Reviewed by: Ana María Fernández-Maldonado, an architect from Lima, Peru, who has lived in the Netherlands for 11 years and says, “I still like it.”
She’s currently a Research Assistant at the TU’s Faculty of Architecture, Spatial Planning Group.
The book tells the story of two twin elderly sisters that find each other after being separated at the age of six. Telling each other the stories of their lives, they bring the reader close to what life was like for them during those years of separation, strongly marked by the war between their countries, Germany and the Netherlands. Outside Europe, the Dutch and German cultures seem so similar that it is, for common people, difficult to differentiate between people from these countries, as even their languages sound alike. However, living in the Netherlands one easily recognizes that despite the affinity of these cultures there is still something irreconcilable between them, which is linked to the events that happened during World War II. They left such a collective impression that they have become source of inspiration for many Dutch authors and artists.
De Loo%s story is a successful attempt to humanize WW II, showing the profound suffering on both sides of the lines from a personal point of view. More than the human losses and atrocities of the war, she exposes the conflicts of consciousness and personal dramas of everyday life and how they shaped the lives of the twins. The message is that ordinary people lived courageous times during the war, on both sides, but they did not know about each other. In the end this can be seen as a therapeutic conversation between the Dutch and German souls, to understand the origins of their love-hate relationship with the aim of healing their emotional wounds. De Loo confronts the two sisters in such a natural and refined manner that it becomes captivating for all audiences, even if the reader is not aware of the historic events. It is not difficult to understand why the book has become a best-seller in the Netherlands
Reviewed by: Ana María Fernández-Maldonado, an architect from Lima, Peru, who has lived in the Netherlands for 11 years and says, “I still like it.” She’s currently a Research Assistant at the TU’s Faculty of Architecture, Spatial Planning Group.
The book tells the story of two twin elderly sisters that find each other after being separated at the age of six. Telling each other the stories of their lives, they bring the reader close to what life was like for them during those years of separation, strongly marked by the war between their countries, Germany and the Netherlands. Outside Europe, the Dutch and German cultures seem so similar that it is, for common people, difficult to differentiate between people from these countries, as even their languages sound alike. However, living in the Netherlands one easily recognizes that despite the affinity of these cultures there is still something irreconcilable between them, which is linked to the events that happened during World War II. They left such a collective impression that they have become source of inspiration for many Dutch authors and artists.
De Loo%s story is a successful attempt to humanize WW II, showing the profound suffering on both sides of the lines from a personal point of view. More than the human losses and atrocities of the war, she exposes the conflicts of consciousness and personal dramas of everyday life and how they shaped the lives of the twins. The message is that ordinary people lived courageous times during the war, on both sides, but they did not know about each other. In the end this can be seen as a therapeutic conversation between the Dutch and German souls, to understand the origins of their love-hate relationship with the aim of healing their emotional wounds. De Loo confronts the two sisters in such a natural and refined manner that it becomes captivating for all audiences, even if the reader is not aware of the historic events. It is not difficult to understand why the book has become a best-seller in the Netherlands
Comments are closed.