Anneke Jans in the New World by Sandra Freels follows real life 17th century woman Anneke Jans as she arrives and makes a home in the Dutch colony of New Netherland. Sandra Freels used genealogical records to follow Anneke’s journey of marriages, births, deaths, and living locations as the colony progressed. Anneke’s life is described in a dizzyingly fast-paced sequence of events often devoid of emotional impact. While it was interesting to learn about the events of this specific time and place, as well as Anneke’s early friendship with a Mohican family (perhaps the only instance I was able to feel any connection in this story,) I largely struggled with this book.
I considered DNFing this book, but I stuck it out because it’s a relatively short read. To be honest, I kept waiting for the book to slow down and switch gears out of exposition mode, but it never did–well, it did a handful of times resulting in a half page or page of dialogue. Freels choice of writing is scant with physical description, both in people and place, as well as in the emotional and psychological inner workings of Anneke or anyone else. Major events, like the death of the loved one, are mentioned and largely skimmed over without the reader being able to experience the emotional impact on Anneke. The story flew by, sometimes years between paragraphs, often with very abrupt switches that left this reader with a bit of befuddled whiplash. The entire book is told as a series of events rather than a plotted story with character arcs. For example, X went here and did this. X gave her friend X and felt good. X got married and had a child nine months later. X died and was buried in the churchyard…This description of a constant “telling” exposition style of writing isn’t hyperbole. I simply cannot connect to stories written in this style because they read like dry non-fiction with no emotional anchor rather than a thoughtfully plotted story with vividly painted character arcs.
I appreciate the author’s effort in researching this true woman and her family, but ultimately this book as historical fiction fell flat for me. Perhaps Anneke’s story should have been told as a creative non-fiction history book instead.
Anneke Jans in the New World by Sandra Freels will be released January 6, 2026
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