Review of 'Knielen op een bed violen' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This was not an easy book to read. In many ways, it is a tragedy, with the protagonist being caught in an increasing web of an extremely miserable and extreme form of Calvinism (Protestant Christianity) as well as being at the mercy of both his own character flaws and economic circumstance. It is not a book to be read for light-hearted amusement. And yet, it was well worthwhile. The man's miserable church is in Ede, the next town to where I live and where I used to live. I've met a lot of people left with a trauma from churches like that, and now I understand them better. But it is not the case that this book only has something to say to people from this region. The protagonist's problems all come back to the fact that his father could not form a good relationship with him, leaving him with …
This was not an easy book to read. In many ways, it is a tragedy, with the protagonist being caught in an increasing web of an extremely miserable and extreme form of Calvinism (Protestant Christianity) as well as being at the mercy of both his own character flaws and economic circumstance. It is not a book to be read for light-hearted amusement. And yet, it was well worthwhile. The man's miserable church is in Ede, the next town to where I live and where I used to live. I've met a lot of people left with a trauma from churches like that, and now I understand them better. But it is not the case that this book only has something to say to people from this region. The protagonist's problems all come back to the fact that his father could not form a good relationship with him, leaving him with a whole life of trying to fill that gap and in turn, he also fails to love one of his sons. Universal themes that come back in all cultures. It was not easy reading, but certainly worthwhile.
