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Max Havelaar: Or, the Coffee Auctions of The…
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Max Havelaar: Or, the Coffee Auctions of The Dutch Trading Company (New York Review Books Classics) (original 1860; edition 2019)

by Multatuli (Author), Ina Rilke (Translator), David McKay (Translator), Pramoedya Ananta Toer (Introduction)

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1,6443310,619 (3.78)95
"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)
Member:Mont_Librarian
Title:Max Havelaar: Or, the Coffee Auctions of The Dutch Trading Company (New York Review Books Classics)
Authors:Multatuli (Author)
Other authors:Ina Rilke (Translator), David McKay (Translator), Pramoedya Ananta Toer (Introduction)
Info:NYRB Classics (2019), Edition: Translation, 336 pages
Collections:Your library
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Tags:nyrb

Work Information

Max Havelaar: Or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company by Multatuli (Author) (1860)

  1. 10
    The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (petergt)
    petergt: Both books have a main character who fights against injustice, and are set in the Dutch colonial past.
  2. 00
    Tine, of De dalen waar het leven woont by Nelleke Noordervliet (guurtjesboekenkast)
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» See also 95 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 19 (next | show all)
Max Havelaar adalah cerita fiksi yang terasa nyata. Kisah ini sendiri didasarkan atas apa yang dialami oleh Douwes Dekker saat menjadi pegawai pemerintah Hindia Belanda 18 tahun lamanya. Membaca kisah ini akan segera sadar apa sebenarnya politik divide et impera yang diterapkan Belanda.
Pemerintah Kerajaan Belanda sadar atas apa yang mereka lakukan selama ini di Hindia Belanda. Rakyat pribumi yang mereka paksa bertanam kopi dan teh tak ubahnya mesin bagi mereka. Kondisi diperburuk dengan banyaknya masyarakat Hindia Belanda yang belajar sifat makelar lewat instingnya mempertahankan hidup. Ada yang hidup nyaman dengan menjadi makelar budak untuk Belanda, tapi ada yang hidup mengabdikan diri bekerja selamanya untuk mereka agar keluarganya tidak dihancurkan. Semua yang mengubah tatanan itu dianggap merusak keseimbangan yang terjadi di Hindia Belanda dan Douwes Dekker adalah salah sedikit di antaranya.
Douwes Dekker lewat sudut pandang Stern dan Drogstoppel menunjukkan kisahnya di masa yang berbeda. Stern menceritakan dirinya saat menjadi asisten residen sementara Drogstoppel yang terus-terusan memanggilnya Sjaalman bercerita saat dia hidup miskin di Belanda. Namun lewat sudut pandang Multatuli, Douwes Dekker terus memastikan ceritanya akan terus dibaca dan menjadi usahanya menghentikan ketidakadilan walaupun dia sendiri terbelenggu dalam sikap white man's washing complex yang selalu menyerang warga kolonial yang hendak membebaskan masyarakat jajahan dari pemerintahan negaranya sendiri.
Cerita ini menjemukan bagi rakyat Indonesia, karena mengingat masa lalu tidak pernah mudah. Cerita ini berakhir dengan tragis karena pahlawan kita harus gugur sebelum berperang. Namun cerita ini telah dibaca dan akan terus dibaca.
( )
  awwarma | Jan 24, 2024 |
Karakter Tuan Droogstoppel sangat menyebalkan.

Dari novel ini aku tidak melihat penjelasan kekejaman Belanda terhadap rakyat Hindia Belanda, yang diceritakan hanyalah tentang pembesar2 pribumi yang bertindak sewenang-wenang terhadap rakyatnya.
Dan mengetahui semua yang mereka lakukan pejabat Belanda memutuskan untuk mendiamkan hal ini demi kepentingan mereka sendiri.
Perjuangan karakter Max Havelaar membela rakyat Lebak dari penindasan pemimpinnya patut diacungi jempol. Karena dia berani menentang Residen Banten yang merupakan atasannya dan menjalani hidup dengan ancaman diracun.



Sebenarnya gak mengerti bagaimana novel ini dikatakan mengubah begitu banyak hal. ( )
  Titut | Feb 10, 2020 |
Max Havelaar, subtitled The Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company, is the famous book that shamed the Dutch government into reforming the system of forced cultivation imposed on its colonial possessions in the Dutch East Indies. Indirectly, it also led to Indonesian independence in 1945, because the reforms also included educational opportunities—leading to the development of an Indonesian elite, a national language and anti-colonial ambitions. The only other book that I know that had a similar impact is Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) by José Rizal, translated by Harold Augenbraum, a novel which forged the independence movement in the Philippines. Pramoedya Ananta Toer, who wrote the Introduction to my edition, called Max Havelaar 'earthshaking' and (according to Wikipedia) 'the book that killed colonialism.'

