Dit boek is al zo ongelofelijk vaak besproken van scholier tot en met handboek dat ik daar niets aan ga toevoegen. “Oeroeg was mijn vriend”: een ijzersterke openingszin. Het heimwee en de liefde en het schrijverschap waarmee Haasse vooral in de eerste helft het landschap en de context tekent vond ik na slechts één bezoek van een aantal weken aan Indonesië uiterst evocatief. Het geheel doordacht opgezet en geconstrueerd. Het einde, gelukkig wel enigszins open, vond ik toch minder geslaagd. De ideeën van de hoofdpersoon over kolonialisme zijn nu, 70 jaar later, ook als je niet meegaat in de soms nogal hysterische discussie, enigszins naïef. ( )

Menangis waktu baca endingnya, rasanya nyesek banget. ( )

Originally published in Haasse’s native Dutch as Oeroeg in 1948, this novel has classic status in the Netherlands but seems to be comparatively unknown among English-speaking readers. Without knowing any of that, I bought it three years ago in a translation by Ina Rilke and have only just got round to reading it, discovering a short but poignant novel that explores the consequences of Dutch colonialism in what is now Indonesia. Haasse herself was born in Batavia (now Jakarta) and so her tale has a ring of authenticity about it, as it follows the friendship of two boys: one the son of a wealthy Dutch plantation owner in Java; the other, the son of the estate’s Indonesian manager...

For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2018/03/25/the-black-lake-hella-haasse/ ( )

This book is a slow burn. It has stayed in my mind, and the more I think about it the better it seems. It's a sort of parable: the Dutch narrator, who relates his memories of the Indonesian best friend of his boyhood, Oeroeg, could stand in for all colonists in his lack of self-awareness, his insouciance, his inability to recognize or comprehend the differences in social status between the two of them. Oeroeg, burning with an anger that the narrator fails to recognize, could represent all Indonesians, or indeed all colonized people. The course of events, as the narrator bumbles through his friendship, smashing Oeroeg's life apart and taking no responsibility for the events or Oeroeg's resulting anger and alienation, feels inevitable; the only person surprised is the narrator himself. It's beautifully understated. Haasse makes us work a little for our understanding of her themes, even to the point of wondering whether what I got from the book is really what she meant. I think it is. I think this short novel is crafted with such subtle genius that Haasse guides us smoothly to her intended conclusions while allowing us to believe we've come to them on our own.

This is a condensed version of a longer review on my blog, Around the World in 2000 Books. ( )

Easy to read, fairly typical incomprehensible native from a Western perspective fair. ( )