In Extremis

Melati, van Java, 1853-1927Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.9

Word count: 193K words
Chapters: 20

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.In Extremis by van Java MelatiAuthor: Melati, van Java, 1853-1927,Language: Dutch, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Nov 10, 2016

Editor's review

This is a literary work by the Dutch author Melati van Java (1853–1927), available from Project Gutenberg and classified under Germanic literature. Judging by the author's name and the language, it belongs to the Dutch colonial literary tradition—texts that today retain literary value and also serve as material for examining colonial-era narrative perspectives and prose style. "In Extremis" means "in an extreme situation," suggesting the work may focus on characters' choices and psychology at critical junctures, though readers must enter the text themselves to confirm the plot. As a public-domain e-book, it is better suited to language learning and literary-historical research than to casual reading for plot. Readers are advised to first learn about late nineteenth-century Dutch literature and the East Indies colonial context before entering the text, which will make it easier to recognize the narrator's stance and the era's limitations.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Intermediate to advanced learners of Dutch seeking public-domain literary texts for extensive reading practice
Literature specialists studying Dutch colonial-era literature and narrative perspective
Collector-type readers interested in late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century European minority-language literature

Not a good fit for

General fiction readers who read only Chinese translations and avoid Dutch originals
Casual readers expecting strong plot and fast-paced narrative
Readers unwilling to critically examine the era's biases in colonial texts

Reading tips

Research the author and the context of Dutch East Indies colonial literature before reading the text, to better identify the narrative stance.
Excerpt unfamiliar words and typical sentence patterns as Dutch literary reading practice material.
After reading, note the narrator's wording about local people and events, and reflect on the era's limitations.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is there a Chinese translation of this book?

Current information shows only that this is a Dutch public-domain e-book from Project Gutenberg; no Chinese translation is indicated. If reading Dutch is difficult, use a dictionary or introductory materials in other languages to understand the background before deciding whether to read the full original.

What does the title In Extremis mean?

It is a Latin phrase meaning "in an extreme situation" or "at the last moment," often describing a moment when a character faces a major crisis or choice. The title suggests the work may center on critical situations, but the specific reference must be confirmed from the text itself.

Why is it described as having a colonial literary background?

The author's name "van Java," the Dutch-language writing, and the period from the nineteenth to the early twentieth century all point to the literary tradition of the Dutch East Indies colony. Such texts often carry the Eurocentric perspective of their time; paying attention to the narrator's wording is more valuable than simply accepting the plot.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Melati, van Java, 1853-1927 Author

Melati, van Java (1853–1927) is an author represented in this library by only one work, and public information about their background is extremely limited: nationality, exact dates, and other identifying details cannot be reliably verified. The form of the name is suggestive—"van Java" means "from Java" in Dutch—hinting at some connection to the Dutch East Indies, present-day Indonesia, though this clue is not enough to reconstruct a biography. The representative work held here is In Extremis, a Latin title meaning "at the point of death" or "at the extreme limit," a phrase often used for texts about life-and-death or crisis situations. Lacking contemporary reviews or biographical materials, one cannot firmly determine the work's genre or style; the title alone suggests a tense, urgent narrative atmosphere. Overall, this author awaits further documentary research, and the value of the work remains to be assessed.