MARIËT MEESTER
Hollands Siberië
The Dutch Siberia, novel
1st edition September 2014, Uitgeverij De Arbeiderspers
5th edition 2021, Uitgeverij Caprae
.Available only in Dutch.
‘An extraordinary love story about two people in their
more matured days'
When no pastor has been able to survive there, Peter
Pex, a Franciscan from Haarlem, is sent to 'the worst
village in the Netherlands': the remote prison village of
Veenhuizen. He arrives there in 1936 and is employed by
a government institution. On his first day, racing around
on his predecessor's bicycle, he is amazed by this
stifling, private society. Full of spirit, he sets to work and
tries to grasp the hierarchical structure of the village.
During World War II, Peter and his housekeeper end up
in the resistance. They have a secret love affair, which
gets more and more radical and complicated, just like
the situation in Veenhuizen, where, after 1945, even
well-known war criminals enjoy a lot of freedom. The
Dutch Siberia is an edgy tale about the rise and fall of a
man who can only be himself at night.
Mariët Meester grew up in Veenhuizen, a historical
prison village which was for a long time closed to
outsiders. Even today, there are two prisons in
operation. In order to write this book, she lived in the
priory for sixteen months, which happens to be the
backdrop to this story.
The Dutch Siberia is her seventh novel. Besides fiction,
Meester also writes non-fiction like De mythische oom
(The Mythical Uncle, De Arbeiderspers 2012), about her
deeply religious family in the United States.
MARIËT MEESTER
Hollands Siberië
The Dutch Siberia, novel
1st edition September 2014, Uitgeverij De
Arbeiderspers
5th edition 2021, Uitgeverij Caprae
.Available only in Dutch.
‘An extraordinary love story about two people in
their more matured days'
When no pastor has been able to survive there,
Peter Pex, a Franciscan from Haarlem, is sent to
'the worst village in the Netherlands': the
remote prison village of Veenhuizen. He arrives
there in 1936 and is employed by a government
institution. On his first day, racing around on his
predecessor's bicycle, he is amazed by this
stifling, private society. Full of spirit, he sets to
work and tries to grasp the hierarchical
structure of the village.
During World War II, Peter and his housekeeper
end up in the resistance. They have a secret
love affair, which gets more and more radical
and complicated, just like the situation in
Veenhuizen, where, after 1945, even well-known
war criminals enjoy a lot of freedom. The Dutch
Siberia is an edgy tale about the rise and fall of
a man who can only be himself at night.
Mariët Meester grew up in Veenhuizen, a
historical prison village which was for a long
time closed to outsiders. Even today, there are
two prisons in operation. In order to write this
book, she lived in the priory for sixteen months,
which happens to be the backdrop to this story.
The Dutch Siberia is her seventh novel. Besides
fiction, Meester also writes non-fiction like De
mythische oom (The Mythical Uncle, De
Arbeiderspers 2012), about her deeply religious
family in the United States.
