Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
NYRB Classics (2019), Edition: Translation, 336 pages
Description
"The Dutch East Indies, January 1856. The new assistant resident, Max Havelaar, arrives in the remote regency of Lebak, preceded by his reputation as a quixotic idealist. Some think him a fool, others a genius, but "one thing is certain: he was an unusual man, and worthy of observation." As Havelaar crusades against corruption, he makes a few unsettling observations of his own. Why don't the financial statements add up? Did the previous assistant resident really die a natural death? And why are his superiors obstructing his efforts to learn the truth? A few years later in Amsterdam, the stolid Dutch coffee broker Batavus Drystubble obtains Havelaar's papers from the threadbare Shawlman, who wanders the streets in search of work. Drystubble pores over the documents in the hopes of lucrative revelations about the coffee trade. But his spirited young son Frits and romanticsouled German assistant Ernest Stern discover something much more astonishing: a scandal that strikes at the heart of the whole Dutch colonial enterprise... Based on the author's true experiences as an administrator in Java, Max Havelaar is a fiery indictment of colonial misrule and one of the masterpieces of Dutch literature. This is the first new English translation of Multatuli's furious and funny masterpiece in more than fifty years"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member arubabookwoman
Multatuli (a pseudonym) served as an official in the Dutch East Indies from 1838 to 1856. He was dismayed by the corruption, violence, and oppression he saw. He was ultimately dismissed from the civil service, and returned to Holland, where, under a cloud of suspicion, he wrote this fictionalized
The story is not narrated directly. Instead, the novel opens when a smug and hypocritical coffee trader in Holland is given a manuscript by an apparently destitute childhood friend. Unable to understand the manuscript, he calls for assistance in transcribing it. The manuscript details the experiences of the civil servant Max Havelaar, who as an idealistic colonial official attempted to make changes to the disgraceful practices he encountered, but who is ultimately dismissed in disgrace. Episodes in colonial Java alternate with tales of Droogstoppel, the Dutch coffee trader.
This book is obviously important as a historical document relating to Holland's colonial history, and as an example of the power of literature to initiate or further societal changes, as for example Uncle Tom's Cabin. And while Max and his family are sympathetic, and Droogstoppel and his ilk provide some humor, I was never fully engaged with the book, and found that it proceeded very slowly.
Recommended for those interested in the historical events, and those interested in reading Dutch classics.
Show More
account based on his experiences in Java. The book created a sensation upon its publication in Holland, and is an important work in the canon of Dutch literature.The story is not narrated directly. Instead, the novel opens when a smug and hypocritical coffee trader in Holland is given a manuscript by an apparently destitute childhood friend. Unable to understand the manuscript, he calls for assistance in transcribing it. The manuscript details the experiences of the civil servant Max Havelaar, who as an idealistic colonial official attempted to make changes to the disgraceful practices he encountered, but who is ultimately dismissed in disgrace. Episodes in colonial Java alternate with tales of Droogstoppel, the Dutch coffee trader.
This book is obviously important as a historical document relating to Holland's colonial history, and as an example of the power of literature to initiate or further societal changes, as for example Uncle Tom's Cabin. And while Max and his family are sympathetic, and Droogstoppel and his ilk provide some humor, I was never fully engaged with the book, and found that it proceeded very slowly.
Recommended for those interested in the historical events, and those interested in reading Dutch classics.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Rivendell
A very interesting read - a 19th century Dutch novel, written to highlight the injustices of the Dutch control of Java. The author - Eduard Douwes Dekker (Multatuli is a pseudonym) - was not pleased that people found it 'entertaining' - and yet it is, for various reasons (all of which make it a
Show More
'Classic', rather than a book-of-its-time). Firstly, the author uses a most interesting narrative structure, with multiple voices which continually calls attention to the fictitious nature of the narrative - Charlotte Bronte's "Reader, I married him" pales into insiginifcance. Secondly, the book genuinely is entertaining: there are parts where I felt the description of politicing in the Indies was too long, but mostly the movement from one kind of writing to another is done so neatly, at exactly the right point, that oral storytelling techniques, humour, description, dialogue and suspense are all played in turn in an elegant sufficiency. Also fascinating those words which Multatuli felt needed glosses which are now familiar to English readers: gong, batik, sarong, gamalan. Show Less
LibraryThing member mbmackay
Fascinating book - the fictionalised story of a Dutch colonial functionary in Indonesia in the 1850s. The functionary tries to raise abuse of the ordinary people by their traditional leaders/rulers who operate under the knowing blind eye of the colonial administrators. The book is written in quite
This is effectively an early example of a whistle blower. And, according to Wikipedia, the novel raised quite a storm, and changes were made in colonial administration as a result.
