Colonial Legacies of the Dutch East Indies – Outsider in Amsterdam

There aren’t many novels that deal with the fall out from the end of the Dutch East Indies, the collapse of Holland’s empire in the Far East and the creation of Indonesia. However, Janwillem van de Wetering’s Outsider in Amsterdam does, to an extent. A central figure in the novel, set in Amsterdam, is a former Papuan fighter living in Amsterdam. Van de Wetering was Dutch, but lived for a time in Japan and was a student of Zen Buddhism. Published in 1975 it was the first in Van de Wetering’s Grijpstra and de Gier detective series.

On a quiet street in downtown Amsterdam, the founder of a new religious society/commune-a group that calls itself ‘Hindist’ and mixes elements of various ‘Eastern’ traditions-is found hanging from a ceiling beam. Detective-Adjutant Grijpstra and Sergeant de Gier of the Amsterdam police are sent to investigate what looks like a simple suicide, but they are immediately suspicious of the circumstances.

Earlier covers highlighted the East Indies theme a bit more in various ways (not always strictly accurately)….