An Island in Time: The Biography of a Village

Satisfied

Well-described, with fine S/H

This is an exceptional book that is suitable for reading anywhere in the world not just in the Netherlands its country of origin.As you read you get to know the characters and at the end you are sad to leave them. I know Friesland very well it is a lovely part of the Netherlands and the residents are proud to live there. If you visit and there is time visit the town of Heerenveen and in particular the VVV tourist centre where a very efficient lady will tell you all about the history of the area and how it has remained relatively untouched compared to other parts of the Netherlands. I recommend this book to anyone who loves reading about people and you will learn how those people went through a period when farming almost disappeared but thankfully left the countryside and villages almost intact. I am now starting ' In Europe ' supplied by Amazon and written by the same author who is much admired in his home country.

Having already read Amsterdam: A Brief Life of the City, I already knew I enjoyed Geert Maks style of writing and reading this book only strengthened that view. While focusing on a particular area (Friesland, North Holland) and a particular village within (Jorwerd), the facts and stories presented in this book could easily apply to any village in Europe and beyond. The book is about the decline of the village way of life and how the speed of technology and also the city has gradually infiltrated the traditions and family values that seemed at one time so stable. Mak is able to bring the reader along with him as he journeys around Friesland and actually lives in Jorwerd for a time. We meet the locals, learn about the village plays, fetes and games and have a unique insight into their usually private village lives.It's a heartbreaking tale that made this reader question whether this high-speed world we live in and its constant desire to keep changing and growing is really all for the better.