edwinbcn 2024 (Part 1) - Settling in

My name is Edwin and I have been a member of Club Read since 2011.

I lived in China for 22 year. In China, I mainly worked as a teacher, teaching English and German and textbook author. Prior to living in China, I lived in Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic.

I moved to the Netherlands in August 2022. After eight months I found a job as a teacher of Dutch language, teaching refugees and immigrants. I work at a vocational high school. Simultaneously, I do a postgraduate course to re-train and specialize as a teacher for Dutch as a Second Language (NT2).

I read books in English, Dutch, German, French and Spanish, through most in the first four languages. I read a lot, and like hiking, visiting a museum, and writing letters.

I am mainly interested in classics, novels and poetry, from 1800 - 1960 and I like reading biographies, letters and books about natural history.

For many years I focused on reading from my TBR pile. I bought very few books between 2016 and 2023, but recently I have started buying newly published books again, also taking cues from threads of other LT Club Read members.

I am not so happy to spend a lot of time on line, emailing or chatting. Unfortunately, on LT we cannot simply "like" posts, otherwise you would notice I read your threads.

Happy to see your thread. Yeah, likes would be an easy way to say, “i read your post, and enjoyed it”

Good to see you Edwin.

Welcome back, Edwin!

I'm so glad you started a 2024 thread. I noticed that you finished up your December reviews. I look forward to following along again this year. Good luck with your classes.

Good to see you back, Edwin!

>2 dchaikin:
It would seem so easy, but unfortunately it isn't. It has a lot to do with my housing situation.

>6 labfs39:
Yes, thanks. I had this compulsion to finish the 2023 reviews, although very few people will look at them.

Last year, I finished reading 173 books.

This year, in January, I have already finished reading 29 books, but haven't had time to start my thread and get to reviewing them.

>7 AlisonY: Thanks, Alison

>9 edwinbcn: Wow, Edwin. That's impressive. You are a fast and dedicated reader.

Oh, there you are! Happy, um, February. Glad I found your thread. Happy reading.

001. Kleren maken de vrouw
Finished reading: 1 January 2024



Review:
Kleren maken de vrouw presents an easy story of a young woman who has abandoned her studies in art in Amsterdam, and starts studying fashion design in The Hague. It tells the story how she applied to be accepted at the fashion academy. There is one chapter that is entirely made up of letters.The rest of the story shows how she gets along with her best friend, who studies fashion drawing at the same school.

The novel presents a very easy story, that could easily be dismissed as pulp fiction. Kleren maken de vrouw is the first published novel of Hella S. Haasse. Particularly the topic and the style of Kleren maken de vrouw seem to make it very much a "woman's" (if there is ever such a thing). However, Haasse was commisioned to write the novel for the book series Carrière in 1946, shortly after the war. Ideas about women going to school and studying to learn a profession aimed at working and developing a career for themselves were likely still novel, and showed a great sense of practical emancipation. The simplicity of language in the book and the chatty style would likely be adopted to please an intended readership of young women who came out of the 5-year war period and were considering perspectives on life and work. Both in the topic and in the way the novel was written, the novel should be regarded as modern for the time it was written, namely in the mid- to late 1940s.

Advertisements in newspapers in 1947 promoted the series as a series of novels each based on a profession, written for young readers. The aim of the series and the novels was to offer readers an overview and introduction to that profession and the world of people working in that branch. An advertisement in De Tijd: Dagblad voor Nederland of 22 November 1947, advertised 7 volumes in the series, for careers in branches such as Hospitality, Sports, Journalism, and Beauty. The authors of the other novels have long been forgotten. Only Hella Haasse developed into a novelist of great stature.

Other novels in the series included:

Gastheer in het groot by Gerhard Werkman (Hospitality)
Koopvrouw in illusies by Gerda Siemer (Beauty)
Van onze speciale verslaggever by T. Ramaker (Journalism)
Spanning op spoor 11 by J. I. Dorgelo (Railway)
Tussen ringen en rekken by K.Rot and J. Kammeyer (Sport)

Kleren maken de vrouw by Hella Haasse was commisioned for the series to introduce young readers to the world of fashion.

Unlike the other writers, Hella S. Haasse went on to become one of the greatest Dutch writers of the 20th century. In fact, her most famous prize-winning novella Oeroeg was written and published the following year, in 1948, followed by het great historical novel on the life of Charles, Duke of Orléans, as Het woud der verwachting in 1949. (In a Dark Wood Wandering).

Rating:

Other books I have read by Hella S. Haasse:
Anna Blaman
Huurders en onderhuurders
Irundina
Het tuinhuis
Een handvol achtergrond. 'Parang sawat', autobiografische teksten
Sleuteloog
Mevrouw Bentinck. Onverenigbaarheid van karakter & De groten der aarde
De groten der aarde, of Bentinck tegen Bentinck
Mevrouw Bentinck of Onverenigbaarheid van karakter
Uitgesproken, opgeschreven. Essays over achttiende-eeuwse vrouwen, een bosgezicht, verlichte geesten, vorstenlot, satire, de pers en Vestdijks Avondrood
Lezen achter de letters
Dat weet ik zelf niet. Jonge mensen in boek en verhaal
Ogenblikken in Valois
De meermin
De wegen der verbeelding
Cider voor arme mensen
Het dieptelood van de herinnering
Transit
Een gevaarlijke verhouding, of Daal-en-Bergse brieven
Een doolhof van relaties
De Meester van de Neerdaling
Een nieuwer testament
Berichten van het Blauwe Huis
De tuinen van Bomarzo
Oeroeg
De verborgen bron
Zwanen schieten

002. Strengel
Finished reading: 1 January 2024



Review:
Strengel was widely praised when it appeared in 2022. It is the second book by Jona Oberski, published after an interval of 44 years, since the publication of Kinderjaren in 1978.

His first book was a fictionalized account, although written in selected vignettes, of a small child's memories of deportation and life in a concentration camp. Strengel is a novel about an old man who cannot come to grip with what happened then, whose thoughts and life of past and present are intertwined.

Written in part prose and part letters, I found this book mostly inaccessible and incomprehensible.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Jona Oberski:
Kinderjaren

003. Niets te verliezen en toch bang
Finished reading: 1 January 2024



Review:
Many if not most of Renate Rubinstein's book publications are selections of columns, short essays, she wrote for Dutch weekly newspapers. Many of these mini essays are reflections on what mattered to her, hence many are about love, or feminism. Niets te verliezen en toch bang consists of a number of mini essays about divorce. Possibly because the author was profoundly struck, this collections seems better or more heartfelt than some of her other books, which sometimes appear frivolous. And while some of her books, for instance about emancipation and feminism seem dated, this book still strikes a cord. In a foreword by the author she writes that this is a selection out of many other pieces on the same topic. Perhaps, due to strict selection, the overall stylistic quality of this publication is also high. I enjoyed it more than some of her other books.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Renate Rubinstein:
Liefst verliefd
Hedendaags feminisme
Twijfel trainen. De Israëlische dagboeken 1951-195
Mijn beter ik. Herinneringen aan Simon Carmiggelt

004. Jij zegt het
Finished reading: 1 January 2024



Review:
Sylvia Plath wrote very personal and detailed diaries, which were published in an unabridged edition in 2000 (The unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath, 1950 - 1962. Transcribed from the original manuscripts at Smith College). They are a very impressive document that illustrate both her tremendous talent as a writer, and her doomed life. Prior to the publication of the unabridged edition, censored selection had appeared, edited by her husband, the poet Ted Hughes. It was Hughes who destroyed the final volume of Plath's diaries about their married life together.

The English title of Jij zegt het (nl Your Story, My Story) is more telling than the less explicit original title in Dutch. The novel reads like a fictionalized account of the diaries. It describes the life of Sylvia Plath up to her death by suicide in what seems to be a factual account. However, this version is written from the point of view of Ted Hughes, the man who destroyed her dictionaries, censored publication of the other volumes, and may have driven her to her ultimate act of desperation. Whether Hughes actually had a role in it, or whether he feared he might be framed of having a role in it, are all shrouded in the mysteries left due to the destruction of Plath's final diaries.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Connie Palmen:
Voornamelijk vrouwen
Het weerzinwekkende lot van de oude filosoof Socrates
De vriendschap
I. M.
Lucifer
De wetten

005. Hartje zomer
Finished reading: 5 January 2024



Review:
Hartje zomer is a selection of short stories written by the Dutch novelist J. Siebelink. As the credits shows, many of these stories were commissioned or written for special occasions, and published in various media. Having no relation to Siebelink's main themes, i.e. education and his family, particularly their family's strict type of christianity tied to their gardening business, these short stories appear uninspired and of little interest.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Jan Siebelink:
Een lust voor her oog
Brengschuld
Suezkade
Koning Cophetua en het bedelmeisje
Vera
Knielen op een bed violen
Engelen van het duister

Enjoyed these. I’ve never heard of Hella S. Haasse.

>18 dchaikin:

For a very long time, between the 1960s and late 1990s, the greatest Dutch writers were all considered men, and Hella S. Haasse was automatically regalated as inferior, or at least not up to par with the great *men* of letters.

However, over the past 20+ years she has come into her own right, with many reprints and luxury editions.

I think a number of her novels have also been translated into English, German, French and some other languages.

006. Schaduwkind
Finished reading: 5 January 2024



Review:
Schaduwkind is an elegy in prose written upon the death of the author's child, his baby within the first years of its life. The short book consists of vignettes reflecting upon death and sorrow. A small memorial to the deceased child.

Rating:

Other books I have read by P.F. Thomése:
Zuidland
Vladiwostok!
Eerder thuis dan Townes
Het zesde bedrijf

007. Wie kan het paradijs weerstaan. Romeinse brieven
Finished reading: 5 January 2024



Review:
Michaël Zeeman (1958 – 2009) wrote columns and essays for the Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant, as a journalist and for two years as the editor of the arts section. He wrote on on poetry, prose fiction and non-fiction, music, the theater, and visual arts.For a while was the paper's cultural correspondent in Rome. It was during this time the letters collected in Wie kan het paradijs weerstaan. Romeinse brieven were written.

Abdelkader Benali (1975) is a Moroccan-Dutch writer of novels and short stories, who also writes for de Volkskrant.

Wie kan het paradijs weerstaan. Romeinse brieven is a lively correspondance between these two writers. The letters are foremostly about literature and the arts in the Netherlands and Europe. Various authors and their books are discussed, for instance Annie Ernaux, who would go on to win the Nobel Prize nearly two decades later. However, the two writers also write about their personal lives.

Rating:

008. De eerlijke vinder
Finished reading: 6 January



Review:
In previous years, for several decades, Het Boekenweekgeschenk, the annual 92-page novella or short novel commissioned by the National Committee for the Promotion of the Book, and presented for free to book buyers during the Dutch Week of the Book, each year in March, was written by well-established authors. However, for 2023, it was written by a young writer, Lize Spit whose first novel had only been published 8 years before, in 2015. To many readers, therefore, she was quite unknown.

De eerlijke vinder is a fairly traditional story, with a clear plot, and recognizable characters. Perhaps for this reason, or to suggest that both main characters are slightly botched, there are some quircky sentences that make readers frown.

The story is about two young boys who live in an undistinct small town. The local lad, named Jimmy, Belgian, is autistic and quite turned into himself, preoccupied with an obsessive way of collecting tokens from bags of crisps. His sole friend is a boy of his own age, Tristan, who is an immigrant, from Kosovo. As the story progresses Tristan gains a hold over Jimmy, and in the end persuades Jimmy to do something dangerous to prove his loyalty to Tristan.

It is a psychologically strong story, which, however, leaves readers wondering whether there is more to it. The novella creates a tension between the readers (or critics')'reflex to look for a connection between the fictional work and reality, or try to see greater significance where there may not be.

Rating:

009. Wie kies je om te zijn. Gesprekken en gedachten over een nieuwe tijd
Finished reading: 6 January 2024



Review:
Translated, the title of this book would be Who do you choose to be? Conversations and thoughts about a new era (Wie kies je om te zijn. Gesprekken en gedachten over een nieuwe tijd)

There is an obvious and growing discontent about our society and the functioning of its institutions. The mayor of Amsterdam, Femke Halsema recently expressed this sentiment in a interview with a newspaper. Wie kies je om te zijn. Gesprekken en gedachten over een nieuwe tijd was first published in 2021. It contains 53 short essays, of 7 or 8 pages each, based on interviews with people from all walks of life. The interviews are grouped into five sections, bringing together contributions by theme or background of the contributor, viz. politicians, scientists, artists, philosophers and other public figures. Many are well-known public figures or autoritative representatives in their field.

What brings most contributions together is a striving for authenticity. There is broad consensus among the contributors that, although nostalgia plays a role, solutions are to be found in making choices toward new ways in the future, rather than restoring past patterns. However, core elements from our culture need to be reinvigorated, as there will always remain a need for truth, and true and effective communication.

Still, the book is reflective, and there are no ready solutions. It is a pleasure to read and contemplate each contributors ideas and thoughts.

Rating:

010. Siciliaanse brieven (Berichten van Ortygia)
Finished reading: 7 January 2024



Review:
While Italy played a prominent role in the thoughts, and to some extent earlier works of Geerten Meijsing, mostly through his erudition and knowledge of classical languages and culture, he actually moved to live there as early as in 1979, at first in Lucca, in Tuscany and later in Sicillian Syracuse. Written in the present tense, Siciliaanse brieven (Berichten van Ortygia) was actually written over a long period. The book does not actually contain any letters, no dates or locations are mentioned. The book consists of free reflections on the author's life in Italy. The visit of his sister, Doeschka Meijsing who is also a writer is written in the style of mocking banter. Throughout their lives (Doeschka died in 2012), there was rivalry between brother and sister, although during the period described, she visited him in Italy and they worked together of a joint novel Moord & Doodslag, published in 2005. Siciliaanse brieven (Berichten van Ortygia) was published in 2023.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Geerten Meijsing:
Dood meisje
Veranderlijk en wisselvallig (Vijf variaties)
De grachtengordel
De ongeschreven leer. Een cijferroman in 499 bladzijden, 144.000 woorden en 499 voetnoten
Die Erwin-Trilogie van Joyce & Co.

As Joyce & Co:
Erwins echo. Postume verhalen uit de Erwin-legende
Cecilia
Michael van Mander
Erwin. 5 october 1972
Venetiaanse brieven en Calabrese dagboeken

011. Mijn tweede huid
Finished reading: 7 January 2024



Review:
Mijn tweede huid is the second novel of Erwin Mortier. Like his first, very short novel, or novella, Marcel, and several of his subsequent novels, Mijn tweede huid is about his youth and his family. It is a coming of age novel, but the sentiment is very suppressed and understated. Like with some of Mortier's other works, it seems as if his focus is on life in the village in that era, or, as in some of his other books, on the mother, or on the family. Although homosexuality is a motive in the novel, it is not the maoin focus, and is subdued. It is almost as if Mortier is trying to avoid writing about sexuality. By putting the focus on traditional life in Belgium, village life, family life, or particular family members, notably the mother, his work falls into a clear Belgian style of writing, closely related to the work of Eric de Kuyper.

It seems as if Erwin Mortier remains shy to give homosexuality a more central place in his work. Mortier could easily be like the French author Philippe Besson, as is shown by Morrier's novel De spiegelingen.

Many of Erwin Mortier's works have been translated into English.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Erwin Mortier:
Gestameld liedboek. Moedergetijden
Alle dagen samen
De spiegelingen
Godenslaap
Marcel

012. Niet de woorden maar de stem
Finished reading: 11 January 2024



Review:
Although the columns and short essays written by Renate Rubinstein were all published under the name Tamar in the same newspaper, collections of these essays appeared in book form with different publishers. Some of these collections focused on a specific topic. For instance, the essays in Niets te verliezen en toch bang mainly deal with separation, including divorce, while Hedendaags feminisme deals with feminism and emancipation.