Show More
a quirky style, which hasn't aged well, but the story, and the message, still shines through.This is effectively an early example of a whistle blower. And, according to Wikipedia, the novel raised quite a storm, and changes were made in colonial administration as a result.
Show Less
LibraryThing member adb42
Teenkrullend stukje Nederlandse koloniale historie, die maar al te gauw onder tafel wordt geschoven. En toch nog niet zo ver van huis ligt.
Toe curling piece of Dutch colonial history, which is all too conveniently brushed under the carpet. Not all that far from home, actually.
Toe curling piece of Dutch colonial history, which is all too conveniently brushed under the carpet. Not all that far from home, actually.
LibraryThing member judithann
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,
I absolutely hated the narrator, Droogstoppel. What a dim, smallminded,
Show More
egotistic person he is. Maybe this book is a classic in Dutch literature, bit I'm not tempted to read on. Show Less
LibraryThing member seaward
Multatuli was the pseudonym of Edourd Douwes Dekker, born in 1820 in Amsterdam. He wrote Max Havelaar in 1860 as a protest against the agri-business exploitation he perceived being perpetrated by the Dutch against the indigenous Indonesian farmers. Much later, this type of writing would be coined
Show More
muckraking journalism and was popularized by the likes of Sinclair Lewis in works like The Jungle. Show Less
LibraryThing member Frenzie
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.
The parts of the story that don't take
The parts of the story that don't take
Show More
place in Indonesia are meant to be amusing, but they're more like boring, tedious passages in an otherwise interesting read. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kristelh
The story of Max Havelaar is a social commentary on colonialism as well as a political statement of the abuse of government and the ineffectiveness of Christianity without charity. The story is set in 1853 or there abouts in Indonesia (Java) at that time and is the story of why change is almost
This is a 4 star read for me. I hated the poor condition of my kindle edition and having to constantly correct the typos and other errors in my head to make any sense out of some of the sentences but I fell for this social commentary of the abuse of people by colonialism but also by their own people. The book was a little difficult. I believe it is what is called a frame story. A story within a story. It seems like we had the story that was being told by Mr Drystubble (what a social commentary of whited sepulcher), Stern's story taken from Max Havelaar's (shawlman's notes) and then the story written by Multatuli as the author of the whole social commentary. Loved the love story, made me want to cry. Cry for the water buffalo and cry for the poor boy. That alone made this a 4 star story for me. I will never look at a water buffalo in the same way again.
Show More
impossible in systems that are as large as governments and even a good person is basically unable to make any good change. This is a 4 star read for me. I hated the poor condition of my kindle edition and having to constantly correct the typos and other errors in my head to make any sense out of some of the sentences but I fell for this social commentary of the abuse of people by colonialism but also by their own people. The book was a little difficult. I believe it is what is called a frame story. A story within a story. It seems like we had the story that was being told by Mr Drystubble (what a social commentary of whited sepulcher), Stern's story taken from Max Havelaar's (shawlman's notes) and then the story written by Multatuli as the author of the whole social commentary. Loved the love story, made me want to cry. Cry for the water buffalo and cry for the poor boy. That alone made this a 4 star story for me. I will never look at a water buffalo in the same way again.
Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1860-05-17
Physical description
336 p.; 7.99 inches
ISBN
1681372622 / 9781681372624