898. Forever a Stranger

Forever a Stranger

Hella Haasse
1996
Around 130 pages

I believe this is only the third Dutch novel on the List, so this is a rare treat, emphasis on the rare part. I had a hard time finding this novel under the Forever a Stranger title, and had better luck searching for an English translation with the original Dutch title, Oeroeg.

Our narrator grew up as the child of a white Dutch family in Indonesia, with Oeroeg, a native young man. As high-school students, they live together in a boarding house. One crucial event is the death of Oeroeg's father, who was saving the narrator from drowning.

Once again, we get a story about colonial rule from the perspective of the colonists. This is a short novel that I don't think fully explored the themes that it promised, but apparently it's a much lauded mainstay of Dutch literature. So I might chalk this up to cultural dissonance, and not blame the writer too heavily.

Also, anybody named Hella is at least a little cool.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

In 1988, Haasse was chosen to interview the Dutch Queen for her 50th birthday after which celebrated Dutch author Adriaan van Dis called Haasse "the Queen among authors."

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