Multituli is Latin for 'I have suffered greatly' and it is the pen name of Eduard Douwes Dekker (1920-1887). While this book purports to be a work of fiction and much of it is, it is also an autobiographical account derived from Dekker's experiences in the Dutch East Indies, from which he returned ignominiously after 17 years in the colonial service. His attempts at reform of the atrocious treatment of the peasants had failed and on his return to the Netherlands he wrote this book to draw attention to the abuses he had tried to ameliorate. (Also, it must be said, the book is a justification for his actions and an attempt to salvage a reputation he did not deserve). Dekker's 'Comments and Clarifications' to the 1875 edition convey his frustration and anger over the lack of reform, but he was not to know the influence his book would ultimately have.

First published in 1860, first translated into English in 1868, not translated into Indonesian until 1972, and now in a new edition translated by Ina Rilke and David McKay for the NYRB, Max Havelaar is a much more lively book than I had expected it to be. It's structured as a book-within-a-book, framed by the fatuous observations of an Amsterdam coffee broker called Drystubble, (Batavus Droogstoppel), a name intended to arouse mockery. Self-important, self-aggrandising and fulsomely patronising, this hypocrite prides himself on outsmarting his rivals and graciously growing his business through the hard work of people poorer than himself. Into his hands comes a manuscript written by an author too poor to publish it. He begins to read it almost by accident, and then decides to steal it, to publish the bits useful to himself. He doesn't do the work of editing himself: he hires Ernest Stern, the son of his best customer, in order to forestall his custom going to a cheaper rival.

The story proper begins in Java with the arrival of the new Assistant Registrar in Lebak. Max Havelaar emerges from a gruelling carriage ride over terrible roads with his wife Tina and small son Max, to be welcomed by various members of the colonial bureaucracy and their spineless Javanese collaborators from the aristocracy. In a satirical tone the narrator explains beforehand how the colony is administered, making it clear that the entire system is designed to maximise profits from exports to the Netherlands, and that it causes extensive famines throughout the fertile lands of Java. And, perhaps worst of all, by buying off the aristocrats, the system also ensures corruption to enable a luxurious lifestyle for the Adipati and his Dutch overlords while stifling any complaints or attempts to ameliorate the suffering of the peasants. (This is why Pramoedya Ananta Toer is so scathing about the Javanese aristocracy in his Buru Quartet).

