[Book] Country of Origin
Just recently bought this book from Periplus for $6. This is story about a rich dutchman of French heritage, lived in Jatinegara in late 19th century. This is not book about eurasian, but it’s still useful to see the social life among dutch, eurasian, and indonesians in the dutch east indies. The author, Edward du Perron was born in Dutch East Indies. He was probaby best classified as Creoles, the european people who was born in Dutch East Indies.
Charles Edgar du perron was born in Java 1899, his parents, the only son of french-dutch descent. Even though he was Dutch, the author is remoted from friends at his age, so his friends were only the native children.
Part of this book describing his life in Dutch east Indies as boy, and the others living in Europe as man. It’s like visiting the past and its people, looked through glass of dutch, like how the young boy was very close with his guardian angel Alima (an indigenous), and how he was taught by mistress/teachers of eurasian and dutch background.
For these who are looking for dutch east indies literature, I recommend you to pick this one, though I must admit I’m too lazy to read anything not related of his life in dutch east indies. I skipped the first chapters or anything about his life in Europe, because I only see this book as reference about life and social reality in the Dutch East Indies.
colson
Ah, you did hit my button of nostalgia.
A dear friend and fellow student (with whom I lost contact unfortunately) gave it – “Land van Herkomst” – as a present at my graduation day.
Eddy du Perron was at the centre of literary, intellectual and anti-fascist debate here in the thirties. He took part in the debate in The Netherlands as well as in France. A major character. He stood out among his colleagues and friends was caused also be he was kind of special beingvborn and bred in a colonial society.
By the way: I’m curious whether you like the book ( as a book with liteary quality). I did, I do very much so. But, after all he had not shed his colonial prejudices and of course the distance between pre-war (WWII I mean) times and 2010 seems the several lightyears. So I wonder…
Comment — January 1, 2010 @ 4:49 pm
Michel de Wilde
thank you for the kind comment Colson. I actually enjoyed the book partially, specifically the period when Eddy was living in dutch east indies. It makes a good reference to see how the totok and natives interacted.
I was kinda lost when reading part of his life in brussels, it’s probably because my unfamiliarity with the historical context in europe. I’m planning to read this book again, but maybe later since it requires a lot of thinking.
Comment — January 3, 2010 @ 7:55 pm