Posts by Madeleine LaRue

REVIEW: The Black Lake by Hella S. Haasse

Madeleine LaRue reviews Ina Rilke's translation of The Black Lake by Hella S. Haasse.

Set sometime between the two World Wars, Hella S. Haasse’s The Black Lake is narrated by a boy growing up on a plantation in the Dutch Indies. With parents too distracted by work and their own unhappy relationship to pay much attention to their son, the boy spends his childhood among the native servants, speaking better Soendanese than Dutch and exploring the jungle with Oeroeg, his best friend and constant companion. READ MORE…