Niet de woorden maar de stem appeared in the Salamander series of E.M. Querido's publishing house. This collection of essays is more personal. The first, and longest piece is about the Provo movement of hippies that roamed Amsterdam during the 1960s and 70s. The other pieces are about the writer's home, personal relationships and about her chamber plants.

This collection is a reedited version of a broader collection previously published under the title Tamarkolommen en andere berichten.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Renate Rubinstein:
Niets te verliezen en toch bang
Liefst verliefd
Hedendaags feminisme
Twijfel trainen. De Israëlische dagboeken 1951-1954
Mijn beter ik. Herinneringen aan Simon Carmiggelt

013. Kokoschkins Reise
Finished reading: 13 January 2024



Review:
Kokoschkins Reise is a story about a voyage. In English there is a distinction between voyages and journeys, which are both encompassed by the German word Reise. Still, one should not think of "Reise" as travel, but think more of the word "journey".

In fact, Kokoschkin is on a ship for most of the narrative of Kokoschkins Reise, although the story meanders and relates various other travels, as well. In fact, Kokoschkin has made the same voyage in opposite directions several times. Kokoschkin's voyage and travels are told in great detail. At first it is all unclear, and the reader is tempted to look for significance. The story creates a sense of intrigue. However, by the end of the story it has become clear that Kokoschkin's life has been the journey all along: "Life is a journey".

Kokoschkin's life is an interesting story in itself. It tells the history of the European continent, particularly after the aristocracy fell from grace in Russia with the October Revolution.

Hans Joachim Schädlich style is verging on the non-fictional. His novels are like biographies of people, written mixing fact with fantasy.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Hans Joachim Schädlich:
«Sire, ich eile ...»: Voltaire bei Friedrich II. Eine Novelle

Quite a string of good 4* reads for you with only a single dud. Glad you are having a good reading month.

014. On women
Finished reading: 13 January 2024



Review:
Susan Sontag has published several volumes of cultural essays. On women was posthumously published in 2023, collected and edited by her son, David Rieff. Not all pieces are essays, some are interviews, but some earlier publications also contained such critical interviews. I think it can be said that many of these pieces were not selected or published in earlier collections, because they are somewhat less well-written or express ideas somewhat more extremely or forcefully than in other essays. But Sontag is a great essayist and these eassays aren't second or third rate. Possible they are a subcategory of first rate.

The other reason these essays are somewhat less palatable is the fact they they appeal with vehemence to ideology which is now considered out of vogue. Particularly the second essay "The third world of women" is very leftist of a political colour and intensity which is now further from main stream than in the 1970s, when it was written (in 1973). However, it is the style and the intensity which make it feel dated, not the ideas expressed in these essays.

I experienced a feeling of deja vu with the essay "Fascinating Fascism". I could not make out whether I have read the same essay in an earlier collection of essays or whether this essay is a variant, based on the same material and expressing largely the same idea.

The most impressive essays is obviously the first in the collection, entitled "The double standard of aging". This is the typical style of Susan Sontag: a long essays of 40+ pages that explores every aspect of an issue into its minutest detail leading to a powerful conclusion: Men think less of women because they perceive them as essentially different from themselves.

So, while these essays may not be top of the bill, they are definitely still worth while reading, and in their "extremism" they help establish a better portrait of Susan Sontag to readers who have not known her other than through well-polished publications such as Penguin Modern Classics.

It is a pity that the simple and straightforward title of this collection, namely "On women" is a source of confusion. Many people confuse this collection of essays with an earlier book by Sontag together with Annie Leibovitz, which was a photo book, published in 1999.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Susan Sontag:
Styles of radical will
As consciousness is harnessed to flesh. Diaries, 1964-1980
Reborn. Early Diaries, 1947-1963
The complete Rolling Stone Interview
Against interpretation and other essays
Regarding the pain of others
Under the sign of Saturn. Essays
Where the stress falls
Illness as metaphor
Illness as metaphor & AIDS and its metaphors
AIDS and its metaphors

015. Tussen Borssele en Parijs. Uit Geheim dagboek 1945-1951
Finished reading: 14 January 2024



Review:
Between 1981 and 2009, the complete diaries of Hans Warren were published in 23 volumes. I first started reading volumes since 1986, and I have read many but not all. Besides, I dit not always read them in the chronological order. This is quite well possible. Each volume usually contains diaries from two years, although there have been irregular volumes, with diaries of a single year, or more than two years.

Hans Warren came from a strict Christian family and grew up during the German occupation in a relatively poor and backward area. These oppressive circumstances held him back and life-long made him yearn for greater freedom, and adventure. Although Warren mainly seems to have been homosexual, he had a lon-term realtion with a woman with whom he was married. My alternating reading in the 1980s led to never really understanding how his relationship with Mabel developed and why it thrived.

Tussen Borssele en Parijs. Uit Geheim dagboek 1945-1951 is a selection from the early diaries. Having read the complete diaries already, you might say that this was a reread, but I read the diaries out of the chronological order, and often with long periods in between. Besides, while presumingly edited, the original diaries (in book form0 contain a lot of redundant information. Therefore, reading this selection was very welcome. It gave me a new view of his early life and reinforced my memory of the diaries I read nearly 38 years ago. It isn't that all of my reading of Warren is that long ago. I have been reading volumes for many decades, but often with years between the volumes.

Tussen Borssele en Parijs. Uit Geheim dagboek 1945-1951 is a good and representative selection which creates a clear and good impression of the author in his early years. All major themes are covered, and by the end of the slim volume, all main people that will remain of importance in the next few volumes have been introduced.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Hans Warren:
Demetrios
Steen der hulp
Natuurdagboek, 1939 - 1940
Geheim dagboek, 1942-1944
Geheim dagboek, 1945-1948
Geheim dagboek, 1949-1951
Geheim dagboek, 1952-1953
Geheim dagboek, 1954-1955
Geheim dagboek, 1956-1957
Geheim dagboek, 1958-1962
Geheim dagboek, 1963-1970
Geheim dagboek, 1971-1972
Geheim dagboek, 1973-1975
Geheim dagboek, 1975 - 1976
Geheim dagboek, 1977 - 1978
Geheim dagboek, 1984-1987
Geheim dagboek, 1987-1990
Geheim dagboek, 2001
Een vriend voor de schemering

016. De morgen loeit weer aan
Finished reading: 19 January 2024



Review:
Tip Marugg was a writer who lived in the Antillean Islands. He wrote only three novels, of which De morgen loeit weer aan (1988) was the last, published between 1957 en 1988. The novel is not so much narrative, but rather an evocation of life on a Carribean island, with a style and depth that no other Dutch writer who has not grown up in that region could ever achieve.

Rich descriptions of people, nature create a vivid portrait of the wilderness on the island.

Rating:

017. Stenen spoelen
Finished reading: 19 January 2024



Review:
Many of the stories of J. Bernlef are set in Sweden or some other Scandinavian country. In his youth, Bernlef lived and worked in Sweden for some time.

Stenen spoelen was his prose debut, published in 1960. In the same year, he won two prizes and also published a first volume of poetry.

The stories in Stenen spoelen are mostly rather short.

Rating:

Other books I have read by J. Bernlef:
Het komplot
De man in het midden
Paspoort in duplo
Meeuwen
Onder ijsbergen
Buiten is het maandag
Hersenschimmen
Doorgaande reizigers
De witte stad
Meneer Toto-tolk
De pianoman
Verbroken zwijgen
Publiek geheim
Sneeuw

018. Grip
Finished reading: 20 January 2024



Review:
A chance meeting at a railway station brings two friends together. They meet up with two other friends who all share a passion for mountaineering. The book is about their reunion, memories and friendship.

I felt most if not all of the book was much too contrived and unnatural, and since the book is about nothing really it gave me a very constrained feeling.

Rating:

019. Tremor
Finished reading: 20 January 2024



Review:
Much like Toni Morrison's Recitatif this book, Tremor by Teju Cole seems to give the finger to bigoted readers. But just like Morrison, Cole still feels the need to devote a novel to the issue.

The main character of this novel is a refined person, as is shown by his life, work and interests. He could be "Everyman". Still his particular intrinsic knowledge of African masks identifies him as an African or African-American man. Throughout the rest of the novel this is merely a possibility, but not necessarily so.

Tremor is a very well-written novel. Like Morrison's work it is a step in the direction of the ultimate emancipation of African-American writers, of becoming indistinguishably equivalent. Though topics and style would still be personal, there ought not to be a reckoning based on ethnicity or background. The international guild of writers, joined around a big table shared by writers from all ages and all continents, as envisioned by E. M. Forster come true. Cole's Tremor is already much closer to this ideal, as he no longer poses descent as a problem. Stll, complete equivalence is not quite there, but very close.

It seems that this awareness is still much stronger in American writers than elsewhere, although as a white person this is hard to gauge and appreciate. Perhaps ultimately, because of history and the critical movement, well-educated African-Americans will be better able to reflect on and understand history, than there white counterparts. In any case, from my perception this is a great novel.

Rating:

Enjoyed these, Edwin. Especially on Sontag. I’m curious now about Tip Marugg.

>31 edwinbcn: I just read this (in English translation) because the author was from Curacao, the sister island of Aruba, where I was born and raised. I found the evocation of the island, its nature, was spot on. It brought me right back to the tradewinds, the rocks, the goats, the stunted trees, the rocks, the feeling of isolation from the rest of the world. Overall, a sad book. It was interesting that his native language was Papiamento, but he wrote in Dutch.

>35 dchaikin:



Hi Daniel. Unknown to me, Arubawoman wrote that she read the novel by Tip Marugg in an English translation. You might want to check it out.

>36 arubabookwoman:
I have known about this author for a very long time, but most of his work was out of print for the longest time. Apparently his collected works were published in 2009, but I missed that as I was in China at the time.

020. Met gepast wantrouwen. Notities over de Hollandse ziekte
Finished reading: 20 January 2024



Review:
More columns or short essays by Renate Rubinstein. Throughout the 1980s and 90s the Dutch would often protest or turn against decisions made in the context of greater alliances such as NATO or the forerunners of the EU. This resistance to giving up (part of) sovereignty was dubbed "the Dutch disease". Treaties were held up but never fully rejected, and resistance was always democratic.

Renate Rubinstein saw this very early. These 12 columns were all written between October 1981 and March 1982. They are mainly about the Peace Movement and the Dutch resistance against the stationing of nuclear arms in the light of the Cold War.

Now all but forgotten, these essays may merely serve as a reminder that mass resistance actually works, a reminder for younger generations who have never felt the need to fight for their rights.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Renate Rubinstein:
Niet de woorden maar de stem
Niets te verliezen en toch bang
Liefst verliefd
Hedendaags feminisme
Twijfel trainen. De Israëlische dagboeken 1951-1954
Mijn beter ik. Herinneringen aan Simon Carmiggelt

021. Zonnegloren. De mooiste verhalen gekozen door Matthijs van Nieuwkerk
Finished reading: 20 January 2024



Review:
Zonnegloren. De mooiste verhalen gekozen door Matthijs van Nieuwkerk is one of the many mini anthologies compiled by a celebrity. For 15 years Matthijs van Nieuwkerk presented the most popular talk show on Dutch television. His show DWDD stood at the forefront of Dutch society with interviews and discussions about Dutch politics and arts.

What makes Zonnegloren interesting is that Van Nieuwkerk has chosen nine Dutch authors. Since the publisher had asked him to include at least one foreign author he selected a short story by Tobias Wolff from Our story begins : new and selected stories.

Three stories were selected by authors whom Van Nieuwkerk considers friends, nl Martin Bril, Chris Polanen and A.L. Snijders. F.B. Hotz and Maarten Biesheuvel belong to writers of an older generation. Out of ten, only three stories by women were included.

The most interesting are his choice of two up-coming young authors: Simone Atangana Bekono and Valentijn Hoogenkamp.

Zonnegloren is clearly a very personal choice. Van Nieuwkerk has not been tempted to include "big names". His own featuring prominently on the cover is eye catching enough, and he can use his reknown to bring some really interesting authors to the fore.

Rating:

022. Heldere hemel
Finished reading: 20 January 2024



Review:
A disappointing novella.

Rating:

023. Het roer kan nog zesmaal om
Finished reading: 24 January 2024



Review:
Het roer kan nog zesmaal om is the second volume of autobiographical writing by Marten 't Hart published in the prestigious Prive Domein series. Unlike the first volume, Een deerne in lokkend postuur. Persoonlijke kroniek 1999, which was written as a diary, Het roer kan nog zesmaal om consists of nine essays.

Maarten 't Hart is a writer with broad interests. He was trained as a biologist, but is mostly known as a novelist. Besides this, his life-long passion for the music of Bach has made him an expert on his music. He also wrote a biography of J. S. Bach.

As the title of the book suggests, "Het roer kan nog zesmaal om" and the title of the fourth essays "Negen ambachten", which translates as "change course six times" and "nine professions", Maarten 't Hart has always been very versatile, a man of many talents. These talents as a connaisseur of classical music, particularly J.S. Bach, a biologist and a writer. In Het roer kan nog zesmaal om he writes about his student years in Leiden, his struggle with the calvinism of his parents and his early career as a writer.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Maarten 't Hart:
De Biezen
Een deerne in lokkend postuur. Persoonlijke kroniek 1999
Het psalmenoproer
De ortolaan
Verlovingstijd
Laatste zomernacht
Verzamelde verhalen
Een vlucht regenwulpen
Ik had een wapenbroeder

>36 arubabookwoman: >37 edwinbcn: thanks guys. I might hunt this down

Enjoyed your review of On Women by Susan Sontag

024. Les années
Finished reading: 27 January 2024



Review:
Imagination falters when an idea is more important than art. Annie Ernaux is a great writer, but Les années is not her best book.

The idea of creating an impersonal biography seems a paradox. Biography is the genre par excellence to give an in-depthe description of a person. Postmodern writers experimented for years making the person irrelevant, or so it seemed. Numerous fictional biographies have been written about random, insignificant (fictional) charachters. In Ernaux's novel the person is completely absent, although it is widely believed to be autobiographical, and therefore the person is implied. However, this is an assumption. The main character merely resembles the author closely.

The impersonal character of the book means that a myriad of details is described: innumerous minor details, impressions, moments, piled up like a bric-a-brac. Readers may enjoy this as largely they see a parade of iconic moments from their own lives. Fortunately, the book is relatively thin.

However, the impersonal nature of the observations creates a great sense of detachment, and therefore, ultimately, Les années is a flawed novel, unless its function is to illustrate the connectedness within the unconnectedness. It is hard to feel anything for this novel. However, I do feel these negative feelings are what the novel is about.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Annie Ernaux:
Passion simple
Le jeune homme

>45 edwinbcn: Great review. I review this book recently, from a slightly different angle, but I really like your take on it. Entirely rational compared to mine.

025. Oscar
Finished reading: 27 January 2024



Review:
Oscar is a flimsy novella that reads like a film script. Jan Siebelink seems to have exhausted the base of his fictional work. Thematically, Oscar is closer to the novels about education or teachers. However, Oscar is not set in a school setting. The time setting, namely during the World War is also untypical for Siebelink.

It is a short novella with a clear-set action and an unexpected climax, quite unlike most of Siebelink's work, although the rivalry and the feeling of jealousy can be felt in some of his other novels.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Jan Siebelink:
Hartje zomer
Een lust voor her oog
Brengschuld
Suezkade
Koning Cophetua en het bedelmeisje
Vera
Knielen op een bed violen
Engelen van het duister

026. Monterosso mon amour
Finished reading: 27 January 2024



Review:
With Monterosso mon amour Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer disdainfully seems to mock his readers. The short novella consists of a framework, suggesting the story within the story is 'real', not written by the writer. In the framing story, before and after, a middle-aged woman meets the writer, but the writer seems quite unaware of her. To him she is just one of the many people, despite the fact that she works on his behalf. To her the writer is a celebrity. The framed story is like a dream, but is is a dream that does not come to fullfilment. in both the framed and the framing story, the woman is disillusioned, her life is but a dream within a dream.

