsterdam, and there was no transition to this different place. I absolutely hated the narrator, Droogstoppel. What a dim, smallminded, egotistic person he is. Maybe this book is a classic in Dutch literature, bit I'm not tempted to read on.”
JudithAnn wrote this review Sunday, November 4, 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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