Literary Idol of the Month: February



Vincent Mahieu a.k.a Tjalie Robinson a.k.a Jan Boon.
(Don't let his funny look, witty eyes, Hitler-look-alike-moustache, and awful hair-cut, fool you. He's so dangerous. He's known for writing such beautiful stories that keep you up all night long and totally forgetting that you're a miserable worker that should be at office on Monday morning!)

Tjalie Robinson is the main alias of the Indo (Eurasian) intellectual and writer Jan Boon (born Nijmegen, 10 January 1911; died The Hague, 22 April 1974) also known as Vincent Mahieu. His father Cornelis Boon, a KNIL sergeant, was Dutch and his Indo-European mother Fela Robinson was part English and Javanese. By adopting his mother's family name he clearly pledged his allegiance to his Eurasian identity.

He is considered to be the author of unique Indo literature. Tjalie Robinson became the most influential post war Indo activist of his generation and the most important promoter of Indo culture anywhere. In his essay "Sweet Java, about Tjalie Robinson." Rudy Kousbroek, one of the Netherlands foremost essayists, simply called him "one of the greatest Dutch writers".

Tjalie Robinson's book 'Tjies' was awarded a literary price by the municipality of Amsterdam in 1958. Robinson is the best read Dutch author in Indonesia. His books include:

1960 Tjies (Alias Vincent Mahieu) First edition 1955. Second edition 1958.
1961 Tjoek (Alias Vincent Mahieu)
1965 Piekerans van een straatslijper (Alias Tjalie Robinson) Compiled work from amongst others his Dutch East Indies 'Nieuwsgier' newspaper columns.
1974 Piekeren in Nederland (Alias Tjalie Robinson) Compiled work from amongst others his Dutch 'Het Parool' newspaper columns.
1974 Piekerans bij een voorplaat (ed. L. Ducelle)
1984 Ik en Bentiet (Alias Tjalie Robinson) Humorous dialogues containing much Petjo language in the narrative context.
1989 Schuilen voor de regen (Alias Vincent Mahieu)
1990 Schat, schot, schat (Alias Vincent Mahieu)
1992 Verzameld werk (Alias Vincent Mahieu)
1992 Didi in Holland (Alias Didi) Essays written under alias Didi from his column in newspaper Het Parool.
1993 The Hunt for the Heart: Selected Tales from the Dutch East Indies (Alias Vincent Mahieu) Work translated to English by Margaret M. Alibasah.

source: Wikipedia


p.s. One of a good friend of mine gave me this book by Vincent Mahieu called Cuk. The book was published by Djambatan at 1976, so officially it's ten years older than I am. For you guys who want to learn how to write, or simply just enjoy such beautiful stories, this Mahieu guy is certainly something!

9 comments

  1. kira2 bisa didapetin dimana buku begini, ya? :D

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  2. Kecuali kamu punya teman baik dengan koleksi buku hampir-hampir tak terbatas dan dengan murah hati membaginya denganmu dalam bentuk kopian hard-cover (oke, ini ceritanya bikin iri, hehe)-- coba cari di perpustakaan daerah/wilayah, soalnya setahuku buku ini dijadikan proyek pengembangan sastra Hindia Belanda. Semoga berhasil, ya.

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  3. temenmu siapa ndin? kenalin dong. huwaa jeles

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  4. kalau bisa discan buat umum, biar masy bisa baca banyak...
    kalao saya sih gitu... :D
    ya nanti sya coba sarannya... makasih :D

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  5. @bamby: ada deeeeh. sini sini kukenalin, tapi ke jakarta dulu dan jadi zombie malls lagi :)

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  6. @anon: scan? boleh juga. thanks idenya ya.

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  7. Itu penterjemahnya H.B. Jassin tetangga gw, pas masa" sekaratnya doi sedih bgt deh. Apalagi sepeninggal doi, dl rumah itu ramai, skrg jd kos"an yg agak ga jelas mnrt gw..

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    Replies
    1. Ide pak Yasin terjemahkan buku Tjies dan Tjuk mnt saya mungkin adalah krn selain bahasa yg apik juga karena lokasi cerita ada dekat Sungai Ciliwung dan Kramat V, dibelakang kantor p.Yasin di TIM.

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  8. Kos-kosan gak jelas? Maksudnya gak jelas itu kos-kosan atau bukan, atau penghuninya yang nggak jelas? Emang pas masa sekaratnya gimana tuh Chia?

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