Rating:

027. Un hiver à Tanger
Finished reading: 27 January 2024



Review:
Un hiver à Tanger reads like a poorly edited old-fashioned novel. During the first 100 pages, the novel consists of alternating chapters, but this structure is later relinquished. The alternating chapters seem to provide background to the main character's sexual orientation, by relating a history of sexual abuse in youth at the hand of clergy. Throughout the course of the novel, the main character resides in Tangiers, where he enjoys in homosexual contacts with young Arab men, whom he (financially) supports. Towards the end the drive an purpose of the novel peter out into a vague story.

Rating:

028. Sur les chemins noirs
Finished reading: 27 January 2024



Review:
Sylvain Tesson is an adventurer and traveller who has written numerous books about his overland treks. His travels are extreme, searching for the snow leopard in Tibet, or living like a hermit in a cabin in Siberia. He explored caves in Borneo and rode a motorcycle across Iceland. He travelled around the world in two years on a bicycle, and a few years later he trekked across the Himalaya, and these are just a few examples of his extreme journeys.

In 2014, Tesson had a accident, falling from a roof, and the following year he made his first trek through France. In the hospital bed he vowed that if he would recover he would hike across France.

In the introductory chapters, Tesson goes over some of the great European writers who wrote about hiking in France, notably Stevenson's Travels with a donkey in the Cevennes and Hermann Hesse's novella Knulp. He moans how useless it seems to travel to his starting point with the TGV high-speed train, only to walk back. Sur les chemins noirs is written as a diary, a walking journey from 27 August till 8 November. The books contains maps that show the extent of rural areas in south and central France, and the rural roads Tesson travelled. Tesson is much concerned with himself, in his inward monologues he describes the route, pondering people and literature. Descriptions of the landscape, mountains and vegetation are factual rather than lyrical. The tone of his interior monologues is anger and resentment. French literature has many other writers who describe the French countryside with passion, so utterly lacking from Tesson's book.

Sur les chemins noirs was filmed in 2023, and came out as On the Wandering Paths

Rating:

Enjoying these. I plan to read The Years later this year. Hopefully I won’t be turned off of Ernaux afterwards. Interesting about Tesson.

A string of less than stellar books, Edwin. I hope things pick up for you.

I’m having a hard time now as well. I’ve discarded several disappointing books lately. I feel I have to lower my standards.

Les années I have read this recently. I agree it is not Ernaux's best book, but it spoke to me; living in France.

>51 dchaikin:

I think Tesson will still turn out to be an interesting author. I went to the book store to buy Tesson's latest book, Avec les fées, which I am much looking forward to reading.



I haven't started reading Avec les fées yet, as I am still reading Promenades anglaises by Christine Jordis which is absolutely stunning.

Both books are about walks through England. The book by Jordis is about walks through historical sites in England, tied in with literature. The books by Tesson is about walks in areas throughout Europe where the Celts lived and where Celtic monuments can be found.

>52 labfs39:
It is because I read too much. The lesser books are often books from thrift shops, and my assessment also often matches the appreciation of others on LT.

In fact, when I had to shift through my books and decide what to bring and what to discard, I used LT to get an idea whether I would like the book ot not. I could do that with all books, but most of the time I don't. I still prefer to find out by myself. Reading less interesting books is part of the game.

>51 dchaikin:
Ernaux has written many smaller volumes. I like those much more than The Years.

>54 baswood:
It is reassuring to hear that my (relative) disappointment about Les années is shared by others. I like the smaller works, which seem to be episodes which also occur in Les années.

>57 edwinbcn: which ones do you recommend? Many of them seem to have very similar themes.

>55 edwinbcn: Lovely photo

>56 edwinbcn: The way you expressed it, it's a luxury to have the time to read bad books. I like that

>55 edwinbcn: that Tesson sounds potentially fantastic

>61 dchaikin:

In some ways he is. I was very surprised to see that many of the travel books by Sylvain Tesson are based on long walks. Tesson was born in 1972. Although I have observed a recent interest in books about long walks in the UK, I thought all famous adventurers who wrote books about treks belonged to the past.

>59 kjuliff:
I have only read two such smaller volumes. I couldn't really make any recommendations.

029. Het hoofdkwartier. Een eeuw café Scheltema
Finished reading: 29 January 2024



Review:
Café Scheltema is an old café in the city center of Amsterdam, right behind the royal palace. In 2008, it existed 100 years, but the owners forgot to celebrate the event, so patrons organized a celebration one year later. In edition, they wrote and published Het hoofdkwartier. Een eeuw café Scheltema.

The book is a slim volume, just under 100 pages, that described the history of the café. Located on Dutch 'Fleet Street', literally surrounded by various newspaper's offices and printing houses, café Scheltema became a hangout for journalists and writers. Just a block away are also the two main buildings of the University of Amsterdam's Faculty of Letters, the Bungehuis and PC Hoofthuis, bringing many students to the café.

Rating:

030. Mieke Maaike's obscene jeugd
Finished reading: 1 February 2024



Review:
Louis Paul Boon was a Flemish writer, writing in Dutch, who wrote many historical novels, novellas, and poetry. Mieke Maaike's obscene jeugd belongs the the genre of pornography. It is utterly obscene, and remarkable how a writer can keep going with this type of writing for about 100 pages. As such, it is hilarious.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Louis Paul Boon:
Niets gaat ten onder
De bende van Jan de Lichte : een bandietenroman uit de jaren 1700

031. Cellojaren
Finished reading: 1 February 2024



Review:
J. Bernlef was an extremely productive writer. Throughout his career of 50 years, he published two or three books every year. Many of his books, both novels and collections of short stories seem to comprise of two works, as if they combine two shorter works in one volume. This can be confusing, because the theme may be related but the unity of the work as a whole is less.

The short story collection Cellojaren consists of two such parts: 9 stories under the subtitle "Het begin van tranen" and 10 stories under the subtitle "Cellojaren". The short stories in the latter part are all about artists. The stories are not interconnected. They write about events that occur in the lives of different kinds of artists. For example, a painter who falls prey to a gallery who makes the artist pay for all expenses. This is quite normal practise in the Netherlands where thousands of artists look for places to organize exhibitions in hunderds of semi-professional galleries. The other nine stories were unclear.

Rating:

Other books I have read by J. Bernlef:
Stenen spoelen
Het komplot
De man in het midden
Paspoort in duplo
Meeuwen
Onder ijsbergen
Buiten is het maandag
Hersenschimmen
Doorgaande reizigers
De witte stad
Meneer Toto-tolk
De pianoman
Verbroken zwijgen
Publiek geheim
Sneeuw

032. Kaspar
Finished reading: 4 February 2024



Review:
Kaspar by Peter Handke is a play, but the stage directions are so extensive that at first glance the book seems to be experiimental prose, and perhaps it could be regarded as such. Because surely, as a play it would be considered experimental, and the play mainly consists of a very long monologue. The text of the monologue would also be considered experimental of avant-garde, as it often lacks coherence and consists of many repetitions. While as a play it is very hard to read, reading the work as a prose piece makes it easier. Then, too, the synchronicity of the stage directions and the texts is difficult.

The figure of Kaspar Hauser is a cult phenomenon from Nineteenth century Germany, that has inspired many artists. There is an interesting page on Kaspar Hauser on Wikipedia.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Peter Handke:
Versuch über den Pilznarren: Eine Geschichte für sich
Noch einmal für Thukydides
Die drei Versuche Versuch über die Müdigkeit Versuch über die Jukebox Versuch über den geglückten Tag. Ein Wintertagtraum
Versuch über den geglückten Tag. Ein Wintertagtraum
Versuch über den Stillen Ort
Die Tablas von Daimiel. Ein Umwegzeugenbericht zum Prozeß gegen Slobodan Milošević
Lucie im Wald mit den Dingsda
Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter
In einer dunklen Nacht ging ich aus meinem stillen Haus
Über die Dörfer. Dramatisches Gedicht
Abschied des Träumers / Winterliche Reise / Sommerlicher Nachtrag
Unter Tränen fragend. Nachträgliche Aufzeichnungen von zwei Jugoslawien-Durchquerungen im Krieg, März und April 1999
Der Chinese des Schmerzes
Falsche Bewegung
Kindergeschichte
Aber ich lebe nur von den Zwischenräumen. Ein Gespräch, geführt von Herbert Gamper
Die Lehre der Sainte-Victoire
Die linkshändige Frau
Langsame Heimkehr
Wunschloses Unglück
Nachmittag eines Schriftstellers
Das Spiel vom Fragen, oder die Reise zum sonoren Land

033. De metsiers
Finished reading: 4 February 2024



Review:
I keep trying, this time his debut novel, but clearly, Hugo Claus is not for me. I dislike most of his work. This work, De metsiers was a very short novel, but I did not like it at all, and cannot really follow what is going on. It will be the last book that I will read by Hugo Claus.

I have read eight novels and two plays by this author, and with the exception of one play and one novel, I gave them all 3 stars or less, often just one or two stars.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Hugo Claus:
Een zachte vernieling
De zwarte keizer
Het verdriet van België
Onvoltooid verleden
De geruchten
De zwaardvis
De koele minnaar
De dans van de reiger
Een bruid in de morgen

034. Tineke
Finished reading: 6 February 2024



Review:
Tineke was Leo Vroman's first work. It is reprinted and included in the volume "Proza" (Prose), but in fact it is poetry (or poetic prose). The poem, Tineke, celebrates the author's wife. It consists of a lyrical description of her life in paradise. This garden is described in stunningly beautiful language, describing the vegetation and animals.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Leo Vroman:
Brieven uit Brooklyn
De adem van Mars

035. Snippers
Finished reading: 9 February 2024



Review:
As a genre, the essay leaves room for a great deal of variation. Snippers by the Dutch author Leo Vroman can best be described as a collection of essays. However, these essays are of a very personal nature, coming close to memoirs or autobiographical writing. Besides, Vroman ponders on various everyday things and his early years in the United States in this volume.

Leo Vroman was mainly active as a poet. His early prose is very well-written, often based on or mixing with autobiographical events.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Leo Vroman:
Tineke
Brieven uit Brooklyn
De adem van Mars

036. Proza
Finished reading: 9 February 2024



Review:
Leo Vroman was a Dutch-American author and a hematologist. Born in the Netherlands he went to the United States where he was naturalized and obtained American citizenship in 1951. His main career in the United States was as a hematologist. He worked at various research institutes and published more than 70 articles and books in that field. In the Netherlands he was one of the most well-known and appreciated poets, publishing more than 40 books. His creative output was mostly written in Dutch, most of it poetry, and less prose. "Proza" contains his early works, a prose poem, a collection of short stories and essays.

Tineke was Leo Vroman's first work. It is reprinted and included in the volume "Proza" (Prose), but in fact it is poetry (or poetic prose). The poem, Tineke, celebrates the author's wife. It consists of a lyrical description of her life in paradise. This garden is described in stunningly beautiful language, describing the vegetation and animals.

De adem van Mars is prose and published early in Vroman's literary career. There are 15 prose pieces varying in length from just 3 to more than 20 pages. They read like vignettes or episodes and are fictionalized stages of Vroman's early life from May 1940 to about 1952. This fictionalization is very thin, as Vroman and his wife appear in the stories under their own names, and other characters, such as Jan Greshoff are also described true to life and with their own names. One of the stories is written (and printed) in English.

Leo Vroman's escape from the Nazi-occupied Netherlands is quite spectacular and adventurous. At first glance, the title story "De adem van Mars" seems funny, or perhaps jocular, but apparently biographical details are accurate. From London, Vroman travelled to the Dutch Indies, where, in Batavia, he finished his studies. However, he was locked up in various Japanese concentration camps in the Dutch Indies (now Indonesia), before being transported to Japan via Singapore. The stories set in America describe life in the United States in the late 40s and early 50s.

As a genre, the essay leaves room for a great deal of variation. Snippers by the Dutch author Leo Vroman can best be described as a collection of essays. However, these essays are of a very personal nature, coming close to memoirs or autobiographical writing. Besides, Vroman ponders on various everyday things and his early years in the United States in this volume.

Leo Vroman was mainly active as a poet. His early prose is very well-written, often based on or mixing with autobiographical events.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Leo Vroman:
Snippers
Tineke
Brieven uit Brooklyn
De adem van Mars

037. S. Carmiggelt. Een levensverhaal
Finished reading: 9 February 2024



Review:
S. Carmiggelt. Een levensverhaal is a compact, short biography by one of the most famous Dutch journalists and prose writers. Simon Carmiggelt was one of the founders of Het Parool widely regarded as the newspaper of Amsterdam. For more than 30 years Carmiggelt wrote a short short story, often a character sketch for the newspaper. These short stories were usually 2 or 3 pages long. Throughout his lifetime Carmiggelt wrote more than 10,000 such short stories.

The author was a known alcoholist, but nonetheless often portrayed as a family man. It was quite a scandal when Renate Rubinstein claimed to have had an illicit love affair with Carmiggelt, which they kept hidden from all.

During the 1970s, Carmiggelt appeared on national television every evening, to read one of his short stories. His miserable appearance and boring voice made most people of the then-younger generation loathe him and his work. Only in recent years there has been a revival, and is his prose appreciated for its intrinsic quality and style.


Rating:

038. Datumloze dagen
Finished reading: 16 February 2024



Review:
Datumloze dagen is a short novel about divorce. Parts of the novel recall the despair that characterize some of Brouwers' early work of empty bottles strewn under trees in a forest surrounding the house. Still, Datumloze dagen is mostly a description of a man trying to build up a new relationship, while trying harder to forget his first wife.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Jeroen Brouwers:
Geheime kamers
Zachtjes knetteren de letteren
De Indië-romans
Bezonken rood
De zondvloed
Het verzonkene

039. Dienstreizen van een thuisblijver
Finished reading: 16 February 2024



Review:
Dienstreizen van een thuisblijver is a third volume of autobiographical writing by Maarten 't Hart to appear in the prestigious Privé Domein-series. It consists of 17 essays.

In these essays we meet Maarten 't Hart as a cynical, somewhat arrogant man. Many of these essays contain personal attacks or attempts to ridicule other writers, particularly Connie Palmen, or make fun of readers or admirers. Although the title suggests that the author does not travel, quite a number of the essays are about trips he had to undertake to promote his work at book fairs or touring book stores. The tenet of many of these essays is that the author detests travel, and detests the people he encounters on his travels. His attitude often speaks of disdain, rpopping himself up as the all-knowing authority who can therefore ridicule the ignorance of others.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Maarten 't Hart:
Het roer kan nog zesmaal om
De Biezen
Een deerne in lokkend postuur. Persoonlijke kroniek 1999
Het psalmenoproer
De ortolaan
Verlovingstijd
Laatste zomernacht
Verzamelde verhalen
Een vlucht regenwulpen
Ik had een wapenbroeder

040. Dagboek 1970-1971
Finished reading: 17 February 2024



Review:
Dagboek 1970-1971 is volume 8 in the series of the complete diaries of the Dutch author Frida Vogels. From the inception of the first diary, readers have seen how her writing style and skills have matured and developed. While the first two volumes were a struggle to read, the later volumes, while thicker, and much more enjoyable to read. However, even with the later volumes, the content remains rather uninteresting. In volume 8, Vogels is increasingly successful as a translator, but she does not write overmuch about her work as a translator. Rather, while better dosed and stylistically more refined, the bulk of the diary is about her relations with her family-in-law, her Italian husband, and her Italian friends. The distance causes considerable strain on readers to remain interested. After all, Frida Vogels herself is not a famous author for other than her novels.

