The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi
English edition cover
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| Author | Arthur Japin |
|---|---|
| Original title | De zwarte met het witte hart |
| Translator | Ina Rilke |
| Language | Dutch |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Publisher |
Arbeiderspers (Netherlands) Knopf (United States) |
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Publication date
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1997 |
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Published in English
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2000 |
| ISBN | (US edition, Vintage 2002) |
| Preceded by | Magonische verhalen (short stories, 1996) |
| Followed by | De vierde wand (short stories, 1998) |
The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi (De zwarte met het witte hart) is the 1997 debut novel by Dutch author Arthur Japin. The novel tells the story of two Ashanti princes, Kwame Poku and Kwasi Boachi, who were taken from what is today Ghana and given to the Dutch king William II in 1837 as a surety in a business transaction between the Dutch and Ashanti kingdoms. The two boys are raised and educated in the Netherlands, after which Kwame returns to Africa while Kwasi continues his education in Weimar Germany and then takes a position in the Dutch East Indies. The novel is a postcolonial depiction of the Dutch colonial past. It quickly became a bestseller and was translated worldwide, and is now considered a classic of Dutch modern literature.
The novel purports to be a memoir written in 1900 by Kwasi Boachi, one of two Ashanti princes taken from their homeland to the Netherlands in 1837 to receive a Christian education. It is mostly based on historical fact, and set partly in the nineteenth-century Dutch Gold Coast. Kwasi and his fellow Ashanti prince Kwame Poku are pestered at their school in Delft and attract a measure of attention from the royal court, which views the boys as curiosities and, while favoring them for the while, fails to offer them continued support. Kwasi and Kwame grow apart; Kwasi chooses to assimilate himself into Dutch culture and deny his African background, while Kwame is unable to adapt to his new environment. He returns to Africa, but finds himself an outcast there as he has by now forgotten his native language; no longer accepted by his own people, whom he never sees again. Almost three years are spent waiting in Fort Elmina for permission to return to his people while he slowly appears to sink into delusion, then commits suicide. Meanwhile, Kwasi attempts to seek his fortune in the Dutch East Indies but fails, owing in part to the prevalence of racism and a personal grudge held by one of his former classmates, who is his superior in the East Indies.
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