The Indonesian socialist literary critic [[Bakri Siregar]] wrote that ''Van der Wijck'' was Hamka's best work, noting with interest the way in which Zairuddin writes about politics after losing Hayati.{{sfn|Siregar|1964|p=61}} The Indonesian literary critic Maman S. Mahayana found ''Van der Wijck'' to have good characterisation and use [[suspense]] better than contemporary Balai Pustaka publications; he suggested that this was a benefit of the work originally being published as a serial.{{sfn|Mahayana|2007|p=170}}
== TudinganTuduhan plagiarismeplagiat ==
InPada bulan September 1962 a man named, Abdullan S.P. wrotemenulis indalam the newspaperkoran ''Bintang Timur'' thatbahwa novel ''Van der Wijck'' wasdiplagiat plagiarised from [[Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr]]'sdari ''Sous les Tilleuls'' (''Under1832) thekarya Limes'';[[Jean-Baptiste Alphonse 1832)Karr]], viamelalui theterjemahan Arabicberbahasa translationArab byoleh Mustafa Lutfi al-Manfaluti; rumours of such plagiarismdesas-desus hadplagiat beensebenarnya aroundsudah beforelama thatada.{{sfn|Mahayana|Sofyan|Dian|1995|pp=78–79}}{{sfn|Teeuw|1980|p=105}} ThisHal becameini amenjadi widespreadpolemik polemicluas indalam thepers IndonesianIndonesia. press,Sebagian withbesar mostorang accusersyang originatingmenuduh fromHamka theberasal leftist literary organisationdari [[Lekra]], sebuah organisasi saster beraliran kiri{{efn|Lekra wasmenentang anti-religious,agama. whichOleh madesebab itu, Hamka, ayang scholarmerupakan ofseorang guru Islam, andianggap sasaran attractiveyang targetpenting.{{sfn|Mahayana|Sofyan|Dian|1995|pp=78–79}}}} whileSementara non-leftistitu, writerspenulis defendedyang thetidak novelberaliran ke kiri melindungi Hamka.{{sfn|Mahayana|Sofyan|Dian|1995|pp=78–79}}{{sfn|Jassin|1985|p=59}} CriticsBeberapa foundkritikus similaritiesmenemukakan betweenkeserupaan theantara twodua inbuku both their plot and techniquetersebut, especially the use of an exchange of letters between thebaik maindari characterssegi toalur furthermaupun theteknik plotpenceritaaan.{{sfn|Jassin|1985|pp=65-66}}
TheAhli literarydokumentasi documentariansastra [[HB Jassin]], whoyang comparedmembandingkan thekedua twokarya usingitu andengan Indonesianmenggunakan translation ofterjemahan ''Sous les Tilleuls'' entitledberbahasa Indonesia yang diberi judul ''Magdalena'', wrote that there was verymenulis littlebahwa chancenovel thatini thetidaklah novelmungkin shouldmenjadi beplagiat, calledsebab plagiarism, ascara Hamka'sdescriptionsmendeskripsikan oftempat locationsitu weresangat highlymendalam detaileddan andsesuai consistentdengan withgaya hisbahasanya earlierdalam workstulisan sebelumnya.{{sfn|Jassin|1985|p=61}} Jassin alsojuga emphasisedmenegaskan that thebahwa novel discussed''Van issues with Minangder Wijck'' membahas masalah adat'' Minang, whichyang wouldtidak notmungkin beditemukan founddalam insuatu akarya foreignsastra workluar.{{sfn|Jassin|1985|p=63}} SiregarAkan tetapi, howeverBakri Siregar, consideredberanggapan thebahwa similaritieskesamaan betweenantara Zainuddin anddan Steve, as well asserta Hayati anddan Magdalena, tooterlalu closebanyak, suggestingyang menandai adanya plagiarismplagiat.{{sfn|Siregar|1964|p=61}} TheKritikus Dutchsastra scholarasal of Indonesian literatureBelanda [[A. Teeuw]] notedmencatat, withouttanpa concludingberpendapat whetherkalau similaritieskesamaan wereyang consciousterkandung ordalam unconsciousnovel itu dilakukan secara sadar, thatbahwa thememang booksada hadbanyak similarities,hal butyang agreedmirip thatdi antara kedua karya itu, tetapi ''Van der Wijck'' hadmemang mempunyai tema purelyyang Indonesianmurni themesIndonesia.{{sfn|Teeuw|1980|p=105}}