The most interesting parts of the novel therefore continue to be the weeks she spends in the Netherlands. Her descriptions of Amsterdam and her contact with J.J. Voskuil and his wife, as well as the first mention in this volume of Bert Weijde as well as with their publisher, Geert van Oorschot are very interesting to read. Unfortunately, they are a rather small portion of the diaries, which mainly consist of hundreds of pages about het not so very exciting life in Italy.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Frida Vogels:
Dagboek 1968-1969
Dagboek 1966-1967
Dagboek 1964-1965
Dagboek 1962-1963
Dagboek 1960-1961
Dagboek 1958-1959
Dagboek 1954-1957
De harde kern, Vol 2. Met zijn drieën
De harde kern 2. De naakte waarheid
De harde kern, Vol. 1. Kanker & De naakte waarheid
De harde kern 1. Kanker

041. Ik stuur deze brief maar op goed geluk weg. Brieven 1939-1950
Finished reading: 18 February 2024



Review:
Ik stuur deze brief maar op goed geluk weg. Brieven 1939-1950 contains the early correspondance of the Dutch author Hella S. Haasse. The letters were written when Haasse was between the ages of 21 and 32. Most of the letters have been preserved as carbon copies. The correspondance consists of all sorts of written missives, including letters, postcards and cartes postales and telegrams.

When Hella S. Haasse arrived from the Dutch Indies (now Indonesia) in 1938 to go to university in the Netherlands, the threat of war was already apparent, although the Netherlands hoped to remain neutral, as they had in 1914. When war broke out in 1940, her parents urged her to return to the Dutch colony, hoping the war would only play out in Europe. At that stage Japan had not yet entered the war. But Haasse remained in Holland, and was subsequently cut off from her family for more than a decade.

The letters present a first-hand account of her experience of the hunger winter in 1944, the final year of the war. After her study of Scandinavian languages, she started working as a writer, but the letters show that her career actually started out as a performer in cabaret, and that out of her wish "to assert control over the characters on the stage" her career to "manipulate" characters on paper was born.

During the war her parents were intered in Japanese concentration camps. In the later years Haasse sends them food parcels. During the later 40s repatriation of her family partly went via Australia, where they had family. The letters also describe Haasse's early marriage and the loss of her first daughter.

The book consists of the text of the letters, preceded by annotation and explanation by the editor. For this, the editor acknowledges heavy indebtedness to Leven in de verbeelding. Hella S. Haasse 1918-2011, the standard biography about Hella S. Haasse written by Aleid Truijens.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Hella S. Haasse:
Kleren maken de vrouw
Anna Blaman
Huurders en onderhuurders
Irundina
Het tuinhuis
Een handvol achtergrond. 'Parang sawat', autobiografische teksten
Sleuteloog
Mevrouw Bentinck. Onverenigbaarheid van karakter & De groten der aarde
De groten der aarde, of Bentinck tegen Bentinck
Mevrouw Bentinck of Onverenigbaarheid van karakter
Uitgesproken, opgeschreven. Essays over achttiende-eeuwse vrouwen, een bosgezicht, verlichte geesten, vorstenlot, satire, de pers en Vestdijks Avondrood
Lezen achter de letters
Dat weet ik zelf niet. Jonge mensen in boek en verhaal
Ogenblikken in Valois
De meermin
De wegen der verbeelding
Cider voor arme mensen
Het dieptelood van de herinnering
Transit
Een gevaarlijke verhouding, of Daal-en-Bergse brieven
Een doolhof van relaties
De Meester van de Neerdaling
Een nieuwer testament
Berichten van het Blauwe Huis
De tuinen van Bomarzo
Oeroeg
De verborgen bron
Zwanen schieten

042. 's Nachts komen de vossen
Finished reading: 19 February 2024



Review:
Cees Nooteboom is a very good writer, but these short stories are just not very interesting.

Rating:

Other books I have read by by Cees Nooteboom:
De Boeddha achter de schutting aan de oever van de Chaophraya
Paradijs verloren
Berlijn 1989 - 2009
Het volgende verhaal
Van de lente de dauw. Oosterse reizen
Mokusei !
In de bergen van Nederland
Allerzielen
De omweg naar Santiago
De koning van Suriname
De verliefde gevangene
De verliefde gevangene. Tropische verhalen
De ridder is gestorven
Rituelen

043. Memoires van een componist
Finished reading: 20 February 2024



Review:
It might be interesting to read a biography of the Dutch composer Theo Loevendie. However, till then, one could start by reading his personal memoirs, published as Memoires van een componist. Unfortunately, the composer, Theo Loevendie is not giften as a writer. While there is a lot of interesting information in these memoires, the book is poorly edited.

In fact, Memoires van een componist reads like a manuscript. The writing style, both technically and also in the way anecdotes and jokes are included makes it look very amateuristic. The book of 375 pages consists of 95 short chapters. Meanwhile, the reader does not get to know very much about Loevendie's music.

Rating:

044. Baumgartner
Finished reading: 20 February 2024



Review:
Baumgartner, the latest book by Paul Auster is difficult to read as it is so turned inwards. The work of Auster seems to have developed from a expressionism and surrealistic boundless optimism to introspection, increasingly delving for identity. While previously the search for identity remained general, looking for a connection with Jewishness, often, like other Jewish writers by looking at Prague, Auster delves deeper in Baumgartner by describing a journey, looking for answers that are not found, in Ukraine, in a village where many people are named "Auster". This story seems to be the mirroring point where reality is mirrored into fiction, and fiction in some way is the counterpart of reality.

Baumgartner also seems to be a very mature novel, in the sense that the author feels there is no need to clarify or be clear. The story is as it stands and it is up to the reader to delve in for meaning and significance. Baumgartner is clearly a novel that needs to be read twice, partially if not whole. Like the writer, the reader needs to decide how deep they are willing to delve. The novel suggests depth that may turn out to be a lead to deeper understanding or a decoy, such as the title of the book Baumgartner is writing, nl "The Mystery of the Wheel".

While on the one hand, Baumgartner seems to be a book about aging, and how aging affects the mind, it is also about how the mind works, the mind of a writer.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Paul Auster:
Invisible
Man in the dark
The Brooklyn follies
Timbuktu
Travels in the scriptorium
Here and now. Letters 2008-2011
Report from the interior
Winter journal
Sunset Park
The music of chance
Oracle night
The book of illusions
Leviathan
In the country of last things
Hand to mouth. A chronicle of early failure
Moon Palace
The New York trilogy
The locked room
Ghosts
City of Glass
The red notebook. True stories, prefaces and interviews

>79 edwinbcn: So many established writers turning to trying to understand the mind, identity and aging, as they themselves age. This book sounds like hard work, and I don’t think I have the energy for it. Thank you for your review. I am forewarned.

045. Logboek van een onbarmhartig jaar
Finished reading: 21 February 2024



Review:
A widow for four years, Dutch author Connie Palmen married a second time in 2009. They had been in a relationship for ten years, from 1999 till 2009. The marriage must have been symbolic, because while the marriage too place on 11 November 2009, Van Mierlo died just four months later, on 11 March 2010.

Logboek van een onbarmhartig jaar is a logbook or journal Connie Palmen kept for a year following Van Mierlo's death. She started the journal 48 days after he passed away.

Several other Dutch writers have written books mourning the death of loved ones, notably Tonio by A.F.Th van der Heijden and Schaduwkind by Thomese, as noted by Palmen. These books are about the loss of children. Still, while those writers were shocked with the loss of their loved ones, the death of Palmen's husband did not come as a surprise.

Logboek van een onbarmhartig jaar is a very touching book.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Connie Palmen:
Jij zegt het
Voornamelijk vrouwen
Het weerzinwekkende lot van de oude filosoof Socrates
De vriendschap
I. M.
Lucifer
De wetten

046. Blood and guts in high school
Finished reading: 22 February 2024



Review:
Blood and guts in high school is quite a little, disgusting novel, but still recognizable as outstanding. It irritates and shocks like the novels of William Burroughs.

Kathy Acker (1947 - 1997) is not exactly a new kid on the block, and while she did not belong to the Beat Generation, she was influenced by them. Her style is raucious, she writes about incest, drugs and free sexuality. Blood and guts in high school is an experimental novel that includes maps, pornographic drawings, a handwritten Persian dictionary, and irregular typography and layout.

Taken at face value, Blood and guts in high school (1984) is a novel about a girl's life at high school. Whether the novel is realistic or visionary, there are plenty of movies, books and music, such as Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera The Wall, that depict the ugly inside of schools, and while Janey may not be the average high school kid, regretfully, there probably are kids like her, or worse. The fact that "bourgeois" readers may not like it, does not mean that Janey is a quite possible, not even very extraordinary student. Although fring, or unusual, her interests, obsessions and irritations (with teachers) is just the stuff of adolescence and life at high school. We just barely miss a white rat on her shoulder.

Although the mid-1980s are now nearly half a century behind us, no clear recognizable literary movement has been identified as typical for that period. Generally, much writing of that period is characterised as "postmodern", and so is the work of Kathy Acker.

Blood and guts in high school was banned in Germany.

Source / edition: Penguin Modern Classics, the 2017 "restored edition".

Rating:

You had a busy Saturday and a great reading year so far. Fascinating about Leo Vroman and his life story. I’m really happy to read your take on Baumgartner. I want to read more Auster. Lots of other good stuff - especially on Haasse and this last author, Kathy Acker.

047. On Earth we're briefly gorgeous
Finished reading: 22 February 2024



Review:
Having finished reading this novel, On Earth we're briefly gorgeous, one looks back at its poetic title and wonders what it means. Like the words and the story elements in the novel it seems the five words that make up the title are each beautiful, and they are seemingly connected; they seemingly suggest an ideal state that we might long for, but more likely these five words are disconnected, they are simply suspended in the air.

Reading On Earth we're briefly gorgeous, you also have to recall the time frame of the Vietnam War. Since it took place before I was born, and ended during my early youth, nonetheless, the images of the boat refugees is clearly in my mind. Significant dates and the start of the conflict as early as 1955, the end of American involvement in 1973 and the fall of Saigon in 1975, and the subsequent migration crisis of the Vietnamese boat people from its height in the late 1970s till the beginning of the 1990s. In as far as On Earth we're briefly gorgeous autobiographical, that means that the flight it set in that final decade of the late 1980s.

Much of the story is quite horrible. Little Dog, as the main character is dubbed, has made a narrow escape, but misery follows his. The history of his grandmother, the troubles of his mother which also beset Little Dog in the new land, as he often needs to solve their problem follow him wherever he goes. In fact, the misery left behind in Vietnam is only replaced by different misery in the new land. A brief moment of bliss and love is foreshortened by his lover's death from drug abuse.

Little Dog is in the centre of all this misery. Still, all is dressed in the most beauteous, poetic language. Beauty, in the form of language: poetry, beautiful language surrounds him. It is where he turns to find relief. None in his family could read, but from the age of 11 Little Dog manages to read. Writing becomes the way to deal with his life's misery. The book, though not in linear chronological order, is a letter, written to his mother.

Rating:

>84 edwinbcn: Terrific review. I loved this book.

>84 edwinbcn: I'll look for this one. It sounds like one I'd like.

>76 edwinbcn: I'm also interested in the life of Hella Haasse. I'm not sure if I would like the letters as much as a biography or memoir though. I read Song of survival : women interned a couple of years ago and learned a little about the Dutch experience in Indonesia during the war. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Colijn made it back to her family on the islands from school before the Japanese invaded.

>84 edwinbcn: wonderful review. Maybe it’s time I check this one out

>84 edwinbcn: Great review; I’ve put it on my TBR. Thank you!

048. Tokyo Express
Finished reading: 1 March 2024



Review:
Tokyo Express is a classic detective novel. The story starts with the detective work by Inspector Torigai, a local police inspector, but the investigation is soon taken over by a younger detective with the Tokyo police force.

From the start till the very end, the reader has no idea who the murderer would be, what his motive might be, how the murder exactly took place, or who are the (possible) accomplices. The reader can see no further than the mind of the detective, and the reader's mind is as restricted as his. For the largest part of the novel, the young detective is trying to prove that the main suspect, Yasuda, was at the scene of the murder, when all evidence seems to point the other way. Yasuda seems to have a water tight alibi. The plot is loosened up a bit when the older inspector, Torigai, suggests to expect the unexpected and attempt to broaden once view by looking critically at even the most inocuous.

The alibi by Yasuda is incredibly well plotted, to the extent that it is unlikely. However, this constantly baffles the police, and with them the reader. A minor point of criticism is that the insistence on cracking the nut is that it is repetitive, and towards the end comes close to frustration and boredom. However, it must be said that the reader is spellbound, and is unlikely to have a clue or insight on their own.

In the end, the solution to the story comes quite unexpectedly, and is then a near complete surprise. Such highly contrived plot is quite surrealistic, but still the writer's skill at suspense keeps the reader with him.

Although Tokyo Express was first published in 1958, the quality of the story is sufficiently high, and the story is still enticing to modern readers.

Source / edition: Penguin Modern Classics.

Rating:

049. Un soir d'été
Finished reading: 3 March 2024



Review:
Un soir d'été is the latest novel by Philippe Besson, published in January 2024. For the past four years, Besson has published a book every year, each time at the start of the new year. A number of Besson's novels seem to emanate or emulate upon the style of another author. Un soir d'été is much reminiscent of Marguerite Duras whose novel L'été 80 is referred to in the epigraph, recalling the long languid summers by the sea.

In Un soir d'été Philippe Besson has once more reinvented himself. Un soir d'été is the story of six teenagers, five boys and a girl. They're the best of friends, having grown up together. Through small details, brand names, things people used not to have, such as mobile phones or surveillance cameras, novels that came out or were popular, etc., the time of the story is clearly lodged in the 1980s. The reader is carefully drawn into that epoch.

The first part of the novel sets the scene, the halcyon days of long warm summers, life in a small village, a small band of quite ordinary teenagers. Everything is seen through the eyes of Philippe. 18-year old Philippe is sexually attracted to Marc, perhaps even to Francois, but this is hardly pronounced and sexuality plays virtually no role in Un soir d'été. It is funny that the young girl, Virginie, aged 13, sees through Philippe, even suggests he wants to get laid by Marc.

The second part of the novel is a real page-turner. The story takes a dark turn at a party, disco in the village near the coast. The events are not cleared up, but they form a lesson for Philippe. What is there for the reader is the realization of the connection between Philippe and Nicolas, a connection Philippe has hitherto not seen. It is typical of that period, that kindred sould were not aware of each other. The lone, unshared agony of not being understood, or being mobbed and teased, growing up in a small community.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Philippe Besson:
Un certain Paul Darrigrand
Un homme accidentel
Se résoudre aux adieux
Un garçon d'Italie

>90 edwinbcn: Another very tempting review.

050. Pour qui je me prends
Finished reading: 6 March 2024



Review:
Pour qui je me prends is an autobiography in which the author explores her multiple identities tied to her multilingualism. She suggests and shows how people have different personalities depending on the languages they speak.

Lori Saint-Martin was born into an English-speaking family in Canada, and she grew up speaking English. She started learning French at primary school, and as she grew older she decided that French was her mother tongue. Throughout her life, some people would occasionally comment on her accent, but in all other respects she had a perfect command of French. She changed her name to reflect that French was her de facto mother tongue. Her proficiency in French was so high, that all her life she worked as an author and translator in that language.

The book explores her sentiment about the languages she speaks. Initially, this is about English and French. In the later part of the book, she also writes about her sentiment and identity as a speaker of Spanish and German.

Pour qui je me prends touches on many feelings and experiences that many multilingual language users have. Each language seems to come with a different internalized culture. Languages are differently spoken, and people's characters appear different as speakers of various languages. Lori Saint-Martin describes many aspects of this development over the course of her life, how she rejected her original mother tongue and embraced another.

Rating:

051. Wake up. A life of the Buddha
Finished reading: 8 March 2024



Review:
When thinking about literary descriptions of the life of Buddha, the first that comes to mind is the excellent, and most poetic book, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse.

There are many translations of buddhist classics. These works are all pervaded by a style of writing typical for that type of literature. Jack Kerouac's Wake up. A life of the Buddha cannot break free from that style. Thereby, Wake up is not really written in the same style as Kerouac's other works.

