Theun de Vries (1907–2005)

Op een rijke boerenhoeve, ergens in een noordelijk land, werken drie knechten voor de boerin. Haar man is langgeleden verdwenen, sindsdien bestiert zij de hoeve. Op elke zondag blijft één van de knechten bij haar, om de nacht met haar door te brengen. Als de knechten een zwaar gewonde deserteur van over de grens vinden en hem mee nemen, wordt het bestaande evenwicht verstoord en heeft jaloezie grote gevolgen voor iedereen.

Theun de Vries is één van mijn favoriete schrijvers. In bloemrijke taal geeft hij een beeld van de hoeve, de mensen en de natuur rondom.… (altro)

This is a good book. I read this book after the Romanian Revolution of 1986.
The girl with red hair is Jannetje Johanna (Jo) Schaft, born on 16.09.1920, a young Dutch woman from Haarlem, a communist fighter arrested by the Nazis on 21 March 1945 and executed on 17 April the same year. She had red hair, which she dyed in order not to be recognized by the authorities who were looking for her but after being arrested, during the harsh interrogation, from the sweat and water the paint on her hair started to clean and so they gave it was the equestrians who caught one of the most sought after people in the resistance.… (altro)

This novel belongs to the early work of Theun de Vries. It is a historical novel set in the early Renaissance. While the historical context and the historical figure Josquin des Près a potentially very interesting background provide, the main character of the novel is a fictitious young man. The first part of the novel is gripping but later on, as focus shifts the story seems of little interest, as the role of Des Près is marginal and the main focus is on the insignificant main character. The overall atmosphere of the novel is that of young adult literature.… (altro)