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A review by bristoni74
The Company Daughters by Samantha Rajaram
3.0
After living in The Netherlands for 6 months when I was a university student, I'm always interested in reading books set in The Netherlands, especially historical fiction and particularly about the Dutch East India Company.
This book is set in three parts. The first is set in Amsterdam in 1616 where Jana is a servant in a merchant's household. The daughter is Sontje and after her father loses all his wealth she is poverty stricken due to his debts and her fiancee breaks off their engagement. She feels she has no alternative but to travel to Batavia (modern day Indonesia) to become a bride for a Dutch settler and Jana follows her. The second part describes the 10 month journey of Jana and Sontje and other women who are travelling to be brides. The journey is hellish and the descriptions harrowing - the food, behaviour of the sailors, etc. The third part of the book is set in Batavia and describes the experiences of Jana in the new colony.
This novel is based on true events and I was horrified to read how these women were treated (most were poor, orphaned, etc.) and were essentially "trafficked" to the colonies as brides for Dutch men. It is told in the first person by Jana and I empathised and liked her character's strength and resilience, but the story didn't captivate me like I thought it would. Perhaps, a 3rd person narrative would have expanded the story beyond Jana's personal experiences to show more diversity in The Netherlands, on the ship and in the colony.
This book is set in three parts. The first is set in Amsterdam in 1616 where Jana is a servant in a merchant's household. The daughter is Sontje and after her father loses all his wealth she is poverty stricken due to his debts and her fiancee breaks off their engagement. She feels she has no alternative but to travel to Batavia (modern day Indonesia) to become a bride for a Dutch settler and Jana follows her. The second part describes the 10 month journey of Jana and Sontje and other women who are travelling to be brides. The journey is hellish and the descriptions harrowing - the food, behaviour of the sailors, etc. The third part of the book is set in Batavia and describes the experiences of Jana in the new colony.
This novel is based on true events and I was horrified to read how these women were treated (most were poor, orphaned, etc.) and were essentially "trafficked" to the colonies as brides for Dutch men. It is told in the first person by Jana and I empathised and liked her character's strength and resilience, but the story didn't captivate me like I thought it would. Perhaps, a 3rd person narrative would have expanded the story beyond Jana's personal experiences to show more diversity in The Netherlands, on the ship and in the colony.