Rob Nieuwenhuys (1908–1999)

A deeply felt fictionalized memoir of colonial family life in Indonesia when it was a Dutch colony. De Nijs (a nom de plume for Rob Nieuwenhuys, 1908-1999) was the son of a Dutch immigrant father and a half-Dutch/half-Indonesian mother. He grew up in Batavia (now Jakarta), passionately sympathetic to his “native” roots and to indigenous Javanese culture. Telling the story of his childhood and young adulthood through various family members, though focusing on his aunt, he simultaneously tells of Dutch, Indo (mixed), and Javanese characters, exposing the ingrained and appalling racism and caste/class beliefs pervading Dutch colonial society. The prose is wonderfully evocative, the story a sad and poignant tale, but De Nijs is so good that it is possible to understand—if not sympathize with—all sides in the complex equation. And though he’s telling a story of the first part of the 20th century, it depicts a lost world. The writing is excellent and the book well worth the investment of time if the subject matter is of interest…and perhaps even if it is not.… (more)