Rate this book

The Hidden Force (1901)

by Louis Couperus(Favorite Author)

3.51 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1906548927 (ISBN13: 9781906548926)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Pushkin Press

review 1: I read this in an English translation (it is called "The Hidden Force") published by a wonderful independent publisher of forgotten classics, called the Pushkin Press. I don't know why they aren't on Goodreads. Pushkin Press books are small and easy to hold, with beautiful paper covers and pages. Couperus is considered one of the great Dutch authors of the late 19th/early 20th century, in the decadent style of Wilde and Huysmans. In this book he writes about colonial Java (Indonesia), an engrossing story of a failing marriage, and of the greater failure of the Dutch to understand the culture and people they have colonized. Remarkably modern in its sentiments.
review 2: I don’t read Dutch, but I found a good English translation at Project Gutenberg. It�... more��s a good story and it paints a compelling picture of dangers and isolation in colonial Java. The men, the administrators, work long hours and and are generally satisfied. The women for the most part are pampered, bored, and unhappy, and often up to mischief. Underneath the veneer of European civilization toil masses of natives with their magical beliefs and their rage against their colonizers. These are the “hidden forces.” Another hidden force is the environment, which is particularly well depicted: the almost frighteningly lush vegetation, the the soggy heat, the insects. less

Download links for: The Hidden Force

Advertising