| Country of Origin (Het Land van Herkomst) was written by Edgar du Perron (1899-1940) who spent his youth in Java. Peron's Country of Origin is second only after Multatuli's Max Havelaar as the most famous novel of the colonial Indies. The novel teems with the detailed description of Java, including the city of Batavia, where Arthur Ducroo, the narrator of the story, grew up. By describing his life in several different cities in Java, Ducroo celebrates the nostalgia of the lost colonial world in Java. Ducroo's narrative reveals that even the Europeans who used to live in the colonial Indies, develop a strong bond with it. This paper is going to discuss the colonial situation and human condition as revealed in Ducroo's memoir narrating his rich experience in the Indies, with its tropical atmosphere, spirituality and mysticism and arts in Java. |