Tulip Days is a new novel by Rhiannon van der Munnik about an American woman who moves to the Netherlands to follow her love. Her life experiences and complicated relationships make for an intriguing read, and it's interesting to read how a poet from California experiences life in Harlingen, Friesland.
A Californian woman in Friesland
Mrs. van der Munnik, who herself is from California, explains that while the storyline and relationships in the book are purely fictional, the descriptions of an American living in the Netherlands are autobiographic: "About 8 years ago I lived in the Netherlands for a year, in Harlingen, Friesland. I'm from California, so the weather was quite a bit different. There's also a difference in culture, in mindset; life in the Netherlands is a little bit slower. I used these aspects in my book."
Rhiannon currently lives in the Sacramento area with her Dutch husband. Earlier this year she published her first collection of poetry, titled Hindsight Hymns and her background as a poet is reflected in the language she uses: "We carried on like two ceramic figurines in a snow globe. [....] Nobody else mattered when we locked our apartment door behind us. We simply tried our best to catch the specks of glitter on our tongues, and to avoid the shaking up of our sphere whenever we could.”
Dutch details
The book has many details that are instantly recognizable for Dutch-Americans: the mother who hangs the bed sheets outside to dry, the excellent coffee, and other typical Dutch-American experiences such as when Christiaan, one of the main characters, returns to the Netherlands and meets his mother: "‘Je bent wel aangekomen zeg', she said, with a laugh". Van der Munnik: "yeah, the ‘blunt thing' -- Dutch people can be quite direct in what they say".
The book has been a few years in the making. "I started working on the book in Holland, but I put the project on the back-burner for several years."
Various meals are described in the book, and they often are not very appetizing. When asked, Van der Munnik acknowledges that this part is somewhat autobiographic: "I did not always enjoy the Dutch meals; they were a little bland at times and I didn't want to be the only one at the table adding butter to my rice! But I do like Dutch krokets, pancakes and poffertjes. ".
Her husband's love for paprika chips appears in the book in the Saturday night ritual of sitting on the couch with paprika chips and a movie.
The book's back cover:
Seraphina, a twenty four year old poet from California, has never doubted that she loves her Dutch husband, or that she will spend the rest of her life with him. But when his job brings them to the Netherlands, an introduction to her husband's childhood friend (Jakob, a charming violinist) leads to a series of events which force Seraphina to ask herself if the life she has is truly the one she wants. Spanning nearly a decade, Tulip Days delves into the aftermath of her decision, and paints a carefully constructed portrait of a young woman attempting to bloom amidst the raw and foreign landscape of Holland.
Mrs. van der Munnik provided Dutch in America.com with a copy of her book which is available at Amazon.com. She is now working on her next women's fiction novel.
Tulip Days
Author: Rhiannon van der Munnik
ISBN 978-14-528764-1-2
290 pages, paperback, 9 x 6 inches.
http://tulipdays.rhiannonvandermunnik.com
Monday is a day off, Labor Day, so it's a nice long weekend. In the morning I studied some French -- a new project I took on -- and in the afternoon I had a great long talk with Natascha, a Dutch lady who we met a while ago. 
I went for a haircut this morning and afterwards I visited the farmer's market downtown. 
A recent visit to Adams Fairacre Farms in Kingston, New York was a bit of a Dutch food vacation. This grocery store in upstate New York carries a large number of unusual international items including quite a few Dutch products. Originally a roadside farm stand in the early 20th century, Adams has grown to a three-store chain with other locations in Poughkeepsie and Newburgh.
Paul in the cheese department is clearly passionate about Dutch cheese, but said that with what he is able to order "the selection really is not there." Young Gouda is almost the only type of Dutch cheese their distributor carries. You won’t find specialy cheeses such as brandnetel kaas here, but overall you won’t be disappointed with the choices of local and international cheeses.
