Ontboezemingen

Nievelt, Carel van, 1843-1913Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 7.2K words
Chapters: 1

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.Ontboezemingen by Carel van NieveltAuthor: Nievelt, Carel van, 1843-1913,Language: Dutch, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Feb 23, 2008

Editor's review

This work is a prose collection by the Dutch writer Karel van Nievelt (1843–1913), released as a free electronic text by Project Gutenberg and classified among public-domain works in German and Scandinavian literature. The title "Ontboezemingen" means "outpourings, confessions of the heart" in Dutch; in form it is closer to first-person reflections and records of mood than to a tightly structured novel or treatise. For Chinese readers its value is twofold: first, as a primary source for nineteenth-century Dutch literature, it offers insight into the tone, subjects and emotional expression of Dutch prose of the period; second, as a typical public-domain e-book, it illustrates the role of Project Gutenberg in preserving literary texts in minority languages. Note that the book is in Dutch and is an early text, so the barrier to reading lies mainly in the language rather than the length. It is better suited as supplementary reading for language study or literary-historical research than as leisure reading pursued for plot and narrative pleasure.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers learning Dutch who wish to encounter original nineteenth-century Dutch prose
Researchers of Dutch literary history or nineteenth-century European prose
Readers interested in public-domain e-books and the preservation of minority-language texts
Language enthusiasts who wish to practice slow reading with short reflective pieces

Not a good fit for

General readers unfamiliar with Dutch who read only Chinese translations
Readers of fiction who expect a full plot and strong narrative
Beginners seeking modern annotations and a detailed introductory guide

Reading tips

First read one piece through with the help of a dictionary to grow familiar with the author's wording and sentence rhythm, then proceed gradually.
Read it alongside Dutch prose of the same period, noting the lyrical tone and the period features of diction.
If the goal is language learning, make brief excerpts after each passage to accumulate nineteenth-century Dutch expressions.
Do not pursue speed; read in installments by piece or paragraph, which better suits the reflective genre.

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

What language is this book written in? Can Chinese readers read it directly?

The original is in Dutch, by the Dutch writer Karel van Nievelt. Chinese readers without Dutch will need a dictionary or a translation; reading the original directly presents a clear barrier, so check your language conditions before deciding to take it up.

What does the title "Ontboezemingen" mean?

In Dutch the word roughly means outpourings, confessions of the heart, which echoes the work's form as reflections and records of mood. It is not the title of a plot-driven novel but closer to a hint about genre and tone, which readers can use to adjust their expectations.

Is this book suitable for learning about Dutch literary history?

It can serve as supplementary material. It provides original samples of nineteenth-century Dutch prose that help observe the language and expression of the time; but it is not a systematic literary history, so a dedicated history of Dutch literature is still needed for an overall picture.

What should I note when reading the electronic edition?

This is a public-domain electronic text released by Project Gutenberg, usually without modern annotations or introduction and in plain formatting. Bring your own dictionary or reference tools, be patient with spelling and usage differences in early texts, and read in installments by paragraph to get into it more easily.

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

Nievelt, Carel van, 1843-1913 Author · Dutch · 1843–1913

Carel van Nievelt (1843–1913) was a Dutch novelist and journalist. Public information about him is limited, and many details of his life remain obscure, yet his surviving works show a combination of a journalist's observation and a novelist's narrative sense. He wrote novels on historical and adventurous themes; his representative works include Chiaroscuro: Vertellingen tusschen licht en donker and Ontboezemingen. The former title means "between light and dark," suggesting that its stories unfold between brightness and shadow, clarity and gloom, with a narrative interest in contrast and reversal; the latter is close to "confidences" or "outpourings of the heart," indicating that beyond fiction he also engaged in more personal forms of expression. Two of his works are held in this collection. Overall, he wrote for a general readership, emphasizing plot and atmosphere, and holds a place in Dutch popular literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.