Hella (Hélène Serafia) Haasse passed away on 29 September 2011. The Grand Old Lady of Dutch literature was born in Batavia (the present day Jakarta), and as she lived there for the first 20 years of her life, many of her novels are set in the Dutch East Indies. Oeroeg, her debut in 1948, deals with the friendship between a Dutch and an Indonesian boy, a topic she returns to in her novel Sleuteloog (2000).
Oeroeg holds a special memory for me and my family as it was being filmed in Jakarta when we lived there. My son was enrolled in the Netherlands International School and his grade was to supply the schoolboy-extras. But with too large a frame and hair many shades darker than blond, he could neither be fitted in on the Indonesian nor on the Dutch side. Mike, if you ever need a psychiatrist, don't forget to relate this affront.
But for those interested in colonial history Krassen op een Rots (1970) is a must-read. It relates Ms Haasse's impressions after revisiting Indonesia, meeting her old school friends, observing the changes that took place since Independence, and realising that 350 years of colonial rule had left not even scratches on a rock (Krassen op een Rots).
Reference: Wikipedia
I'd like to add that the reason why I was disappointed was that everyone else in my class was cast in the movie, some even with speaking roles. I believe Wouter Dirks even had multiple lines.
ReplyDeleteMy childhood dream of becoming a movie star was crushed. I had to settle with a career in marketing.
We are all suffering Mike, we all have our childhood traumas. I wanted to be a baseball player but my parents never bought me a glove. Moreover what really destroyed my dream was the PE teacher at school laughing when I could not hit a single ball in my first game.
ReplyDeleteI don't have those traumas, I was awesome at PE... :)
ReplyDeleteGood girl
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