It is obvious that Kerouac has not exactly consumed the buddhist classics, and not made them his own. Unlike
Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha, which is totally in harmony with Hesse's other work.

Jack Kerouac wrote Wake up. A life of the Buddha in 1955, but it wasn't published until 2008. In the Penguin Classics edition of 2008 it is preceded by an introduction of Robert A. F. Thurman.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Jack Kerouac:
Selected letters, 1940 - 1956
Old Angel Midnight
Vanity of Duluoz. An adventurous education, 1935-46
The subterraneans / Pic
Desolation angels
Visions of Gerard
Lonesome traveler
On the road
Maggie Cassidy
Tristessa
Doctor Sax. Faust part three
Big Sur

052. Les personnages
Finished reading: 9 March 2024



Review:
Les personnages is a book length essay about the coming into being of characters in works of fiction. Particularly the author's opening descriptions, of shades whose faces she cannot, who lurk around is very pervasive. Not all ideas are equally coherent and convincing, but still Les personnages contains a number of interesting ideas and observations about the creation of prose characters.

Les personnages consists of two short works, a long essay entitled "Deambulations" followed by "Esquisses en marge", which itself consist of two fragments.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Sylvie Germain:
La pleurante des rues de Prague

053. Cézanne. Des toits rouges sur la mer bleue
Finished reading: 9 March 2024



Review:
Cézanne. Des toits rouges sur la mer bleue by Marie-Hélène Lafon is a book length essay about the French painter Paul Cézanne. The author writes a lot about Cézanne's relation with doctor Gachet.

The book contains many beautiful descriptions, but on the whole the essay does not present any interesting ideas or insights.

Rating:

054. In een boek logeer je uiteindelijk het beste. Zesentwintig verhalen uit het schrijvershotel
Finished reading: 9 March 2024



Review:
The Hotel Ambassade is the preferred hotel for writers to stay in Amsterdam. It has a long tradition of welcoming both Dutch writers and international authors during visits to the Dutch capital, Amsterdam.

During the Corona pandemic, authors could not go on book tours, so writers stayed away from the Hotel. To bring them back, so to speak, the Hotel commissioned a number of Dutch writers to write a short piece about their experience with the Hotel Ambassade.

This book is the collection of 26 short essays and prose fragments about 26 Dutch writers'stays and experiences with the Hotel Ambassade in Amsterdam.

Rating:

055. De vlucht van de nachtegaal. Een filosofisch pleidooi voor de muzikant
Finished reading: 9 march 2024



Review:
De vlucht van de nachtegaal. Een filosofisch pleidooi voor de muzikant is a philosophical essay about music that hinges on two ideas. These ideas can partially be connected by the central metaphor of Andersen's story of The Nightingale. On the one hand, the author argues that modernism dehumanized art and music. On the other hand, she argues that we have lost our appreciation of the unique sense of interpretation by downgrading the role of interpretation by the performer. Each of these aspects would probably deserve a much longer discussion, which this short work can not really give.

Rating:

056. Anton Heijboer 1952 - 1959. Het verzonken leven
Finished reading: 10 March 2024



Review:
Anton Heijboer was a controversial artist in the Netherlands, because he lived in communion with several women, with whom he had children. He lived closely within the margin of polygamy. Particularly in his later year, the women he lived with would also screen him off, and would restrict other people's access to him.

Anton Heijboer 1952 - 1959. Het verzonken leven is a memoir by Heijboer's second wife, Erna Kramer about their life in the Dutch city of Haarlem. Kramer writes how she first saw Heijboer on the street when she was only 15 years old and told her mother that she would one day marry him. This came true, three years later.

She writes about the development of Anton Heijboer in his early years as they lived in Haarlem. Despite it's vicinity to Amsterdam, at a distance of less than 15 kiometers, Haarlem has always boasted of many artists. During the 1950s, Haarlem had a lively artist culture, with many prominent writers, actors and other artists living in Haarlem. Kramer describes the artist society where they met. The final part of the book is about the transition to Amsterdam, but most of the book is about the early years of their relationship and the development of Heijboer as an artist. The book contains many interesting photos.

Rating:

057. Kafka op Norderney. Essays
Finished reading: 11 march 2024



Review:
Kafka op Norderney. Essays by the Dutch writer Sipko Melissen contains three essays about holidays by Franz Kafka. None of Kafka's major works would have been published if it had not been for Max Brod, Kafka's best friend, who was also a writer. Brod later also edited Kafka's diaries and collections of letters. In shifting, though mainly preserving Kafka's estate Brod created the Kafka as he is known today.

Sipko Melissen shows how little we actually know about Kafka, although being so famous, we all think we know a lot about him. However, there are long periods, when Kafka either wrote very little, or books and diaries have not been preserved. Besides, the interest in Kafka developed relatively late. Thus, in the second essay Melissen argues that another Dutch author Willem Frederik Hermans may have overlooked or missed clues to our knowledge about Kafka because references to Kafka's stay in Merano did not exist at the time of Herman's visit.

The book by Melissen contains three essays about three trips by Kafka, namely to Venice, to Merano in northern Italy and to Norderney, one of the Frisian islands that are part of Germany. The essays about Kafka is Merano is more about W.F. Herman's writings about Kafka. At the time of Kafka's visit, Merano, then named Meran was a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, Sud-Tirol, where people spoke German.

The most astonishing and revealing of the three essays is the first essay, about Kafka in Venice. In Loves of Franz Kafka Nahum Glatzer already demonstrated that Kafka had very strained relationships with women. Although he started relationships with beautiful young women again and again, and thus had many girlfriends and women in his life, he did not marry them. Each time, relationships broke down. Kafka also did not have sex with these women. In fact, Glatzer writes that Kafka was revolted by the idea of having sex with women. He felt sex with women was disgusting.

Melissen does not write about any of this, but shows that Kafka had a keen interest in young men. Melissen cites excerpts of letters that were censored by Brod before publication. Melissen also shows that many other letters are either missing or miss passages, which may have contained other clues about Kafka's feelings for or about some of his male friends.

Melissen shows how careful thinking and looking for clues may still bring new facts or ideas about an author such as Kafka to light, even though people believe an authoritative biography has been written. Any writer can pursue aspects of the life and times of famous writers from the past and make new contributions to the understanding of their lives and work.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Sipko Melissen:
Een kamer in Rome
Oud-Loosdrecht
Spiegelpanden
De vendelzwaaier
Plaatsbewijs
De huid van Michelangelo
Jonge mannen aan zee

058. Voor de stad en de wereld. De gedichten tot dusver
Finished reading: 11 March 2024



Review:
Voor de stad en de wereld. De gedichten tot dusver is a collection of poetry by the Flemish author Erwin Mortier. In Dutch language "tot dusver" equals "collected". This usually means a combined edition of several volumes of poetry supplemented with uncollected and perhaps some new poems. While this hold true for this book by Mortier, nonetheless, this collection is very slim.

In Voor de stad en de wereld. De gedichten tot dusver Mortier's poetry of just six years is collected. During these six years just two slim volumes of poetry were published, nl Vergeten licht, which appears last in this collection, and Uit één vinger valt men niet. Gedichten bij foto's van Lieve Blancquaert. For this volume, the poems are reprinted but not the photos. These poems also appear toward the end of the book.

This collection contains two other slim volumes, which have apparently not been separately published, although one of them has appeared as texts with a theatre performance.

The language and stucture of the latest works, appearing first in this collection is very hard to follow, while the later work, previously published in 2000 and 2005 respectively is more accessible.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Erwin Mortier:
Mijn tweede huid
Gestameld liedboek. Moedergetijden
Alle dagen samen
De spiegelingen
Godenslaap
Marcel

059. Dezelfde maan
Finished reading: 14 March 2024



Review:
Dezelfde maan is a work of prose by the new Dutch author Dorien Dijkhuis. It is written is very many short paragraphs that appear with many white lines in between on the page. While the fragments are written in poetic language, the overall quality of the work still is more that of prose than of poetry.

The prose fragments appear like figments of the mind. While they are often beautiful, this mind is wandering. And this wandering mind often dwells on islands, and lonely places where it meets nature.

It never becomes entirely clear whether Dezelfde maan is a poetic representation of depression, or a book born out of depression. Nonetheless, the book is pensive, but not really sad, and therefore beautiful and readable to a wide audience.

Rating:

060. Vlucht; Dans; Vondst
Finished reading:



Review:
Vlucht; Dans; Vondst is a small booklet that brings together three very short stories by three new Dutch authors: "Vlucht" by Daphne Huisden, "Dans" by Yael van der Wouden and "Vondst" by Simone Atangana Bekono. The three stories were commissioned on the occasion of an art festival.

Without the context of the festival or an explanatory introduction it is not very clear what the idea behind the stories is and whether they construe a unity. The stories are quite absurd. Each is too short to give a good idea of its author. Neither do these fictional stories convey a coherent idea, either in separate form nor together.

Rating:

>92 edwinbcn: I wonder if Pour qui je me prends will be translated to English? I will keep an eye out for it, as it sounds very interesting.

>99 edwinbcn: The essays on Kafka also sound interesting.

Glad you had some four-star reads. The book about Kafka sounds fascinating. The one Heijboer sounds like a weird memoir .

Pour qui je me prends looks very interesting and I love the cover picture on the books about the Hotel Ambassade. It was good to catch up with your reviews.

061. De overkant van de rivier
Finished reading: 17 March 2024



Review:
When De overkant van de rivier came out in 1990, Jan Siebelink was still a fairly unknown author. He became a top bestseller author in 2005 with the publication of Knielen op een bed violen, a novel about his father. This novel is a magnificent achievement. Despite it's grave depiction of the religious zeal of his father, the novel enjoyed a wide readership.

De overkant van de rivier contains the same main elements but is a much more classical novel, in my opinion a better novel, altogether. It has characteristics of the Dutch genre of the streekroman, or regional rural novel. Still, it is a very literary treatment.

De overkant van de rivier can be seen as the novel about his mother. This should not be taken too literally. The two novels are two very different stories. De overkant van de rivier spans a very long period, from the early youth till old age. De overkant van de rivier is also a truly magnificent novel. Beside the personal history, it describes the economic development of a community along the river, up well into the 1980s, when high ways and bridges took over the function of ferries to cross a river. The novel also contrasts the growing clash between old morals and modern selfishness, traditional life versus capitalism. But the most important and disturbing element in the story is how matrimonial harmony is disturbed and destroyed when the father falls for religious zealots. Only towards the end of the novel, it becomes clear to what extremes he has gone, secretively, and how this cancer has destroyed and eaten into the fabric of their lives.

Throughout the novel, the eternal beauty of nature and the landscape is a continuous presence, even though in the end even that is threatened.

De overkant van de rivier is probably one of the best novels by Jan Siebelink. It requires and deserves careful reading, and offers many rewards to dedicated readers.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Jan Siebelink:
Oscar
Hartje zomer
Een lust voor her oog
Brengschuld
Suezkade
Koning Cophetua en het bedelmeisje
Vera
Knielen op een bed violen
Engelen van het duister

062. Roze brieven
Finished reading: 18 March 2024



Review:
In 2020, Splinter Chabot made his debut with the novel Confettiregen. It is a celebration of LGBTQ-lifestles, a tremendously optimistic and joyful book. Roze brieven is a compendium of letters the author received in response to the publication of his novel.

It is not entirely clear whether the letters are authentic, although they do seem real. Surprisingly, even in the Netherlands, which used to be considered such an open-minded and tolerant country, a coming-out novel could still spark so much emotion and recognition. Times have changed, and queer identity is again not self-evident.
The author answers selected letters in the book, and provides further comment.

The writing style is extremely light, somewhat childish.

Rating:

063. Het mislukte leven
Finished reading: 19 March 2024

Review:
Het mislukte leven is not published separately, as a book. Rather, it functions as a long introduction to Ik ben ik niet, a selection of the essays, mostly literary criticism, of J.J. Voskuil.

Detlev van Heest is a Dutch author, who was 'discovered' by Voskuil. Their friendship is the basis of this long interview between Van Heest and the widow of Voskuil. They speak about their lives, and about Voskuil's novels.

Het mislukte leven is a wonderful reading experience to fans of the work of Voskuil. It provides a wealth of insight into Voskuil's life and work, while it is written closely to the style of Voskuil, and admirably captures the style of conversation between Maarten and Nicolien, i.e. the late author and his wife as they appear in the novels, particularly in Het Bureau.

It is wonderful that this long interview, written out into prose, appears in a book which bears the name of Voskuil, rather than Van Heest. When it was published in 2014, very few biographical works were available on Voskuil. As it stands, Het mislukte leven will remain a valuable source on the biography of Voskuil and his work.

Rating:

064. Abolish the family. A manifesto for care and liberation
Finished reading: 20 March 2024



Review:
Abolish the family. A manifesto for care and liberation seems to be a reiteration of a blip, or a phantom flash of an idea that died a while ago. Although the book is not mainly about gay and lesbian people, the book's main idea is profoundly based in ideas from the gay and lesbian movement, as it existed in from the 1960s to the middle 1990s. Particularly in the 1980s, the gay and lesbian movement fought for equal rights, and as liberalism favoured their cause, they achieved more than they had strived for. That is to say, as their movement gained momentum they reached beyond their call for equal rights, and won the battle for the gay marriage.

In the early days, gay marriage had not been the goal. Rather, progressively minded gay and lesbians envisaged an alternative form of partnership, and entirely different type of matrimonial bond: a different form and a different name. They lost their cause to the mainstream that wanted gay marriage.

Sophie Lewis draws this argument one more, expanding it to other groups of people, and for different purposes. Instead of attacking matrimony, Lewis wants to abolish the family. Her book is not particularly woke. It's ideological base is that preceding wokeism. Abolish the family. A manifesto for care and liberation is, as it says, a manifesto, harking back to that other influential manifesto: Marx and Engels' The Communist Manifesto. Abolish the family. A manifesto for care and liberation is a neo-Marxist pamphlet.

Feminist writers throughout this period have pointed at the significance of Engels's Der Ursprung der Familie, des Privateigenthums und des Staats (The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State: in the Light of the Researches of Lewis H. Morgan). Abolish the family. A manifesto for care and liberation seems to be a bit too inconsequential on the idea to abolish the family altogether.

Superficially, in the light of eroding gender stereotypes toward a more open society, and large, looming issues such as care for the aging population in a world where fewer people can rely on their family, it seems the book has a valid point. However, for all fierce and revolutionary gusto with which the book presents its argument, it is mum on alternatives that could fill the gap left after the abilition of the family.

Why I read this now: Because the theme of the Dutch National Promotion of the Book Week is family.

Rating:

065. The demon
Finished reading: 21 March 2024



Review:
The demon by has been aptly dubbed the original American Psycho. Whoever has read that 1991 novel by Bret Easton Ellis will still shudder remembering the incredible cruelty and horror of its descriptions.
Selby's The demon is the precursor of that story, first published in 1976.

The demon isn't half as scary or cruel as American Psycho. Another drawback is that it takes the novel a very long time to develop. Nothing much happens during the first 150 pages, to the extent that I was tempted to abandon the book, but it must be said that I had no idea what the book was about. Retrospectively, the long introduction seems appropriate to build up toward the horror of the latter part of the story.

The time frame of The demon is several decades. The readers sees the development of Harry White from his bachelor years through the maturing of his child, which obviously encompasses his honeymoon and marriage, and his lust and pursuit of other women around it. The novel really kicks off when Harry starts on an impulsive habit of buying plants to decorate the house, and a scene in which he ends up frantically stabbing a Dieffenbachia, a type of chamber pot plant, typical for that era, and a red flag signal moment in the novel.

The demon is psychologically much more subtle that American Psycho, through less extreme in its violence. Still, all ingredients of the later novel are already there.

Rating:

Abolish the Family is a strident title for a book on a manifesto for care and liberation. It is a subject that interests me, but perhaps there are better books around.

