DutchNews.nl - Books Archive -

A self-help book for new expatriates: The Mobile Life

By Diane Lemieux and Anne Parker

This new, fully updated edition of The Mobile Life by Diane Lemieux and Anne Parker targets individuals embarking on their first expatriate experience by inviting them to ‘master the challenge of moving somewhere new’. A practical guide, the book uses the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his 1914 Antarctic expedition to explain the challenges of a global move, and the essential attributes of having good leader to ensure the survival of accompanying family members. As the authors state at... More >

Van Rijn: Too much packed into one story

Sarah Emily Miano

In Van Rijn, author Sarah Emily Miano delves into the life of the man considered to be the most important artist in Dutch history, Rembrandt van Rijn. The plot follows young publisher Pieter Blaeu who becomes obsessed with Rembrandt and wants to uncover his secrets. Along the way, we meet a variety of characters, many of whom anyone with a passing knowledge of 17th-century Dutch history will recognize: Jan Six, Baruch Spinoza, Athanasius Kircher and even the corpse from... More >

The Little Orange Handbook 2.0: the Netherlands for newcomers

The Little Orange Handbook 2.0

Xpat Media, the publisher of the mighty Holland Handbook, has come up with this condensed and more portable guide to living in the Netherlands, now in a fully revised edition for 2023 and beyond. The Little Orange Handbook describes itself as a ‘practical guide and quick introduction to the Netherlands’ and information is packed into the book’s 210 pages. It covers everything from housing and working to the educational system and political system of the country. The contents are divided... More >

War and Turpentine: A beautiful examination of the past

Stefan Hertmans

Writer Stefan Hertmans inherited his grandfather’s diaries and turned them into a novel that has now sold more than a quarter of a million copies, been translated into 20 languages, and was longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize. War and Turpentine (Oorlog en Terpentijn in Dutch) follows the life of Urbain Martien, born in 1891, the son of a fresco painter who serves in the Belgian army during the First World War. In 1963, after the death of... More >

A heavyweight photographic essay: NL 365 A Year in the Netherlands

By Frans Lemmens and Marjolijn van Steeden

With 400 pages, 380 full colour photographs and weighing in at 2.3 kilos, NL 365 A Year in the Netherlands is very much a coffee table book. The book aims to illustrate some of the most defining aspects of the Netherlands – its history and the struggle to hold back the sea, economy and innovation, its people and its landscapes – and there is at least one photograph to look at for every day of the year. Most of the... More >

A lot more than 60 guilders: The Island at the Center of the World

Russsel Shorto

We all think we know the story of how the Dutch purchased a little island from Native Americans for 24 dollars and then traded it to the British for Suriname. But the tale is far more complicated and interesting than that. American journalist Russell Shorto gives us the full picture in his accessible and riveting book, The Island at the Center of the World. Published in 2004, The Island at the Center of the World starts with 17th-century English seaman... More >

Logo Land: A fascinating look at local history

By Amit Biswas

If you’ve ever visited a bookstore looking for books about the Netherlands, or checked out the books section on this website, you will know just how much choice there is out there. There are books about how to settle in the Netherlands, how to cook traditional Dutch food or even some of the ugliest places in the country to visit. But until now, there has never been a book explaining the history of the logos of each of the Netherlands’... More >

The Penguin Book Of Dutch Short Stories: A nice overview of Dutch literature

Joost Zwagerman

Dutch writer Joost Zwagerman gathered what he considered to be the most interesting and important short writing of the Dutch language and organised their translation to English resulting in the 2016 Penguin Book of Dutch Short Stories. The 36-story anthology was a trimmed-down version of Zwagerman’s original publication, Dutch and Flemish literature from 1880 in 250 stories, which was published in 2005. The English-language version spans nearly a century or writing – the earliest work is from 1915 and the... More >

Hellcat of The Hague: The Nel Slis Story

Caroline Studdert

Just before the start of World War II, American press agency Associated Press expanded into Europe at around the same time as a Dutch nurse, Nel Slis, changed her career from nursing to journalism. She would go on to become AP’s first correspondent in The Hague, earning herself the nickname Hellcat of The Hague. Irish journalist Caroline Studdert wrote a book, using that nickname for the title, to tell the story of Slis’ colourful life. First published in 2013, with... More >

A humorous take on struggling with the Dutch language

NA Cuey-na-Gael

It was written more than 100 years ago, but the struggles faced by the protagonist in An Irishman’s Difficulties with the Dutch Language will still be very relatable to those learning Dutch today. The short book, only 134 pages, recounts the experience of Jack O’Neill, an Irish student at Trinity College Dublin, who has moved to the Netherlands to learn the Dutch language. First published in 1908 under the pen name Cuey-na-Gael, the book was in fact written by Rev... More >

