Oek de Jong - Móló and ocean

The novel is about Zeeland, this special part of the Netherlands, and follows the story of a family from 1944 to 1971. It shows how the war affected the country and how the nation preserved its traditional vitality in the meantime, so that it could start a new prosperity after the fighting. The novel consists of five parts, each of which focuses on a different era. The novel vividly presents social changes: the growth and development of Abel, the protagonist, is the central theme, while Dina, Abel's mother, is the most important character in the first two parts of the novel.
The novel is a typical development novel: its central theme is Abel's mental and physical development and coming of age. It is also a family story: Abel's father Lieuwe, grandfather Roorda and mother Dina also appear on the pages as living characters, all of them embedded in their own time and environment, with vivid immediacy. Oek de Jong vividly points out the characteristics of the personality of each of his characters, and through them they cross the social history of the countryside and the entire Netherlands. His main claim is perhaps that: our freedom begins where we realize the determined nature of our personality.