>111 baswood:
You are right. I was also much taken in by the title, but Abolish the family. A manifesto for care and liberation was very disappointing.

066. Dagboek van een puber. Notities van een onvolprezen wonderkind
Finished reading: 22 March 2024



Review:
I have recently read books by two Gen Z authors, born 1984 and 1996 respectively, who write as if they are still children. They write as if they resist growing up. Their childish books were written when they were well into their twenties.

Dagboek van een puber. Notities van een onvolprezen wonderkind is (or purports to be) the authentic diary of Raoul de Jong, written when he was 12 years old.

Is it interesting? Yes, in a way it is. Firstly, it could be read as a time capsule. It describes the year of a child in the year 1997, as a young high school kid. It is also pretty daring of the author to publish it. It is not annotated, but the author has added comments, and extra text to tie up fragments. It is not clear whether any text was left out. In fact, there is nothing to prove that it is entirely authentic, although it rings true.

The book is interesting for several reasons. It is a ego document of Raoul de Jong, who is now a developing young writer, with several books to his name. Much of his exploits and ideas as a young adolescent are recognizeable to older, and probably also younger readers.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Raoul de Jong:
Boto Banja, of Het geheim genootschap der dansende schrijvers

067. Gesprekken met opa
Finished reading: 22 March 2024



Review:
Gesprekken met opa is another small book by Raoul de Jong. The booklet originated as a series of weekly columns written after talks with his grandfather. The Corona period intersects with these talks. The author was 35 at that time.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Raoul de Jong:
Boto Banja, of Het geheim genootschap der dansende schrijvers
Dagboek van een puber. Notities van een onvolprezen wonderkind

068. De onbevlekte
Finished reading: 22 March 2024



Review:
The prose, novellas and novels, of Erwin Mortier are steadily developing to an ever refining style. Mortier does not choose easy subjects. Instead, he is always looking for better telling the story of his family, a deeply rooted story of a dark past during the Great War. This story and Mortier's developing style ties him directly to the great Flemish authors of the past such as Louis Paul Boon and Hugo Claus. However, quite a number of Mortier's novels, including Godenslaap and Marcel are more evocative, while relatively weak on plot. Like wise, this new novella, De onbevlekte, a work closely related to Mortier's debut novel Marcel hardly has a plot. It is therefore a somewhat dark and brooding tale, which does however present the reader with very beautiful prose describing nature and life in Flanders of the first half of the 20th century.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Erwin Mortier:
Voor de stad en de wereld. De gedichten tot dusver
Mijn tweede huid
Gestameld liedboek. Moedergetijden
Alle dagen samen
De spiegelingen
Godenslaap
Marcel

069. Intérieur jour
Finished reading: 22 March 2024



Review:
Intérieur jour by Marc Dugain was written while he was working on the filming of L'Échange des princesses, after the book by Chantal Thomas.

Why would anyone read Intérieur jour if you have neither seen the film nor read the book the film was based on. This seems to be a logical question, and the answer may seem paradoxical. Because while the book was written for a seemingly very specific event, the book embraces all.

Anyone who reads Intérieur jour by Marc Dugain will find something of interest. All major events of the past two centuries are mentioned including references to all cultural icons and memes related to those events. By looking inward, Dugain magnifies detail to encompass the culture of our times and the world.

However, Dugain has one focal point, which ties Intérieur jour to his cinematic work, which is his focus on childhood, and impressive events that happened during childhood.

Marc Dugain has had a very unusual career spanning a range of experience broader than most people. His work on the filming of L'Échange des princesses has acted as a prisma to separate that broad spectrum into an essay that looks at human experience in many facets.

I had expected little of this book, but found it brimming with ideas.

Rating:

070. De brieven van Matthew
Finished reading: 23 March 2024

Review:
In 2008, Erwin Mortier published Godenslaap, and in 2014 De spiegelingen. The title of the latter novel suggests mirroring. In both novels, published six years apart, the same characters appear from different perspectives. For the joint publication of these two novels in a single-volume edition, Mortier wrote De brieven van Matthew which connects the two novels.

De brieven van Matthew is a collection of fictional letters which ties the two novels together. It is not a novella, and it is hard to imagine that De brieven van Matthew could appear as a stand-alone publication. It is really just an intermezzo for the two novels, in the one-volume edition renamed Boeken van de troost.

Having read these novels so many years apart, but De spiegelingen relatively recently, in October 2022, it is difficult to see exactly how it ties the two novels together. At just about 50 pages, it is an interesting related fragment, stylistically as fine as the novels.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Erwin Mortier:
De onbevlekte
Voor de stad en de wereld. De gedichten tot dusver
Mijn tweede huid
Gestameld liedboek. Moedergetijden
Alle dagen samen
De spiegelingen
Godenslaap
Marcel

071. Boeken van de troost
Finished reading: 23 March 2024



Review:
De spiegelingen is a lyrical novel. Although Erwin Mortier had already published 3 collections of essays, 4 of poetry and four novels, he broke through to a larger audience with his fifth novel Godenslaap, which won the national book award. De spiegelingen is his sixth novel and achieves the same heights as Godenslaap.

Mortier does not (yet) have a distinct style. Although he hasn't published any poetry after 2007, his output remains divided between essays and novels. Thematically, the novels are also wide apart, some displaying a strong religious background.

De spiegelingen was published in 2014, the first centennial of the First World War. Between 2009 and 2012 Mortier translated and published the war journals of three nurses or volunteers who worked on the front during the Great War. In 2009, the book by the American nurse Ellen N. La Motte, in 2011 a book by the American nurse Mary Borden and in 2012 the diaries by the British volunteer Enid Bagnold.

The first part of the novel De spiegelingen is clearly inspired by these works. It is the longest and mostly deeply felt part of the novel. It describes how the main character is wounded and nursed back to health. It also describes the relationship between Edgar and Matthew. This sexual relation is the reiterated in all subsequent episodes of the novel, although Matthew was apparently bisexual and marries Edgar’s sister, their bond is transformed into comradeship.

The novel consists of a series of episodes. Each episode describes a new phase in Edgar’s life with a new gay lover. Each new relationship is like an echo of that first relationship, and each new relationship it entered with the scars from that first relationship, mental and physical scars. The old relationship is mirrored in the new relationships. Sexuality is described in a very explicit, brutal way. Thus,comradeship and the violence of war in the first relationship are reflected in later relationships in love and sexuality. Partners in later relationships are also international, from all races and continents.

While sexuality is described very explicitly and shocking, the novel contains many beautiful and lyrical passages, which remind of the works of the French author Philippe Besson.

In 2018, Godenslaap and in De spiegelingen were published in a single-volume edition, entitled Boeken van de troost. De spiegelingen suggests mirroring. In both novels, published six years apart, the same characters appear from different perspectives. For the joint publication of these two novels in a single-volume edition, Mortier wrote De brieven van Matthew which connects the two novels.

De brieven van Matthew is a collection of fictional letters which ties the two novels together. It is not a novella, and it is hard to imagine that De brieven van Matthew could appear as a stand-alone publication. It is really just an intermezzo for the two novels, in the one-volume edition renamed Boeken van de troost.

Having read these novels so many years apart, but De spiegelingen relatively recently, in October 2022, it is difficult to see exactly how it ties the two novels together. At just about 50 pages, it is an interesting related fragment, stylistically as fine as the novels.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Erwin Mortier:
De brieven van Matthew
De onbevlekte
Voor de stad en de wereld. De gedichten tot dusver
Mijn tweede huid
Gestameld liedboek. Moedergetijden
Alle dagen samen
De spiegelingen
Godenslaap
Marcel

072. Tortilla Flat
Finished reading: 25 March 2024



Review:
Tortilla Flat is not really a novel, ratrher a collection of short stories about the same characters. As the focus shifts from one to the other character, each is portrayed from different angles. Many of the stories are wrily humourous, and the portrayal of each character is deeply human. Tortilla Flat clearly foreshadows Of mice and man. It is a must-read for readers interested in John Steinbeck.

Rating:

Other books I have read by John Steinbeck:
In dubious battle
Travels with Charley
Sweet Thursday
Cannery Row
The red pony
Of mice and men
The pearl
The moon is down
The winter of our discontent
The wayward bus
The acts of King Arthur and his noble knights
Burning bright

073. Ochtenden. Berichten
Finished reading: 30 March 2024



Review:
Dutch literature allows for little flexibility in deciding between prose and poetry. Poetic prose texts would be considered poetry in many counries, whereas in the Netherlands the form would determine the genre. Ochtenden. Berichten by Donald Niedekker consists of prose pieces, usually of one page or less, describing nature and landscape. The jury report of the Bordewijk Award (2022) described it as a poetic novel.
The lyrical prose describes the landscape of the dunes and the areas around it.

Very pleasant reading.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Donald Niedekker:
Hier ben ik. Een hedendaags Hooglied

074. Vivarium
Finished reading: 30 March 2024



Review:
Vivarium by Tanguy Viel holds the middle between an essay and autobiography. It is an introspective memoir in which the author ruminates on writing, life, the past, sensations and literature. It is a dreamy and lyrical work. The author's thoughts turn to the full spectrum of European literature, and so have his travels as his ideas wander across Europe, resting on moments and ideas in various cities. Vivarium is a book one could read again and again, wandering its pages as one wanders one's memory. It is very enjoyable to read, but does not leave much of an impression.

Rating:

075. In wat voor land leef ik eigenlijk? Anil Ramdas onmogelijk kosmopoliet
Finished reading: 1 April 2024



Review:
In wat voor land leef ik eigenlijk? Anil Ramdas onmogelijk kosmopoliet is the biography of the Dutch (and Surinam) writer and thinker Anil Ramdas. It is a must read for Dutch people to understand the relationship between people from Surinam and the Netherlands. From the biography we get the picture that Anil Ramdas was gradually destroyed, as the deep-running racism that pervades both Dutch society and culture isolated and eventually eliminated his.

The first part of the book describes the optimism of growing up in Surinam and finding all the positive ways of developing and building a career as a thinker and writer in the Netherlands. This part of the book is characterised by the optimism and joyfulness of the 1960s through 90s. The latter part of the book takes place in the grim atmosphere that came into being after the millennium.

The biography of Anil Ramdas is revealing and shocking, and should be read by a wide audience.

Rating:

076. Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West. Love letters
Finished reading: 2 April 2024



Review:
Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West. Love letters is overrated and underwhelming. It contains the complete correspondance between Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West over a period of 21 years, from 1922 till 1941. Many of the letters are either short of very short, and many of the letters are about very little. The letters add very little to the overall understanding or image of either of the two authors. Both women were married. Although their letters are passionate and fierce, it is not clear whether one could truly call them love letters.

Still, the letters do form a fine complement to our knowledge of both writers, but probably only if you already know a lot about them. The letters show but tell us very little about Vita travels and about Sissinghurst, the manor she moved to after losing her ancestral home. We catch some glimpses of Virginia. However, for these minor intresting moments we have to read through page-upon-page of boring and short missives.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Virginia Woolf:
A room of one's own / Three guineas
The Common Reader - First Series
Flush. A biography
Moments of being
The London scene. Six essays on London life
Selected short stories
Monday or Tuesday
A room of one's own
Orlando
Jacob's room
Mrs. Dalloway

Other books I have read by Vita Sackville-West

No signposts in the sea

>122 edwinbcn: Congratulations on reaching 75 with a 5* read, Edwin!

I have this book on one of my lists, and now I am sure I want to read it.

>124 FAMeulstee:

Thanks, FAMeulstee (Frank and Anita). Indeed, you should. I remember Anil Ramdas as such an inspiring, sympathetic and talented young man. I had heard he had (supposedly) taken his own life. I was overseas and did not know of the details, but was shocked to read this biography.

To me the reading of this biography comes as a part of the whole revaluation of writers from former colonies in the West-Indies, but with particular interest for Anil Ramdas who seemed to close to all of us.

My mother of 83, who has never read a biography in her life, read this and said she had the same experience.

>125 edwinbcn: Anita is writing here on LT, our library is a combined effort.

We knew Anil Ramdas from his writings in the NRC and De Groene, in the 1990s we had a subscription on both. I did read a book by Karin Amatmoekrin before, her take on Anton de Kom in De man van veel.
An other interesting writer from Suriname is Astrid Roemer. Despite winning the two major Dutch literary prizes, it looks like her books stil are stil not read much.

Sorry for congratuling you with 75 books, a habit, as I spend most of my time in the 75 group here on LT, and star a few threads in other groups. My eye fell on your thread, as I saw some interesting books being read.

077. Kathy Acker. The last interview, and other conversations
Finished reading: 5 April 2024



Review:
The last interview series brings collections of interviews with selected authors, and has published a volume of interviews with Kathy Acker. Coming after the Beat Generation it is easy to dismiss or overlook Kathy Acker. She started publishing in the mid-1970s and was associated with the punk movement of the late-70s and early Eighties. Her raucious style, reminiscent of and influenced by Burroughs will not likely make her a popular author.

Kathy Acker. The last interview, and other conversations is a very useful source of first-hand background to the life and person, Kathy Acker, and offers a great deal of insight in her work. There are 10 interviews and particularly the later, longer interviews from the mid-Nineties portray Acker as an author with depth, and a fascinating outlook on our very recent culture. The early interviews, the earliest dating to 1976, with two interviews in the 1980s reflect Acker's wild, unconforming style, including the On Our Backs interview from 1990. The longer interviews with Juno and Vale (1991) and Rickels (1994) reflect on Acker's work and discuss philosophical ideas and underpinning of her novels. In the interview "All Girls Together" (1997) Acker is the interviewer while she interviews The Spice Girsl. At this stage, Acker is introduced as an avant-garde American writer and academic, a certain stage of establishment, but still at the frontier. This sense is maintained in "The Last Interview" (1997) with Kasia Boddy, which reflects and discusses Acker's academic merit and puts het work is perrspective. The introduction to this book by Amy Scholder and Douglas A. Martin is also valuable.

I found this book very useful, and a real eye-opener for putting the author into perspective. Highly recommended for people for readers of Kathy Acker's work.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Kathy Acker:
Blood and guts in high school
I'm very into you. Correspondence 1995-1996

>121 edwinbcn: Interested to read your review of Vivarium which is getting near the top of my to-read list.

>128 baswood:
I wonder what you think of it. I found it very enjoyable but not entirely satisfactory. Hence 3.5 stars.

078. Chanson bretonne, suivi de Lénfant de la guerre
Finished reading: 5 April 2024



Review:
Chanson bretonne, suivi de Lénfant de la guerre has the sub title "Two stories" (Deux contes but is seems typical of the work of J M G Le Clezio that this may as well mean autobiography. The first, longer of the two is by far the most interesting, Chanson bretonne. This work describes long summers in Brittany, and all aspects of life near the coast in that part of France, in short fragments, of two or three pages, just a bit too long to be called vignettes. Born in Nice, J M G Le Clezio grew up in Brittany, and the story jumps back and forward between the past and the present, remembering and reminiscing his own youth spent there.

Rating:

Other books I have read by J M G Le Clezio:
Voyage à Rodrigues

079. The professor's house
Finished reading: 5 April 2024



Review:
The professor's house has none of the sparkle of O Pioneers!. It's setting in Mexico, like some of Cather's other novels, describing the old age of a professor, seems to mimic the confused mind of an old man and his preoccupations.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Willa Cather:
The Bohemian girl
My Ántonia
Death comes for the Archbishop
Wagner matinee
O Pioneers!

080. Travels in the drifting dawn
Finished reading: 6 April 2024



Review:
Travels in the drifting dawn is a book of travel, but wholly unconventional. Kenneth White is an entirely original writer and thinker. Born in Scotland in 1936, he studied in Paris and subsequently mostly lived in France. Most of his books were written and published in French. In 1989, he founded the International Institute of Geopoetics directing his academic research into the cross-cultural, transdisciplinary field of study which he had been developing. Travels in the drifting dawn was written and published at this time. Travels in the drifting dawn is one of the first books by Kenneth White to appear in English, although some of his other works were later translated into English.

