Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates

The story itself is interesting: a poor family struggles to survive financially in the ten years since the father fell off a dyke and lost his mind. The boy, 15, and the girl, 12, forego school to help the mother keep them together, despite the callous attitude of many villagers, who refer to "the idiot's cottage," call Hans "the rag picker" and Gretel "the goose girl." But strong family values prevail as the mother never loses faith in her husband's recovery. Fortunately there are several juvenile souls who exhibit Christian charity and peer support.

Then there are the mysteries; the mising 1000 Guilders (which would have improved their lifestyle during that grim decade), whose location is locked in the man's frozen mind; and the unknown watch which he bade his wife keep safe just before the tragedy. Unfortunately this heart-warming tale, which culminates in the great skating race, becomes bogged down in many chapters which do nothing to enhance the plot. The author seems determined to share all her research with her unsuspecting readers, resulting in a book that is half ficiton, half travelogue. Children want action and saucy dialogue, not lectures on Dutch history and culture, or long descriptions of museums. It is unrealistic for teenage boys to expound on military heroes and famous artists while they are enjoying their holiday on ice, even to show off for a foreign visitor.

I suspect that many children during the past 150 years have given up on this otherwise-delightful book, because over a dozen chapters seem more like an encyclopedia. Who cares about Holland's struggles with foreign nations in previous centuries, when we are worrried about what new tragedy is happening in the Brinker cottage? Happily there now exists an abridged version (only 256 pages instead of my 319) which may make this charming tale more palatable to modern readers. And the burning question remains: who will win those coveted silver skates?


Hans Brinker is an OK book   October 5, 1998
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

I liked this book but it is slow going. It has little plot at the beginning but get more "exciting" near the end. It has a lot of dutch words which are hard to understand.