History of a Pleasure Seeker

History of a Pleasure Seeker was another pick from the NPR summer reading list. The novel is set primarily in Amsterdam in the opening years of the 20th century, although key scenes also take place in New York City, aboard the luxurious ocean liners of the day, and in Cape Town. It is, at heart, a book about class and opportunity: Piet longs to escape the dreary life that awaits him if he remains in Leiden and finds his escape as the tutor to the possibly autistic youngest son of the Vermeulen-Sickerts (not that such a diagnosis would have been made in 1907). The Vermuelen-Sickerts are one of Amsterdam's leading families and their son's affliction is at odds with the rest of their gilded, orderly life.

Once he arrives, Piet - and the reader - are thrown into a Downton Abbey-esque atmosphere of life above and belowstairs. There is a gruff butler, a strongwilled housekeeper, a convivial footman, and enough maids and cooks to keep a grand house running in belle epoque style. There is also no shortage of scandals on either side of the class divide.

The book is lively and fast pasted, well written, and with plenty of believable characters to go around. Ultimately, however, it served to drive home to me the extent to which I prefer non-fiction to fiction. I had a hard time caring about almost any of the characters and truly debated finishing the book once I discovered the ominous To be continued on the last page. I did finish it, though I must admit to skimming a passage here and there rather than reading closely. I will not be reading the sequel though.