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2019/09/28/max-havelaar-by-multatuli-translated-by-ina-... ( )
  anzlitlovers | Sep 28, 2019 |
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 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. ( )
1 vote mbmackay | May 12, 2019 |
Finalmente l'ho finito dopo averlo preso e riposto per due mesi.
Una grande delusione per il mio amore per i Paesi Bassi. Un libro mortalmente noioso e sconclusionato.
Intanto è un libro di Iperborea. Meritevolissima casa editrice, non c'è che dire. Ma le 360 pagine del romanzo rendono scomoda la lettura nel formato iperboreo. Scomodità che sarebbe sostenibile se il libro filasse via come una lippa (vedi le 496 pagine di Long John Silver).
Ma il testo è ostico per almeno la metà delle pagine e ci si stufa di tenere aperte a fatica le strette pagine.
La struttura del romanzo - in cui consiste la sua originalità - stenta a far lievitare la storia.
Dopo la metà migliora, ma ormai non si smette di arrancare: il fastidio iniziale ha frustrato il lettore.
Eppure, letta l'ultima pagina, viene voglia di ricominciare.
Dove ho sbagliato con questo libro mi sono detta?
La storia è grandiosa: un donchisciotte olandese di carta che parla a nome del donchisciotte olandese in carne e ossa che ha scritto il libro; storie d'amore tenere e senza speranza; satira durissima contro l'ipocrisia calvinista dell'affarista olandese; una perfetta vivisezione dell'indifferente crudele macchina burocratico-coloniale; commenti purissimi e entusiasmanti sulla letteratura e la sua funzione sociale.
Alla faccia del tulipano gentile, tollerante, operoso e cordiale dello stereotipo.
Insomma un grande libro, un libro la leggere - per me da rileggere - assolutamente.
Per ora gli lascio le stelline del disinganno apparente. Ma sono sicura che quando lo rileggerò il loro numero, per lo meno, raddoppierà. ( )
  icaro. | Aug 31, 2017 |
Showing 1-5 of 19 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (24 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
MultatuliAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Balabán, PéterTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Brands, G.A.Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Edwards, RoyTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Es, Gijsbert vansecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Huygens, G.W.Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kets-Vree, AnnemarieEditorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Meijer, R. P.Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pijfers, GerardIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Reisel, M.Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sötemann, A.L.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Stuiveling, GarmtIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Aan de diep vereerde nagedachtenis van / EVERDINE HUBERTE BARONESSE VAN WYNBERGEN / der trouwe gade / der heldhaftige liefdevolle moeder / der edele vrouw
First words
Ik ben makelaar in koffie, en woon op de Lauriergracht no 37.
Quotations
Batavia, 23 mei 1856
Excellentie! Mijn ambtshalve bij missive van 28 februari gedaan verzoek om aangaande de Lebakse zaken te worden gehoord, is zonder gevolg gebleven.
Evenzo heeft Uwe Excellentie niet gelieven te voldoen aan mijn herhaalde verzoeken om audiëntie.
Uwe Excellentie heeft dus een ambtenaar die gunstig bij het gouvernement bekend stond -- dit zijn Uwer Excellentie's eigen woorden! -- iemand die zeventien jaren het land in deze gewesten diende, iemand die niet alleen niets misdeed, maar zelfs met ongekende zelfverloochening het goede beoogde en voor eer en plicht alles veil had ... zó iemand heeft Uwe Excellentie gesteld beneden de misdadiger. Want die hoort men tenminste.
Dat men Uwe Excellentie omtrent mij misleid heeft, begrijp ik. Maar dat Uwe Excellentie niet de gelegenheid heeft aangegrepen om die misleiding te ontgaan, begrijp ik niet.
Morgen gaat Uwe Excellentie van hier, en ik mag haar niet laten vertrekken zonder nog eenmaal gezegd te hebben dat ik mijn PLICHT heb gedaan, GEHEEL EN AL MIJN PLICHT, met beleid, met bezadigdheid, met menslievendheid, met zachtheid en met moed.
De gronden waarop gebaseerd is de afkeuring in Uwer Excellentie's kabinetsmissive van 23 maart, zijn geheel en al verdicht en logenachtig.
Ik kan dit bewijzen, en dit ware reeds geschied, als Uwe Excellentie mij één half uur gehoor had willen schenken. Als Uwe Excellentie één half uur tijd had kunnen vinden om recht te doen!
Dit is zo niet geweest! Een deftig gezin is daardoor tot de bedelstaf gebracht ...
Hierover evenwel klaag ik niet.
Maar Uwe Excellentie heeft gesanctioneerd: HET STELSEL VAN MISBRUIK VAN GEZAG, VAN ROOF EN MOORD, WAARONDER DE ARME JAVAAN GEBUKT GAAT, en dáárover klaag ik. Dàt schreit ten hemel!
Er kleeft bloed aan de overgegaarde penningen van uw dus ontvangen Indisch traktement, Excellentie!
Nog éénmaal vraag ik om een ogenblik gehoor, zij het deze nacht, zij het morgenvroeg! En alweer vraag ik dit niet voor mij, maar voor de zaak die ik voorsta, de zaak van rechtvaardigheid en menselijkheid, die tevens de zaak is van welbegrepen politiek.
Als Uwe Excellentie het met haar geweten kan overeenbrengen, van hier te vertrekken zonder mij te horen, het mijne zal gerust zijn bij de overtuiging al het mogelijke te hebben aangewend om de treurige, bloedige gebeurtenissen te voorkomen, die weldra 't gevolg zullen wezen van de eigenwillige onkunde waarin de regering wordt gelaten ten opzichte van hetgeen er omgaat onder de bevolking.
MAX HAVELAAR
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Wikipedia in English (1)

"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"--

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Max Havelaar van Multatuli wordt beschouwd als het hoogtepunt van de Nederlandse literatuur. Maar behalve een literair meesterwerk is het ook een roman met een missie, bedoeld als een harde aanklacht tegen de wantoestanden in Indië. Honderdvijftig jaar na dato heeft het boek nog niets van zijn kracht verloren. Het is geestig en ontroerend, onderhoudend en vlijmscherp. Het is prachtig gecomponeerd en geschreven in een meeslepende, virtuoze stijl. Deze uitgave bevat de belangrijkste passages uit het omvangrijke werk, voorzien van verbindende teksten. Wie was Multatuli eigenlijk en waarom noemde hij zich zo? Hoe zat het met de uitbuiting van de Javanen? En wat was Multatuli’s eigen belang bij het schrijven van dit boek? Hoe zat de koloniale samenleving in elkaar en in hoeverre heeft Max Havelaar de geschiedenis veranderd? Op dergelijke vragen geeft deze rijk-geïllustreerde publicatie een helder antwoord.
Dit boek kwam tot stand met medewerking van Helene Hermans en Christianne Lemckert.

Peter van Zonneveld doceert negentiende eeuwse en Indische letterkunde aan de Opleiding Nederlands van de Universiteit Leiden.
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