It is now eighteen years since I first began to dream of telling the story of the wreck of the 'Batavia'. I collected nearly everything that was published on the subject; then I went to stay on the Houtman Abrolhos where the disaster took place. For years, I kept pondering the project and jotting notes, but never actually settled down to write the first page of a book which, amid the increasingly derisive scepticism of my family, began to take on a mythical aspect. From time to time, I learned that some new book had just been published on my topic - invariably sending me into a cold sweat - and each time, I would rush to get a copy of it. But no - it was always a false alarm; I saw quickly, with relief, that the author had again missed the target, and this only reinforced my false sense of security. Once or twice, though, I felt the whirr of a bullet, but disregarded the warning. Then came Mike Dash. With his 'Batavia's Graveyard', published in 2002, this author hit the bull's eye and left me nothing more to say. Dash managed to disentangle the various threads of the complex tragedy and to set personalities and events in their historical context. Above all, he did amazing detective work in the Dutch archives. After carefully reading his detailed study, I put away for good all the documents and notes, sketches and photographs I had gathered over the years; I had no further use for them. In publishing the following pages, my only wish is that they may lead you to Dash's work."
I read this amazing first paragraph in Simon Leys' beautiful little book "The Wreck of the Batavia" while sitting in the Catalina Country Club's newly remodelled coffee shop with a large piece of hummingbird cake and a mug of hot chocolate. Padma had mumbled something about tomorrow being a special day - could somebody explain the meaning of Valentine's Day to me? - and wanting to show off her new jacket with plenty of zips and buttons. Who am I to argue? (indeed, who am I?)
But back to what's far more important: books! Of course, I had already read Dash's "Batavia's Graveyard" to which Simon Leys' 50-odd-page book has now become a very handy retrospective introduction. I acquired it for a mere gold coin in our local Vinnies op-shop, together with two beautifully bound volumes of Graham Greene's "The Power and the Glory" and "Brighton Rock", and an autobiography by the man himself, "A Sort of Life". Oh, and Penguin's edition of Hermann Hesse's "Gertrude".
Another good day in town!
P.S. All of which you can read online in case you've run out of coloured crayons for your other book:
"The Wreck of the Batavia"
"Batavia's Graveyard
"The Power and the Glory"
"Brighton Rock"
"A Sort of Life"
"Gertrude"
