In an era when many in the Netherlands and Belgium, in spite of their fiercely colonialist past, consider postcolonial thought 'outdated'—another word for the sigh of relief at escaping the need to engage an object of resistance—this book couldn’t be more timely. ‘Postcolonizing’ the Low Countries is more necessary than ever. Smart, witty, and brave, the essays, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, offer an incisive critique of the reiteration of colonial clichés, the refusal to rethink the remnants of injustice, and the attempts to justify neonationalism.

Mieke Bal, Professor Emerita in Literary Theory, University of Amsterdam

Finally, a postcolonial turn in Dutch literary criticism has taken place. The Postcolonial Low Countries is the first book to theorize and bring together approaches that can be called neerlandophone postcolonial studies. The need for such a perspective has been enormous, not only because of the colonial legacies of the Netherlands and Belgium but also because of the transnational formations through which the study of literatures in Dutch is currently being challenged. From now on, Dutch and Belgian literature can no longer be read the same.

Ernst van Alphen, professor of literary studies at Leiden University

The Postcolonial Low Countries holds sparkling examples of boundary-pushing work. Intersecting postcolonial studies and multicultural critique this timely intervention is likely to unsettle neerlandophone literary establishments.

Philomena Essed, Antioch University