Novels set in the Netherlands

[HousePlans]

Can anyone recommend a good read that's set in the Netherlands, please?

Not fiction, but anything by Geert Mak. In particular "My Father's Century" and "The Many Lives of Jan Six" which follows an Amsterdam family through several centuries.

Obviously it’s an extremely well-known book, but I would definitely recommend that everyone read The Diary of Anne Frank at least once in their lives as it’s an incredibly moving experience.
I‘ve enjoyed multiple books by the Dutch author Simone van der Vlugt, and I also recently read Corrie ten Boom’s memoir ‘The Hiding Place’, which was an interesting read although you should bear in mind it has a strong Christian message.

It's an old one now but...Casualties by Lynne Reid Banks

Thanks everyone for the great recommendations.

I might leave the 'grim' ones for now. We're going on holiday to the Netherlands next month and I like to read books set on where I'm going. So I'll save the grim ones for another time. 😄

I read the Diary of Anne Frank years (decades?!) ago. I was planning on reading it again to DS10 before going as we wanted to go to Anne Frank's house. But I checked for tickets yesterday and they're sold out. Really disappointed about that. Will definitely read it with him at some point.

Plenty for me to choose from now. Thanks so much.

The Happy Housewife by Heleen Van Royen. It was a bestseller then I lost or lent my copy but just found one on eBay.

It’s not a happy novel but does some have dark humour in it.

I’ve read Summer Brother. Wasn’t sure about that one. Interesting topic though.

I’ve only ever been to Amsterdam on a long weekend (extended work Christmas dinner trip) and saw the usual tourist museums (Anne Franks’ house very evocative and sad) but my grandfather who was brought up in Germany lived and worked there and in Rotterdam during his early 20s and painted some paintings from
memory.

I must go back and not just see the capital.

Thanks Gonnagetgoing - I'm really looking forward to it. I've never been, except for a day visit to de Efteling when we were on holiday in Belgium when I was about 10. We're there for 10 days, staying in Duinrell but planning lots of day trips, so much to see and do. Very disappointed we missed out on tickets for the Anne Frank museum. Thanks for the book recomendations.

The Twins by Tessa de Loo (not fully set in the Netherlands but a good read)
The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi by Arthur Japin

Simone van der Vlugt used to be one of my favourite authors when I was young, she writes historical novels. I think some of hers are translated, one called Midnight Blue I think (haven’t read it!)

The Anne Frank house releases tickets every week on a Tuesday at 9am for six weeks ahead. I don't know your dates and whether you have time still to get some, but in case you do, set your alarm for this morning at 9! We're going there on Saturday.

FWIW I hated the Discomfort of Evening. Not just the misery, that I can deal with and barely notice, but the story focuses a lot on poo and bottoms and the sensation of poo and opening one's anus; written from the POV of a teenage girl (by someone who has never been a teenage girl), I thought that was fetishistic. There were a couple of scenes that felt all kinds of wrong and I found it very off putting. One would have been enough.

It indicates a deeper interest in anuses, and I hate when writers use their characters to play out what is obviously their own detailed fantasies (George RR Martin is a case in point).

We stay in tne Netherlands frequently and love it. I loved Why The Dutch Are Different by Ben Coates - it's non fiction written by someone who now lives in Netherlands and was excellent as a background to the country and very easy to read

@MorphandMindy the author of The Discomfort of Evening is trans. They are biologically female and moving towards a transman identity.

Ah, I didn't realise he was born female.

Having reflected on it now, I don't think that changes how I feel about the writing, though. I was looking back through it again this morning. Something about the flowery language describing images of poo and worms... 🤢 well, obviously lots of people/critics liked it but it's not for me!

The Discomfort of Evening is the most disturbing book I've read in a while. Child death, child abuse and paedophilia and that was just the start of it.

Anything by Cees Noteboom.

But, since you’re planning on going to A’dam as well, I would read The miniaturist. The running thread and inspiration for the book is a dolls house in the Rjiksmuseum, you can actually go and see it. (the museum itself is well worth a visit!).
Duinrell is between Leiden and Den Hague, I like both but I much prefer Leiden.
Use the trains, they’re cheap and easy.
Have fun!

I was in the Rijksmuseum a couple of days ago, by chance reading the info in the dolls house room and spotted a familiar name before realising it was the character from The Miniaturist! Quite a crowd around that dolls house!

Quite dark topic but Lynne Reid Banks' novel Casualties explores what happened in Netherlands in WW2 and it's not a situation you hear much about.

The last part of Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch is set there too.

tonke dragt - song of seven

children's book though

@HousePlans check for Anne Frank tickets on the Tuesday a week before you go as they release a few more tickets then. You might need to be up early to beat the Americans though.

@HousePlans I can't recommend any books but definitely book a trip to CORPUS (museum of the human body) in nearby Leiden, it's excellent. Also, further away but Beekse Bergen Safari Park and Hoge Veluwe National Park are also brilliant days out.

They wrote The Letter for the King and its sequel The Secrets of the Wild Wood as well which are classics of children's literature. Think I'd pick that!

Happy to have children's book recommendations too. DS is 10 and not a reader himself but loves books and being read to. I've got him a couple of non-fiction books for the trip, will take a look at those mentioned too.

Re the Anne Frank museum, I found out on Sunday about the 6 weeks in advance booking system. Sadly we go in under 5 weeks. Will have a look a week before just in case, thanks for mentioning that @BestIsWest

Thanks for all the holiday tips too everyone. So many places I want to visit whilst there, I think we'll struggle to fit everything in that everyone wants to do. Five people aged 10 to 82 so lots of different interests!

That's interesting to know re the doll's house in The Miniaturist being in the Rjiksmuseum.

Thanks all.

😂 I bet. I had the most bizarre experience, I’d seen the dollhouse about 15- 20 years ago, soon after Rijks closed down for about 10 years for refurb. I went with DD who was a toddler, she loved doll houses. Years later, I found the miniaturist abandoned on a bench in Lanzarote. As I was reading it, I was thinking: is this a real story? I swear I saw that doll house in the Rijks. When I got back to England, I searched for the photo, and there it was, my little girl, grinning ear to ear in front of the doll house. DD gave me the sequel as a Christmas present last year :)

@HousePlans No problem, I’m off there myself for a week in May so this thread is great for tips for me as well.