Place: A look at someone searching for home

By Hannah Huber

Place follows the story of American Jill Stone, a journalist married to a Dutchman, who has spent her entire working life in the Netherlands. Following their daughter’s graduation from high school, the family has decided to relocate to the United States to be closer to Jill’s family. Just as they are hosting their goodbye party, Jill gets offered her dream job but the position would require her to stay. Unsure of what to do, Place explores what it’s like to... More >

100 Dutch-language poems: A lovely look at Dutch poetry

Selected and translated

Following the success of a similarly named book, 100 Danish Poems: From the Medieval Period to the Present, translators Paul Vincent and John Irons set out to compile the history of Dutch poetry in a parallel fashion. The result, 100 Dutch-language Poems: From the Medieval Period to the Present Day, brings together a lovely collection of poetry from the Netherlands and Belgium. Vincent and Irons, both former professors turned translators, won the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize in 2016 for their book. ... More >

The Dinner Club: A pleasant summer beach read

by Saskia Noort

A classic of the Dutch crime thriller genre, Saskia Noort’s The Dinner Club (De eetclub in Dutch) follows a group of friends in a posh Dutch village who form a dinner club. Tragedy ensues, revealing that behind the facade of the fancy villas, things much more sinister are going on. Nominated for The Golden Noose (De Gouden Strop) for best Dutch crime novel, The Dinner Club was Noort’s third book when it was published in 2004. She’s gone on to... More >

The Twin: The beauty and sadness of the platteland

Is The Twin about a man caring (poorly) for his dying father while dreaming of another life in Denmark? Or about a man constrained by the responsibilities of family and rural life? Or is it about a man who really likes donkeys? Dutch writer Gerbrand Bakker’s debut novel The Twin (Boven is het stil in Dutch) is about all of those things. Published in Dutch in 2006 and in English in 2008, it won the €100,000 International Dublin Literary Award,... More >

Will: A difficult but authentic look at history

Jeroen Olyslaegers

Considering its impact on history and the scar it left on humanity, it is unsurprising that so many books have been written about World War II and its aftermath. This time, we are focusing on a book about the Belgian experience, which is very relevant to the Netherlands as well. Many war books focus on the heroic acts of brave resistance fighters, or the horrors and torment of victims. But few dive into the day-to-day lives of those neither hero... More >

Herman Koch’s The Ditch is good but not great

In his 11th novel, Dutch bestselling author Herman Koch skewers the polite racism and classism of Dutch society but fails to bring the plot to satisfaction. The Ditch follows Robert Walter, the fictional mayor of Amsterdam, who at the outset of the novel becomes convinced his wife, who originates from an unnamed ‘southern’ country, is cheating on him with one of the city’s aldermen. Walter concludes this based on little more than a fleeting interaction, but the thought consumes him.... More >

A mystical journey to Suriname, and the superpower of the Jaguarman

The superpower of the Jaguarman

Raoul de Jong was 28 when he first received word from his long estranged father. A note, purporting to be from his father’s girlfriend, appeared in the letterbox of his antikraak flat in Rotterdam with the words: ‘I am looking for my son’. After dispelling initial suspicions of a malicious ploy by his junkie neighbours, De Jong discovered not only was the contact genuine, but his father – now a volunteer at an Christian book shop in Amsterdam – was... More >

The Sisters of Auschwitz is a gripping true story about World War II

It’s a pity that the English language publishers of Roxane van Iperen’s ‘T Hooge Nest (the high nest) decided to change the name into The Sisters of Auschwitz, because your expectations are already set by the time you pick up the book. And the Auschwitz connection, with the fleeting mentions of Anne and Margot Frank and all its grim reality, is only a minor part of the story. For this is the story of a house and its occupants, and... More >

Where tolerance finds its limits: Murder in Amsterdam

Ian Buruma

Published in 2006, Murder in Amsterdam explores the relationship between immigration in the Netherlands, particularly from Turkey and Morocco, and the 2004 murder of film director Theo van Gogh. Van Gogh – 47 years old at the time of his death – was the great-grandson of Theo van Gogh, brother of famed Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. Born and raised in The Hague, he first worked as a television producer and director and later became a newspaper columnist and author.... More >

Let’s Talk Dutch: Dutch culture explained in typical words & expressions

By Lucy Deutekom

Lucy Deutekom says in the introduction to her self-published book ‘Let’s Talk Dutch’ that her aim is to provide the reader with a deeper understanding of Dutch society by explaining common sayings and expressions. She does this by combining odd bits of history with facts and figures about subjects such as Dutch directness, cycling and dairy products with a sprinkling of phrases with an explanation of where they come from. Een tandje bijzetten (add a tooth, meaning to put in... More >