A couple of months ago, I went to the Netherlands. It was my first trip to continental Europe and Amsterdam (and its surrounding towns) did not disappoint. As I tend to after lovely travels, I picked up this classic set in the 1840s Holland. If you have never been, if you have and want to revisit your memories, or if you just want to renew your faith in miracles, this should be your New Year read.
The Silver Skates is the story of Hans and Gretel Brinker and an annual tradition in Holland – ice-skating on the frozen canals that abound the country. The Brinker siblings are poor, with an ailing bedridden father and a mother who works to make ends meet. The Brinker children are good, honest, and hard-working. So good comes to them in the form of an expected present. Good skating shoes to participate in the race! The novel then leads up to the race itself. It follows the local children through the country as they train for the race, it follows the dynamics of a society when the rich and poor brush shoulders, and it takes the reader through the humble dynamics of every day family life in the Brinker household.
When Hans, like his sister, is given money to buy new skates, he decides to approach the famous Dr Boekman to treat his father. The gentleman doctor takes a liking towards him and agrees to take a look at Mr Brinker for free. The book then comes up to a tantalising climax of the treatment and the agonising wait to find out if the father will be alright. At the same time, Gretel is flying along frozen canals on the new skates and has the reader rooting for her victory.
The style of writing is very lucid, with Dutch history and folktales interwoven with the storyline. The narrative is fast paced at times and slows down in comfortable bits that takes the reader along the streets and towns of Holland. This book was a bestseller right away after publication and one can rightly see why. It has the excitement of travel, the redemption of problems and will leave you with a renewed outlook towards life and living.
Windmills at Zaanse-Saans
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