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Cruel Paradise
Life Stories of Dutch Emigrants
by Speerstra, Hylke,
This book deftly weaves together the firsthand stories of men and women who emigrated from the northern region of the Netherlands throughout the twentieth century. A skilled stylist, Speerstra takes his readers along on his journey as he circles the globe interviewing transplanted Frisians in the United States, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. Combining elements of memoir and travelogue, his narrative speaks to universal human experience as it vividly recounts the trials and successes of these emigrants. The book quickly became a bestseller, first in the Frisian language as ‘It wrede paradys’ and later in Dutch as ‘Het wrede Paradijs.’ Common themes of personal identity and family, uprootedness and loss, nostalgia and bittersweet joy run throughout the book. Yet these emigrants have had very diverse life experiences. Some have become very affluent, brushing elbows with the Rockefellers, Kennedys, and movie producers; others have spent a lifetime eking out their living as farmers. Often poignant, sometimes amusing, always memorable, these stories provide a moving tribute to those who left their homeland behind with little more than uncertain hopes for their children. An abridgement of earlier releases, the English version was translated by Prof. Henry Baron. A $29.95 value. NOW on sale!
Paperback, 224 pages, Glossary of place names
USD 19.95 / CAD 24.95