It’s a short book, freely available, so if you feel adequate in English and Dutch, you are in for a laughing treat with this story. His final letter to the gentleman of the "Bevolkings bureau", regarding the umbrella, is a brilliant piece of writing, but also his conversation with the man working on the tram on his trip out to “Simplex” is something to be enjoyed without food or drink near. The story shows enthusiasm about foreign languages and how thin basically the support of only an old dictionary is. Brown and his doubtful successes in speaking Dutch, without going through proper training and refusing guidance for it, is absolutely wonderful. Let me first say that this book won’t make any sense if you don’t have a decent grasp of the English and the Dutch language (preferable also older Dutch as the book is quite old). On his return, he has to admit that it wasnt quite that.
Before he left, he had boasted to his friends that he would learn the Dutch language within a fortnight. I acquired it through the Gutenberg Project and was curious about it as it was written in the beginning of the 20th century. Irishmans difficulties with the Dutch language, An by Cuey-na-Gael (1858 - 1937) podcast on demand - Jack ONeill, an Irishman, has just returned from a months holiday in The Netherlands. This book had me in tears and stitches more than once.
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