I'm at page 53 or so and this is a pain in the ass to read. Is this going to get good?
>>7878072
It didn't for me. Max Havelaar is one of those books that for a large part owes it's fame to it's historical significance. And if you ignore the historical aspect and look at it as just a work of literature then it is clearly flawed. I found it a real chore to read back in school and I don't think I would recommend it to anyone (especially not to schoolchildren) except people extremely interested in the historical aspect.
Dutch books I did like:
Dichtertje by Nescio (very very short) and The Discovery of Heaven by Mulisch (long but not at all difficult and a joy to read)
Wolkers and Jan Cremer are one of the few enjoyable Dutch writers
I read De Engelenmaker from Stefan Brijs recently and thought it was great. Might be worth looking into if you're looking for good Dutch literature.
Read Nescio instead, he's the GOAT.
>>7878984
You could read all of his work in a day but I haven't come across a better Dutch writer
>>7878072
The whole book is a plea to reform the Dutch colonial system on Java, and nothing more. It gets marginally better towards the end, but if you're already struggling now you might as well give up and read something better.
>>7878072
Read Bordewijk instead, he is a quality Writer.
The collected "ideas" all 10 volumes, are fun to browse. Gave up on max havelaar as well