Review of Twee Opmerkelijke Mensen / Two Remarkable People David & Erna Robinson

[Saint Bruno]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Twee Opmerkelijke Mensen / Two Remarkable People David & Erna Robinson" by Florita Robinson.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Twee Opmerkelijke Mensen - Two Remarkable People: David & Erna Robinson by Florita Robinson gives insights into the lives of a couple devoted to helping the young in Suriname, their home country, become productive and successful individuals. David and Erna married in 1950, and God blessed them with nine children. The author, one of David and Erna's children, recounts how it was growing up with their parents and the many children in their care.

Mr. and Mrs. Robinson were the directors of a boys' boarding home in Suriname for a long time. Mrs. Robinson is also the founder of Children's Home Nanette, which she launched after they retired. This book also shares the testimonies of some boys from the home who are men today. Read this book to appreciate the many contributions of these two remarkable caregivers to society.

The lives of Mr. and Mrs. Robinson are worthy of emulation, and I found their aptitude to do good to be inspiring. We need more people like them to teach the youth to become responsible citizens, especially in developing countries. Suriname is one of the poorest countries today, so it would have been easy for the couple to only concentrate on their nine kids. However, they chose to become caregivers to many and support the children around them. Hence, my favorite aspect of this book is its message of service and compassion. We all can learn and emulate the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Robinson to make our world a better place.

This publication is a bilingual book, so it has two parts. The first is written in Dutch, while the second is in English. I love that the book also contains photographs that put faces to the names in the book and helped me better appreciate the Robinsons. I also commend the author for featuring the testimonies of some of their wards in the book. Though I loved how they corroborated the author's story, I especially appreciated how they gave a different perspective of the couple's achievements.

Nevertheless, I didn't enjoy the author's writing style. Perhaps the interpretation from Dutch to English is to blame here. The narrations appeared somewhat unpolished, and I had to reread some sentences to understand the author, which was off-putting. Here is an example: "Besides being teachers, David and Erna Robinson acquired and work on land first in the district of Saramacca, later plantation Creola." While it's easy to spot the faulty tense sequence in the sentence, the lack of conjunctions and prepositions in some other sentences like that one was distracting. But what I disliked most about the book was repetition. The author kept repeating already made points or disclosures throughout the book, which, honestly, I didn't enjoy.

In conclusion, I am rating this publication two out of four stars. As much as I found the book inspiring and appreciated the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, the cons I mentioned forced me to knock two stars off of its rating. But I couldn't rate it lower, considering its inspiring content and message. Speaking only for the part of the book in English since I don't understand Dutch, I must say that the book begs for another round of editing, as I found up to ten errors. Be it as it may, I still recommend the book to readers interested in inspiring biographies, especially about contributing to society through mentorship.

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Twee Opmerkelijke Mensen / Two Remarkable People David & Erna Robinson
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[Judith Donald]

I love books that are inspirational. They help remind us to live life not only for ourselves but for others as well. I enjoyed reading your review. I would love to read the testimonies the men gave too.

[Kavita Shah]

It will be nicee to read about the contributions of the Mr. and Mrs. Robinson but the errors sound troublesome. Thank you for an insightful review!

[Lawrence+2]

Nice review. Good storyline. Would love to read it someday.

[Paully_]

The book is an inspirational one. I hope the author does something about the negative aspects as noted by the reviewer.

[Ruth Frances A]

This book brings back the sense of community and is an inspiration to many to continue helping despite many challenges. It also shows how many people are willing to sacrifice for the good of others sometimes at their expense.

[Uwe Neufeld]

Computer translation certainly would have been much better. Interesting story though.

[Sumto Nii]

The couple in this book acted out the very essence of life itself. It is in securing the prosperity of others that our own prosperity is secured. I love the book.

[Odala J Phiri]

David and Erna were hardworking and a good example to us even today. Accepting responsibility brings praise in future. The child has done well in acknowledging the parents for their great works. Thanks for the informative review.