|
"My childhood echoed with the sound of whispering. The servants believed that I
was conceived by the moon, born in the thirteenth lunar month. How the wet nurses feared
me. Crossing themselves, garlic cloves pinned to their aprons, they would watch me creep
about my cot, eyes still closed, mewling like a newborn pup."
Amsterdam has a certain dark connotation in the minds of many --- a place where every vice
is readily available, every desire entertained. Despite the fact that it's one of Europe's
most beautiful cities, the images of life in 17th century Amsterdam that flow throughout
THE COMPANY will do little to elevate that grim perception. On the contrary, the narrator,
Jeronimus Cornelisz, alludes to the rampant vulgarities of the city --- its lust for gold,
its appetite for pleasure --- and he speaks with authority. Pampered and privileged as a
youth, Cornelisz moved in the most sordid circles of Amsterdam, honing his skills in
avarice and perversion, and mastering all forms of illicit chemistry. Finally banished
from his homeland, his life intersected with the unfortunate passengers of the flagship Batavia,
and he became the mastermind behind one of the most grisly series of murders in maritime
history.
In this fictionalized version of that fateful voyage, Arabella Edge brings the demon
Cornelisz into full focus, as he enumerates his deeds from birth to gallows, giving the
reader a sense of what might have evolved in his unbalanced mind. It's an unusual and
quite remarkable feat of prose --- revealing both historic detail and a chilling profile
through the villain's own voice. His motivation is simple. He wants to steal the Company's
cache of gold and silver from the ship's hold and establish his own decadent dominion. His
vanity and arrogance are beyond belief as he sizes up passengers and crew, determining who
he will corrupt and who must die. He uses cunning and gifts of opium to persuade a group
of young Company boys to become his conspirators, molding them into a band of killers for
his own entertainment.
History records that the ship was tragically wrecked on a coral reef, and those that
drowned in the stormy seas were perhaps luckier than those that survived. During the 40
some days they were marooned, Cornelisz began systematically eliminating the survivors ---
approximately 250 men, women, and children. His inhumane methods are sickening to witness,
and his fixation on a beautiful young woman equally chilling. Her staunch determination to
thwart his advances and test his authority both baffle and enrage him.
"Beneath the mosquito net, my [Lucretia] lies slumped on the bed. Catatonic witch. I
have wooed her with fond, flattering words and caresses. Not used harsh words or chastised
her. I have acted the perfect gentleman, chivalrous to the end. I have also safeguarded
her privacy. She finds solace in solitude and has no reason to believe there are spies
among the shadows, spiders waiting in the darkness."
Was he a product of a wanton upbringing? An ordinary man who succumbed to the madness of
the moment? Or a twisted psychopath from birth, who found an opportunity to test the
extremes of behavior? Edge suggests the latter, and it is in that context that the
horrifying events of 1629 take place before our very eyes. Ironically, it is through his
merciless leadership that the people are forced into community survival tasks that
ultimately result in saving some of their lives.
Arabella Edge has taken this tragic page from history and fashioned a riveting character
study as Cornelisz waffles between the roles of enslaver and pursuer, destroyer and
protector. Gruesome and disturbing, her novel digs deeply into the depravity of every
human soul and mirrors the age-old struggle between good and evil. Should you find
yourself able to endure through the last chapter, there are some brighter moments to be
found in the author's notes reflecting the outcome for the few who survived and the final
justice exacted upon Jeronimus Cornelisz.
--- Reviewed by Ann Bruns (BkPageWC@aol.com)
© Copyright 1996-2008, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
|
