Book Review!

I love reading, and have found it to be a useful way to get accustomed to Dutch grammar, and even to pick up a few new words. But you can't just pick up any Dutch novel, grab a dictionary, and go for it. Believe me, I tried it :-P

"Normal" books often have abstract and colorful phrases. Even if your dictionary has all of the relevant words, you'll still have no idea what the hell the author just said. Another problem is that dictionaries don't conjugate verbs. Even electronic ones, unless you want to shell out 500 euros or so. And even then maybe not :-P

One solution is to read books designed for very young children. But those can be a bit boring, even if they do have pretty pictures, not too mention that they're rather short. The other solution is books written or adapted specifically for people that can only read simple texts.

In Amersfoort, the main library branch (Zonnehof), and a smaller one (Kruiskamp), both have "NL Punt" sections with books we can handle! The main branches at Hilversum and Utrecht have similar sections, though called differently. If you need help finding the section, ask a librarian. Not only do they usually speak fluent English, they tend to be very good at understanding (and speaking in) simple Dutch.

NL Punt includes translation dictionaries, text books for learning Dutch, useful guides telling foreigners how to bath themselves and clean their homes, and novels. Most of the novels at the Kruiskamp branch are targeted at teenage girls, but Zonnehof has a much better selection of novels for adults. The NL punt at Zonnehof is up on the 2nd storey (3rd floor for us Americans) with the childrens' books. After coming up the central stairs, take a left into a little alcove.

Once you find the section, picking a book is pretty easy. Find one with a cover that doesn't look like it's targeting teenage girls, flip it open, and see if you can understand it. Some books (A-level) will only use the present tense, which is great if you haven't learned much conjugating yet. Most of the novels won't use a normal paragraph format, and will only use short sentences.

HITTEGOLF by Rene Appel (61 pages)
The title means "Heatwave" and it's an adaption of a popular novel written by a Dutch author. It's a crime thriller written in the present tense. It's the first book I read, and I got it when I was at about A1 level. I didn't use a dictionary even though there were a lot of words I didn't understand. I was still able to follow what was happening pretty well.

I liked this novel a lot - I'm looking forward to reading the original one of these days! The author managed to make the present tense sexy and intense, instead of weird and awkward. It's a somewhat typical murder mystery, but the protagonist is the primary suspect. It was a little annoying that he was in a bit of a stupor for most of the book.

KIND VERMIST by Sylvia Vanden Heede (175 pages)
The title means "Missing Child". And don't be scared off by 175 pages - there are very few sentences per page. I think these books may also be used for dyslexics or similar, which might explain the odd formatting. This one is also a crime novel - trying to find out whodunnit, with a protagonist that is a suspect. It's written at about the same level as Hittegolf, so understandable at A1 level, if you're not bothered about understanding every word.

But I didn't like this one much. It was the first (but not the last) Dutch Book For Stupid Passive Foreign Women I read, and after Hittegolf it was a huge disappointment. The author didn't make the present tense work very well, so it came across as weird and awkward. And the main character is a woman that is not intelligent and very passive. She doesn't do stuff - stuff happens and she cries and things miraculously work out at the end. This book's saving grace was an interesting plot with a twist at the end.

NACHT by Anton van der Kolk (110 pages)
This one is actually a normal book but written for younger high school students in the easier track. It uses the past tense, and has normal paragraphs, but it was surprisingly easy to follow. I read this at about the A2 level.

It tells the story of a teenage girl trying to explore her grandfather's past during WWII. Aside from that, the primary theme is family relationships and dealing with growing old. And, for fun, a little side jaunt into incest with a cousin! I'm not sure where that came from, but I think it detracted from an otherwise interesting book. It also provides some historical context for WWII in the Amersfoort area, and the concentration camp on the outskirts of town.

TWEESTRIJD by Rene Appel (123 pages)
The title means "Two-Player Game", more or less. Another adaption of a normal novel, but I didn't like it nearly as much. Again, I (think) it was present tense, and it worked well. It was pretty readible at A1 level. But it suffered from having a useless female protagonist that I wanted to stab in the face before anyone else could.

It's another crime/relationship thriller, and the redeeming feature is that there are competent female characters - just not the main character :-P The basic plot: Nice Stupid Girl meets Bad Stupid Boy, things go wrong, Stupid Girl is helpless, Stupid Girl is miraculously rescued. A huge disappointment after Hittegolf.

KOMT EEN VROUW BIJ DE DOKTER by Kluun (168 pages)
Definitely a chick book. Uses the past tense, was pretty readable at A2.5. This is a pretty famous book, and has had a movie made. Primarily I'd class it as an emotional read, with a lot of medical and sex vocabulary.

Basically a scum-sucking philanderer (the author) finds out his wife has cancer, and keeps screwing everything in sight. But apparently this is sorta okay because he really loves his wife. You might enjoy this book if you like watching train wrecks and their emotional aftermath. I don't :-P

DE VOORLEZER by Bernhard Schlink (87 pages)
The title literally means "The For-Reader", which we don't really have a word for in English. It's someone that reads a book aloud for someone eles. It's an adaption of a very famous German novel by the same name. In fact, I'd seen the movie a year or two ago, and enjoyed it. I was a bit past A2 level when I read it, and it was an easy read, although it uses past tense.

The protagonist starts as a 15 year old boy having a somewhat complicated affair with a much older woman. Years later, in law school, his law school class is observing a trial for WWII war criminals, and she is one of the defendants. During the course of the trial, the protagonist comes to understand his former lover's previously inexplicable behavior. I liked this one a lot.