Synopsis
The Hidden Force: A Story of Modern Java is a novel written by Louis Couperus. It is set in the Dutch East Indies, present-day Indonesia, during the colonial period. The story revolves around the clash of cultures between the Dutch colonizers and the indigenous Javanese people. The main character of the novel is Van Oudijck, a Dutch resident who is appointed to govern a district in Java. He is a well-meaning but arrogant man who is obsessed with maintaining his power and status in the colonial hierarchy. His wife, L�����onie, is a beautiful and manipulative woman who is bored with her life in Java and seeks excitement and adventure.As Van Oudijck tries to assert his authority over the Javanese people, he encounters a hidden force that seems to resist his every move. This force is embodied by the mysterious figure of Sunario, a Javanese prince who is revered by the local people. Sunario is an enigmatic character who embodies the spiritual and cultural traditions of Java, and his presence in the story creates a sense of tension and intrigue.The novel explores themes of colonialism, cultural clash, and the clash between traditional and modern values. It is a powerful and thought-provoking work that offers a nuanced and complex portrait of life in the Dutch East Indies during the colonial period.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
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About the Author
L. Couperus (1863-1923) is recognized as one of the major innovators of Dutch fiction. E. M. Beekman is Multatuli Professor of Dutch Literature, Language, and Culture at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and editor of the twelve-volume Library of the Indies.
Review
"A major novel (written in 1900) by a great modern European writer virtually unknown to American readers. Its setting is the island of Java, and its protagonist a Dutch colonial official undone by his willful application of reason and pragmatism to a culture secure in its nonrational, mystical intimacy with nature and the spirit world. This is a tragedy of colonialism essentially contemporary with, and fully comparable to, the work of Joseph Conrad."―Chicago Tribune Book World
"With the inexorable momentum and prophetic courage, Couperus probes the psychological and cultural causes of [protagonist] Van Oudijck's fall from presumed power and happiness against a fin-de-siècle background. Magic is but one theme in the novel, along with that of cultural estrangement and lovelessness in the sensuous but isolated world of the Indies."―World Literature Today
"A rare and unusual achievement. . . . Stark, haunting, and evocative, this eerie narrative time-travels back to another age, a darker dispensation."―Asiaweek
"An outstanding example of psychological fiction, it is a prophetic intimation of the beginning of the end of Dutch rule in Indonesia and an original understanding of an inevitable fate that transcends the . . . clash between the East and West."―Publishers Weekly
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