Crime goes Dutch - Robert Van Gulik and Others

Top 10 Great Dutch Crime Fiction Novels

Though the article claims to tell you about ten Dutch writers of crime fiction, in reality, there are only nine. Two of the books mentioned in the list, the first two below, are by one and the same author. Find below a parade of the works where you can preview the book, if it's on Amazon Kindle. In any case, the article has nice write-ups for each novel.

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Saskia Noort

Alas, Amazon.in has no Kindle version of these books  and so there is no preview in this case. 

Esther Verhoef 

award-winning thriller

Tim Krabbé 

Janwillem van de Wetering 

1931

Jef Geeraerts

A. C. Baantjer 

Featured Author

Robert Hans van Gulik

Poisoned plums, a cryptic scroll picture, passionate love letters, and a hidden murderer with a penchant for torturing and killing women

A good many Judge Dee novels enlivened my more youthful reading years. Not only is the style deliciously quaint - much in the manner of then existing Western understanding of Chinese speech mannerisms, among other things. And they had engaging pictures, many sporting a bare breasted lady. Lest this excite you inappropriately, let me assure you that the nudes are more likely to elicit a smile these days where most of us have, by adulthood, seen enough naked people, in real time as well as not.

"DeeGoongAn"Fair use via Wikipedia

The Judge Dee books are enchanting and each one will delight and reward the reader with exotic trivia about customs and more that supposedly existed in Judge Dee's time. 

Some Dee exploits have been made into TV series and some, more recently, into films.

Watch/Listen

Though there are televised versions of some of his works, samples on Youtube are in bad shape. There exist, however, more recent Chinese productions of some Dee films.

Detective Dee (2011)

Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon

Now, one must bear in mind, or not, that the China of Robert Gulik is a China that exists in Gulik's eidetic space. No more, no less. It is much the same with Mankell's China or Africa or Timbuktu, too. 

However, while it's fun to view China with Sax Rohmer or even Herge specs, it is preferable that we enjoy these coloured visions in our own private eidetic spaces and that we train ourselves to stand above projected prejudices. Is it, after all, the fault of the Air Conditioner or yours if you cannot train yourself to survive stark contrasts in temperature?

A sensible person, who, in a hot summer's day, enters a nicely air-conditioned place, where it is even a bit chilly, carries a jacket or shawl handy. There are even those who just 'tell' their bodies that they are now entering a colder place.

In the same way, there is a certain wisdom in 'learning' how to read works. To be aware that stories, at least, are imaginary creations and reflect but one or a few and not all realities. 

Alas, this concept appears to rob the reader of a certain degree of pleasure. Or so it may be assumed. The truth, however, is that awareness of this sort, in truth, only enhances enjoyment.

Now, out of a sheer selfish desire to revisit the world of Judge Dee, I'd like to walk you through some of his titles:

Having visited some Dutch authors in the crime genre, tomorrow we shift to Africa and see what the continent has to offer.