The notes and parts of Travels in the drifting dawn were written between 1963 and 1975. They are not exactly the trodden paths, although White also visits some cities such as Amsterdam, most are travels in the countryside. White is drawn by the mysticim of the Celtic past, and free roaming of forests and fields. The book breathes the atmosphere of the 1960s - 70s of hippies. White was expelled from the university during students uprisings in the late 60s.

The language of Travels in the drifting dawn is poetic, often interweaving English and French. While the author may appear as a tramp, the book is written with great erudition.

While White's academic ideas have never entered the broader consciousness, some of his ideas may still go on, as some interest in his work seems to be reflected in the writings of Sylvain Tesson, paricularly in his Tesson's latest book Avec les fées.

Rating:

081. Every day is for the thief
Finished reading: 6 April 2024



Review:
Every day is for the thief seems to be a hyperrealistic story of (the /) an author going back to Nigeria after having lived in the United States for many year. The "novel" is a description of what he sees and experiences. De "novel" is published "with photos by the author".

So what is the message? A true story is also an story, perhaps. Teju's novel Every day is for the thief could as well be categorised as a travelogue, or an essay. "Novel" may suggest some alterations or some invention, which is not explained. However, the story is good, and if we accept the story as a novel, then Every day is for the thief is a very readable book.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Teju Cole:
Tremor

082. Clear
Finished reading: 6 April 2024



Review:
Clear is a dark, brooding story. It wonderfully evokes the climate and the landscape of the northern British Isles. The story can easily be read in one sitting. The story is compelling, but should not be seen as queer literature. Then, too, the story describes the emergence of love of a lonely, lost man on a remote island, who develops affection and perhaps even love through caring for another man.

Together with the historical setting and the description of the landscape and the atmosphere it evokes, Carys Davies has written an interesting, historical novel, that could be seen as faux Victorian fiction.

Rating:

083. De boom valt op mij
Finished reading: 7 April 2024



Review:
De boom valt op mij is a collection of 45 poems by Ilse Starkenburg. The poems are mostly short, fitting one page or less, and are mostly written in free verse. The poems are fresh and clear, evoking simple, pleasant emotions and thoughts.

Rating:

084. Bericht aan de rattenkoning
Finished reading: 10 April 2024



Review:
Bericht aan de rattenkoning by the Dutch author Harry Mulisch can be read as a chronicle of the history of Amsterdam in 1965 - 1966. It is a primary source for the hippie movement of that period, in the Netherlands known as Provo. The book reflects the strong sentiments of sympathy for communism and maoism that was prevalent among leftist intellectuals at that time in the Netherlands. Other prominent members of the movement are also described, such as Roel van Duyn.

Bericht aan de rattenkoning is interesting because it does not only provide a historical description but is a lived-through experience and intellectual commentary of a member of the movement.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Harry Mulisch:
Paniek der onschuld
De ontdekking van de hemel
De verhalen
Het theater, de brief en de waarheid
De aanslag
Siegfried. Een zwarte idylle
De procedure
De pupil
Hoogste tijd
Het stenen bruidsbed
Twee vrouwen
Het zwarte licht

>134 edwinbcn: I've been hearing quite a bit of buzz about Clear. Sounds interesting.

>136 edwinbcn: I read The Assault a couple of months ago and was impressed. You have read so many of Mulisch's works, do you have favorites or ones you would recommend I try next?

>137 labfs39:

Harry Mulisch is a very Dutch author, and yet unique within Dutch literature. I think you made a good choice reading De aanslag, as it is accessible and fairly straightforward. To me it is very difficult to see what the international appeal of a writer such as Mulisch would be. De ontdekking van de hemel is considered his opus magnum, but to me, I cannot see a book like that separate from Mulisch megalomania. Personally, I would be more interested in his earlier work, e.g. De compositie van de wereld, although I think it is out of print. Within his works, I think Twee vrouwen and Het stenen bruidsbed are bestsellers. They are not too long, I think they are very readable, and I think they are good examples of his style. You might like to start with those two novels.

>138 edwinbcn: Thanks. I'll probably be limited to whatever I can find, but I'll start looking with these.

085. Une longue route pour m'unir au chant français
Finished reading: 12 April 2024



Review:
François Cheng was born in China, in 1929, in Nanchang, in Jiangxi province. He moved to France at the age of 19, in 1948. Une longue route pour m'unir au chant français describes this journey. It is a book that is both an autobiography, and a guide to his work and the interplay of cultural influences both Chinese and French. Particularly the first part is of interest, as it shows even at a young age François Cheng was at the forefront of the literary scene in China, aware of and involved with budding modernism in literary circles in China before the Pacific War and before the Communist Revolution. François Cheng also shows how the fabric of classical Chinese culture and poetry is part of his upbringing and education in China, which he experienced and absorbed consciously as a teenager in China.

The larger part of Une longue route pour m'unir au chant français describes the genesis of his work and his style, while living in France, and writing in French. Although François Cheng has both written prose, novels and essays, he is best known for his poetry. Besides, he is also active as a calligrapher.

Une longue route pour m'unir au chant français is an excellent introduction to François Cheng and his work. Embedded in the text are fragments of his poems, and the text refers to other books by Cheng which illustrate his thinking and his ideas. Naturally, the interplay of references to China and Chinese culture permeates the narrative.

Rating:

086. Über das Marionettentheater. Aufsätze und Anekdoten
Finished reading: 12 April 2024



Review:
As the subtitle says, Über das Marionettentheater. Aufsätze und Anekdoten is a collection of anecdotes and short essays-like texts. Many of these texts are about the theatre or about education. They were written during the Enlightenment and show an interest in innovation. I do not understand why this small book is illustrated with six drawings by Oskar Schlemmer, as these drawings date from the 1920s, long after Heinrich von Kleist. Given the fragmented nature and unclear focus of these texts, I found it of little interest.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Heinrich von Kleist:
Die Marquise von O... Sämtliche Erzählungen
Novellen

087. The Dharma bums
Finished reading: 12 April 2024



Review:
The Dharma bums belongs to the early works of Jack Kerouac. It was written using the same technique as On the road, which was written in 1951 and published in 1957. Although Kerouac wrote On the road in three weeks, the book was much belaboured and altered by the publishers'editors. The Dharma bums preserves much of the energy and spontaneity.

From 1954, Kerouac had become interested in Buddhism. Within a year, he wrote Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha, which is a biography of the Buddha. This work wasn't published long after his death, first serialized in the mid-1990s, and not until 2008 in book form. Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha is the result of Kerouac's interest in Buddhism, but it is a stiff un uninspiring book. It is not lived-through, and Kerouac cannot wrestle himslef free from the dogmatic approach to Buddhism.

The Dharma bums is Kerouac as we know him from On the road. In this book, his interest in Buddhism has matured by a few more years, and so has his writing style. The Dharma bums is "On the road 2.0", a better version of Kerouac's early work.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Jack Kerouac:
Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha
Selected letters, 1940 - 1956
Old Angel Midnight
Vanity of Duluoz. An adventurous education, 1935-46
The subterraneans / Pic
Desolation angels
Visions of Gerard
Lonesome traveler
On the road
Maggie Cassidy
Tristessa
Doctor Sax. Faust part three
Big Sur

088. Arkadia. Een drieluik
Finished reading: 13 April 2024



Review:
Arkadia. Een drieluik is the latest novel by the Dutch author Sipko Melissen. The novel consists of three episodes in reverse order in time, so that the story of the two friends is told from the present back to the past. The story is boring and of little interest.

I have followed Sipko Melissen for 20 years, having read all his novels, and must unfortunately conclude that his later novels are of less interest. His last few books are far-fetched stories, that are of little interest, while story-telling techniques are increasingly strained.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Sipko Melissen:
Kafka op Norderney. Essays
Een kamer in Rome
Oud-Loosdrecht
Spiegelpanden
De vendelzwaaier
Plaatsbewijs
De huid van Michelangelo
Jonge mannen aan zee

089. Comment c'était. Souvenirs sur Samuel Beckett
Finished reading: 13 April 2024



Review:
Born in Dublin, Samuel Beckett lived most of his adult life in Paris. He wrote and published both in English and French. Comment c'était. Souvenirs sur Samuel Beckett originally published in English as How It Was: A Memoir of Samuel Beckett (1991) is a memoir, written by Anne Atik. Atik lived in Paris since 1959 with her husband, the painter Avigdor Arikha. They were close friends of Samuel Beckett, who often visited their home.

Comment c'était. Souvenirs sur Samuel Beckett tells the story of their friendship in a personal account, supplemented with diary entries and fragments from letters. There are also reproductions of four portraits of Beckett by Avigdor Arikha. Throughout the book, she refers to Beckett as "Sam".

In Comment c'était. Souvenirs sur Samuel Beckett Atik does not only recall her time with Beckett, she also extensively described literary influences on Beckett, such as Shakespeare, Keats, Petrarca, dante, yeats, and the bible. The diary entries are between the October 1970 and December 1999 on just barely 60 pages.

Comment c'était. Souvenirs sur Samuel Beckett is probably of interest to people with a very specific interest in Samuel Beckett, but is of little interest to the general reader, as descriptions about time spent with Beckett are sparse and the largest part of the book is about literary criticism.

Rating:

090. Godschaamte. Een eigentijdse expeditie op zoek naar God
Finished reading: 17 April 2024



Review:
From the 1960s onward, western society has been characterised by a process of secularisation. Stephan Sanders describes how he returned to the faith. Although he grew up with religion at home and at school, he lived an atheist life style for many decades. Godschaamte. Een eigentijdse expeditie op zoek naar God is a collection of columns, previously published in a Dutch newspaper, in which Sanders describes how he became more interested in, and started going back to church, transforming into a religious person.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Stephan Sanders:
Iets meer dan een seizoen. Memoir
Zon, zee, oorlog. Reisverhalen & introspecties
Connie Francis, of De onschuld van Amerika
De grote woede van M.
Liefde is voor vrouwen
Ai, Jamaica! Over de zucht naar exotica in Europa

091. Toestanden
Finished reading: 17 April 2024



Review:
Reading Toestanden was like a stroll down memory lane. Piet Vroon published these essays about psychology in 1993. The essays are extended articles about a number of phenomena current at that time. The essays are grouped in nine sections, sometimes consisting of different essays or articles, or long contributions of multiple parts. Each section is about 30 pages long. The first section contains a number of observations on the field of psychology. The next section of about 30 pages is about communication and the senses. It contains observations and essays on "Looking", "Visions", "Smelling", "Paranormal phenomena", "Advertising and videoclips" and "Relations", as wel as "Hearing: consciously and unconsciously". The next section is only about "Sick Building Syndrome", a phenomenon first described in the late 80s, when this book was written.

The other sections contain essays on a variety of other interests in the field of psychology that were often in the media at that time, such as the discovery of Alzheimer, thought about cancer and aids, the criminalisation of illness and disease, distance working and carpooling. In fact, the book is very, very diverse, but obviously all dated, as it was published more than 30 years ago.

Rating:

092. De wanhoop is tijdelijk voorbij
Finished reading: 19 April 2024



Review:
De wanhoop is tijdelijk voorbij is a beautifully published, cloth edition of a selection from the work of the Dutch poet Hans Lodeizen, selected and edited by Bart Moeyaert.

Hans Lodeizen remains a fairly unknown poet, although his name is well-known. He died young, aged 26, from leukemia in 1950. Much of his youth was spent under German occupation during the Second World War.

At just 70 pages, this booklet is but a teaser to readers unfamiliar with Lodeizen.

Rating:

093. Ik ben ik niet
Finished reading: 24 April 2024



Review:
Ik ben ik niet is a selection of the essays, mostly literary criticism, of J.J. Voskuil. The essays are preceded by a long interview with Detlev van Heest. Het mislukte leven is not published separately, as a book. Rather, it functions as a long introduction to Ik ben ik nietl.

Detlev van Heest is a Dutch author, who was 'discovered' by Voskuil. Their friendship is the basis of this long interview between Van Heest and the widow of Voskuil. They speak about their lives, and about Voskuil's novels.

Het mislukte leven is a wonderful reading experience to fans of the work of Voskuil. It provides a wealth of insight into Voskuil's life and work, while it is written closely to the style of Voskuil, and admirably captures the style of conversation between Maarten and Nicolien, i.e. the late author and his wife as they appear in the novels, particularly in Het Bureau.

It is wonderful that this long interview, written out into prose, appears in a book which bears the name of Voskuil, rather than Van Heest. When it was published in 2014, very few biographical works were available on Voskuil. As it stands, Het mislukte leven will remain a valuable source on the biography of Voskuil and his work.

Unfortunately, the essays (literary criticism) by Voskuil is of less interest. The articles were mostly written in the 1950s describing books that were published at that time, i.e. between the 40sand 50s,by authors who are now long forgotten.

The first essays bears the same titleas this book,n.l. "Ik ben ik niet". It was originally published in Propria Cures, an reknowned student weekly. The first two essays, published in 1951 and 1952, appeared in this weekly. A few years later, in 1956 Voskuil started contributing to Litterair Paspoort. Four essays appeared in 1958 in De Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant, plus one in 1957. The essays are mostly about German literature, specifically Kafka and Max Brod, Musil, Kraus and Stifter.

Rating:

Other books I have read by
Binnen de huid
Bij nader inzien
Onder andere. Herinneringen en dagboekbladen
Gaandeweg. Voettochten 1983-1992
Terloops. Voettochten 1957 - 1973
De moeder van Nicolien
De buurman
Jeugdherinneringen
Het Bureau 7 Vols.-Set
Het Bureau, Vol. 7. De dood van Maarten Koning
Het Bureau, Vol. 6. Afgang
Het Bureau, Vol. 5. En ook weemoedigheid
Het Bureau, Vol. 4. Het A. P. Beerta-Instituut
Het Bureau, Vol. 3. Plankton
Het Bureau, Vol. 2. Vuile handen
Het Bureau, Vol. 1. Meneer Beerta

094. Toevalligheden, vingerwijzingen, voorzienigheid. Over katholiek geloven, schaamte en de voorsprong van de homoseksueel
Finished reading: 30 April 2024



Review:
Toevalligheden, vingerwijzingen, voorzienigheid. Over katholiek geloven, schaamte en de voorsprong van de homoseksueel is the text of a lecture, the 2022 Frans Kellendonk Lecture, in honor of the Dutch writer Frans Kellendonk. This lecture is an excellent compendium to Stephan Sanders' book Godschaamte. Een eigentijdse expeditie op zoek naar God, which was published in 2021.

The lecture gives a very brief overview of Sanders experience with the crossroads between literature, homosexuality and gay life in the capital city,Amsterdam. It touches upon the religious experience of fellow writers, such as Jan Willem Otten and Frans Kellendonk, and zooms in on Kellendonk's understanding of Joost van den Vondel's poem Altaergeheimnissen, written in 1645.

Sanders shows how Kellendonk was able to preserve a true sense of religion is a society at the height of secularization, and reconcile a homosexual lifestyle with religion, which was then still very much associated with taboo. Sanders explores how to overcome the shame to return to religion from a life-long denial of the faith.

For all its conciseness, the small booklet paints an interesting portrait of a certain part of the gay scene of Amsterdam in the 1980s, in the medieval city center between the Basilica of Saint Nicolas, De Kroonprins and the Shako, and the wanderings of Frans Kellendonk, Jan Willem Otten, Stephan Sanders and pater Jan van Kilsdonk.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Stephan Sanders:
Godschaamte. Een eigentijdse expeditie op zoek naar God
Iets meer dan een seizoen. Memoir
Zon, zee, oorlog. Reisverhalen & introspecties
Connie Francis, of De onschuld van Amerika
De grote woede van M.
Liefde is voor vrouwen
Ai, Jamaica! Over de zucht naar exotica in Europa

095. Het warmtefort
Finished reading: 30 April 2024



Review:
Het warmtefort by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld was published in 2022, as the Boekenweek Essay of that year. The essay, being a very versatile genre,is taken to new depths by Rijneveld. Lucas Rijneveld stormed the literary scene in 2015, and won the International Booker Prize with his novel De avond is ongemak, translated as The Discomfort of Evening

Het warmtefort touches on some of the same themes, notable the death of the author's brother in an accident on a farm. Het warmtefort consists of a number of short stories or episodes that describe youth at the age of about 12. The memories appear and hover, like the swarm of bats that obstruct builders from tearing down an old school building, the primary school of the main character. Memories surface connected to teachers, and events. Fascinating, and a touch macabre.

