Arjan Boltjes reviewed Stad in de storm by Thea Beckman
Twenty-sixth edition
Our own city Utrecht in 1672-1674
4 stars
Lovely read, although a bit old-fashioned. I read this to our youngest child. It took some time to get into, because of the slightly archaic style and word-choices. Chapters describing the setting in particular suffered from this, while chapters with a lot of dialogue and/or action read much more smoothly.
The story is told by Hans, thirty years after the events, and is about him, his father - printer and bookseller - , and his friends during the Franco-Dutch War, the occupation by French forces, and the period shortly afterwards. The title ‘city in the storm’ also refers to one of the main events in the story. Historical figures like Louis the XIV, the De Witt brothers, William III, Bernhard von Galen - Bommen Berend - pass by, as well as the use of what we call the (old) Hollandse Waterlinie - a military defence line consisting of a combination …
Lovely read, although a bit old-fashioned. I read this to our youngest child. It took some time to get into, because of the slightly archaic style and word-choices. Chapters describing the setting in particular suffered from this, while chapters with a lot of dialogue and/or action read much more smoothly.
The story is told by Hans, thirty years after the events, and is about him, his father - printer and bookseller - , and his friends during the Franco-Dutch War, the occupation by French forces, and the period shortly afterwards. The title ‘city in the storm’ also refers to one of the main events in the story. Historical figures like Louis the XIV, the De Witt brothers, William III, Bernhard von Galen - Bommen Berend - pass by, as well as the use of what we call the (old) Hollandse Waterlinie - a military defence line consisting of a combination of fortifications and inundated land.
Apart from the fun story, it was also special to read and learn so much about Dutch history, and especially about our own city #Utrecht. Street names and places in the city, surrounding villages; they are all mentioned by name, and many still exist in today's city, especially the old city centre within what is now "De Singel", the canal surrounding the city center. Places and buildings that no longer exist are also part of the story, and again it was fun to find out where these were and when they disappeared.