Rating:

096. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage
Finished reading: 1 May 2024



Review:
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage is a magnificently exciting novel by Haruki Murakami. The novel seems to have a fairly clear cut plot, which, however could be doubted to create endless layers of doubt and obscurity. In fact, the novel seems to be inviting scholars and literary theorists to delve into the book, only to get lost.

As a general reader, one can still be entertained with the myriad puzzling facts and events in the book. In a less complicated approach, the nicknames of the friends are simply interesting, we do not need to wonder what the colours signify. The main character has some erotic homosexual dreams that he experiences in a life-like manner. They are well-written, and enticing, but they are a trap. Any young man at that age might have such dreams or uncertainties, perhaps young people in our time even more so.

Much of the erratic behavior of the group of friends seems realistic: it could happen like that in reality without there having to be a cause or a reason. (Social) media are full about rape and unwanted sollicitation, real, imagined and a whole lot in between. Truth is no longer an easy concept.

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage makes us rethink so much of what we take for granted. A great novel for our troubled times.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Haruki Murakami:
What I talk about when I talk about running
1Q84. Books 1, 2 & 3

097. Als de Hemel genoeg ruimte heeft
Finished reading: 4 May 2024



Review:
Als de Hemel genoeg ruimte heeft is written in the style of a fairy tale, apptly so, because it is a kitsch tale of life and romance. At more than 569 pages, the book is an ordeal for readers, of sickening prose: elaborate, exaggerated and really, really tacky.

For large parts of the book it isn't very clear whether Magnus and Elias are lovers of just friends. The succesive books, entitled the Forest, the Castle, the Mountain, the Monastery, etc seem to signify stages in life. The two men are on a quest to look for the holy grail. A conflict leads them to the unexpected and shocking conclusion.

The book is incredible, and I wonder how many people can put up with this writing style.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Splinter Chabot:
Roze brieven

>151 edwinbcn: I loved Colorless Tsukuru too. More straightforward in plot than 1Q84 or Wind-Up Bird Chronicles, with a more subtle depth. I found his depiction of the characters' emotions to be moving.

098. Arctisch dagboek
Finished reading: 14 May 2024



Review:
Arctisch dagboek is the hilarious report of a voyage to Russia. Jelle Brandt Corstius is a Dutch journalist and expert on Russia. He describes how he was invited and looked forward to giving three lectures on board an American cruise ship that would call from the port of Den Helder to sail through the Russian Arctic Sea. On board, he was questioned by the FSB and confined to quarters, forced to remain on board, and undergo the cruise as an unwanted passenger. Written with a great deal of humor.

Rating:

>154 edwinbcn: And yet so few stars?

099. Brandende liefde
Finished reading: 17 May 2024



Review:
Brandende liefde is a typical novel within the works of Jan Wolkers. It describes the life of a poor arts student who learnt French from elderly lady. He makes a portrait of her. The book of of their quaint, but endearing relationship. When the old woman dies, many years later, the painter receives a vase from her.

The story has some disgusting details, but nothing very sexual. The overall story is quite uneventful.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Jan Wolkers:
De perzik van onsterfelijkheid
Winter-bloei. Jan Wolkers over zijn liefde voor de natuur
Groeten van Rottumerplaat
Het vroege werk
De kus
Dagboek 1967
Dagboek 1969 - 1971
Dagboek 1972
Dagboek 1974
Dagboek 1976
De walgvogel
Turks fruit
Horrible tango
Terug naar Oegstgeest
De hond met de blauwe tong
Een roos van vlees
Wegens sterfgeval gesloten
Gesponnen suiker
Kort Amerikaans
Serpentina's petticoat
Mattekeesjes of de zielenreiniging van de Nederlandse klamboemaatschappij
Ach, Wim, wat is een vrouw?

100. Regels zijn regels. Over de daadkracht van Rita Verdonk
Finished reading: 22 May 2024



Review:
Although Regels zijn regels. Over de daadkracht van Rita Verdonk was published in 2006, it is still very relevant today. This small book contains an interview plus analysis in the form of an afterword. Dorien Pessers is a lawyer and professor of Law at the Free University in Amsterdam.

The interview is about the then-Minister of Immigration, Rita Verdonk and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who was then a Dutch MP. When it was discovered that Ayaan Hirsi Ali had provided false information in her naturalisation procedure, the Minister promptly revoked her Dutch citizenship. The aftermath led to the fall of the Cabinett.

Dorien Pessers argues and demonstrates that the Minister ought not to have done that, and that saying regels zijn regels is merely a populist measure. In the spirit of Dutch law, as revised in the early 1990s, the Minister ought to have been much more careful, and her actions were highly irresponsible.

The then-Minister had a long list of incidents, where her populist ideology clashed with human rights and prudence. Now, twenty years later, there is yet again a Cabinett that consists of right-wing and extreme-right politician whose aim it is to thwart immigration by all means, one more saying that "rules are rules".

Rating:

101. Een ongeduldig verlangen. Herinneringen
Finished reading: 24 May 2024



Review:
Een ongeduldig verlangen. Herinneringen is the second volume of memoirs of the Dutch actor Willem Nijholt, who died last year. In 2011, he published Met bonzend hart. Brieven aan Hella S. Haasse. Although the sub title says that they are letters, the book is in fact more of a memoir.

Met bonzend hart. Brieven aan Hella S. Haasse is the first autobiography of the Dutch actor Willem Nijholt. It is written as s series of letters to Hella S. Haasse. In recent years, Haasse has become the grand old dame of Dutch letters. Had her letters been included in this book, it would have found a vast readership. Except that.... there are no letters by Haasse. It is explained at the back of the book that Nijholt wrote letters to Haasse but she would telephone. Apparently, it was her intention to get Nijholt to write up his memories of his youth, growing up in the former Dutch colony, now Indonesia. Once a considerable number of letters had been written, she showed them to a publisher, and persuaded Nijholt to publish.

Although it had been Haasse's intention to get Nijholt to write about his time in the Dutch Indies, in his letters he touches upon a wide variety of topics and episodes in his life. The letters are written in a very honest and lively style, one might say of an amateur. There is no trace of shame or holding back. Many letters even seem chatty, and there is some openly expressed hatred to other writers, notably Jos Brink. Many passages and anecdotes make you laugh.

Nijholt looks back over his whole life. There is much about growing up in the Dutch Indies, and the time spent in Japanese concentration camps that were set up in Indonesia during the Second World War. Nijholt writes about poverty upon his family's return to the Netherlands, his ambitions and the struggle to become admitted to the Theatre School and his career as an actor. There are portraits of celebrity actors and actresses of the Dutch stage.

Met bonzend hart also tells us a lot about Nijholt's life with his husband, their life in France and their visists to Amsterdam. As a biography, the book is fragmented, but coherent, and one gets a good picture of Willem Nijholt's life. Besides an autobiography, it is also a contemporary picture of the first decade of this century of Amsterdam, and ageing. Nijholt also regularly writes about writers and books he reads.

Een ongeduldig verlangen. Herinneringen was published five years later, in 2016. In this book Nijholt looks back at his earliest youth. No glamour, no fame, just very personal, small stories. In fact, there is not much of interest. These stories may be dear to their author, but they have very little appeal. Besides, Nijholt is no writer who could draw readers in.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Willem Nijholt:
Met bonzend hart. Brieven aan Hella S. Haasse
Met niks begonnen. Correspondentie

102. Op de rug gezien
Finished reading: 24 May 2024



Review:
Op de rug gezien is the title of a collection of short stories by Margriet de Moor, but this small booklet was an incidental special issue which was distributed among readers of the Dutch magazine Viva. It contains only one story, namely the eponymous title story. There are two different book publications consisting of this single story, of about 63 pages, the other being in the series of Literaire juweeltjes.

The "short story" is divided into four chapters, and each chapter describes an episode in the life of the main character, particularly the development of her relationship. However, it is not an ordinary relationship, as the man is many years older, and married. Melancholic, the story is beautifully written.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Margriet de Moor:
Kreuzersonate
De kegelwerper
Eerst grijs dan wit dan blauw

103. De klank van sneeuw
Finished reading: 24 May 2024



Review:
Dutch author Arthur Japin is a very productive writer, but unfortunately not all of his output meets with the same high standards. Japin is the author of some wonderful novels, but this small book containing two novellas is poorly written and not worth buying, probably not even worth reading.

The two novellas "Dooi" and "Zeep" are very poorly written and seem to be slap-shot thrown together of other, older materials. For instance, "Zeep" contains long fragements of a play Vrouwen van Lemnos. It seems Japin wanted to re-use these materials. Besides, Japin does not always seem to be original.

Both novellas are about the theatre.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Arthur Japin:
Zoals dat gaat met wonderen. Dagboeken 2000-2007
De overgave
Alle verhalen
De vierde wand
Magonische verhalen
Vaslav
De grote wereld
De droom van de leeuw
De zwarte met het witte hart
Een schitterend gebrek

104. Lazuur
Finished reading: 1 June 2024



Review:
Lazuur is the latest book by the Flemish author Erwin Mortier. Lazuur is published with a publisher, other than his regular publisher, De Bezige Bij. Instead, the book has appeared with Uitgeverij Oevers in Zaandam, a 2016 start-up.

Lazuur is published in a new series of the publsiher, named Kleurboeken, which should be translated as "Colour books", not "colouring books". In this new series, writers write about their favourite colour. The series has started in the Spring of 2024, with Lazuur by Erwin Mortier and Beton by Fleur Pierets. The prospectus on the web site shows a number of titles that are to appear throughout 2024, 2025 and right into 2026. An ambitious project.

Thematically Lazuur is very similar to De onbevlekte which was published in 2020. With exception of the Boeken van de troost trilogy, Mortier apparently prefers writing about the past, particularly about his childhood, although it seems that the stories are set in a past more distant than his own youth. Like many great Flemish authors before him, Mortier has a fascination with rural Flanders of a century past.

Lazuur is written as a series of prose fragments. In France, a book like this would be considered poetry.
It is a book about beautiful things and beautiful ideas, particularly around colours of the blue spectrum of azure. Stunningly beautiful.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Erwin Mortier:
Boeken van de troost
De brieven van Matthew
De onbevlekte
Voor de stad en de wereld. De gedichten tot dusver
Mijn tweede huid
Gestameld liedboek. Moedergetijden
Alle dagen samen
De spiegelingen
Godenslaap
Marcel

105. Ik zoek geluk in druk te vinden. Verhalen van een boekenjutter
Finished reading: 1 June 2024



Review:
Ik zoek geluk in druk te vinden. Verhalen van een boekenjutter is a book for book lovers. It is especially of interest to people who like buying or looking around antiquarian book markets, or other people with an interest in books. This book was originally issued as a new year's gift for 2023, for relations of De Walburg Pers, i.e. the press, but the book is also available for purchase. The small hardcover book, 141 pages, contains 12 essays which were previously published in a number of magazines and journals in the areas of books, archaeology, history and antiques. The articles are in many cases based of finds of the author, who has worked for various antiquarian bookstores as well as university libraries. The articles are therefore also exceedingly well written, from an academic point of view.

The articles are about a wide variety of books and pamphlets, from the seventeenth century to the second world war. The first article is about an obscure booklet written by Mark Twain about "Willy". Indeed, the proves what an excellent mind Twain had to write a biography of Henry Gauthier-Villars at a time when he was still virtually unknown, while he would go on to "create" a fabulous career for his wife, the French writer Colette. In 2018, this faboulous and intriguing story was filmed by Keira Knightley. The article is included here, because the author bought a copy of that book on a flea market in Amsterdam.

Highly recommended (if you read Dutch).

Rating:

106. Raving: McKenzie
Finished reading: 1 June 2024



Review:
Raving: McKenzie is about as close as you can come into the vibrant vibes of the queer subscene without leaving your armchair. Even if you are not really into that scene, and might never go to a party, Raving: McKenzie is an exhilirating read.

In the foreword, McKenzie Wark says that the series editor approached them by the end of July 2021 to submit the book for the series by end of September '21, so the book was compiled in a frenzy, putting together pre-written and existing materials. New materials were written during the pandemic, so the book is all up-to-date about covid lockdowns that affected the scene.

Raving: McKenzie is a very honest and totally authentic book. Read it, even it is not your scene. The enthusiasm and authenticity should infect you, you will learn a lot, and Raving: McKenzie is a roller-coaster read.

Exhilirating !

Rating:

Other books I have read by McKenzie Wark:
I'm very into you. Correspondence 1995-1996

>163 edwinbcn: Noting. Sounds interesting

107. Noord-Holland leest / Nederland leest de mooiste korte verhalen
Finished reading: 3 June 2024



Review:
Each year, in November, public libraries in the Netherlands distribute a book free of charge to promote reading. A second aim is to create a sense of community, by selecting a book that is relevant at that moment, so that the book of its theme(s) can be discussed nationwide. For many years, the selection consisted of a novel, but in 2015 it consisted of a selection of short stories and flash fiction. Besides, the book was published in 12 editions, one each for the twelve provinces. Each edition consisted of the national selection, plus a selection of short stories with short stories set in or about that province. This review is about the edition for North Holland.

Amsterdam is a city in the province of North Holland, so several of the eight stories selected for the province were written by authors living there. Since Amsterdam is the capital city, these authors are often considered "national authors", as opposed to authors who would only have some local appeal. The North-Holland is therefore very literary, featuring more leading authors.

Unfortunately, the overall quality of the selection is not very high. First of all, there are extremely many short stories, which are therefore also often very short. Secondly, it seems the editor wanted to include many unknown or new authors. Interestingly, the author admits that he had wanted to turn down the commission of doing the job, and apparently accepted having second thoughts. In any case, to me reading this selection of short stories felt like a drag, and it took me a long time to finish the 200+ pages.

Noord-Holland leest / Nederland leest de mooiste korte verhalen is a pretty representative selection of Dutch authors.

Rating:

108. De Janjaren
Finished reading: 5 June 2024



Review:
De Janjaren is the first novel by the Dutch author and fashion designer Simon de Boer. "De Janjaren" means "The years with Jan". The novel purports to be a fictionalized account of the relationship between Simon and Jan in the 1980s.

According to the blurb text the novel is partly autobiographical, part fiction, and based on the relationship of the author, Simon de Boer and the Dutch singer Jan Rot. De Janjaren was published in 2023.

Jan Rot (1957 - 2022) was a Dutch author and singer, and composer. While he loved men in his younger years, he lost interest in men later on, and married the phtotographer and author Daan de Launay in 2001 and had four chldren with her. Jan died in 2022.

Simon de Boer (1960) is a writer and fashion designer. He writes about fashion and philosophy.

De Janjaren was published last year, in 2023. The novel reads like an anonymised memoir. Therefore, the story does not really take off. Had the book been written as a true memoir, it would probably be very interesting. However, as a novel, it is raucious and seems unfair to the character Jan, who can no longer "defend".

De Janjaren gives a very accurate impression of gay life in the 1980s. The novel is a memento for the deceased. I am not sure whether the book is truly successful as a novel. It seems the material is not sufficienly well digested. Then, too, the short sentences, and the staccato style seem to fit the story. Perhaps the book is a memoir, passed off as a novel.

Rating:

109. Schaduwweduwe
Finished reading: 5 June 2024



Review:
Schaduwweduwe was previously published under the title "Vrijdag" in the short story collection Zwartwaterkoorts (2009) by the Dutch author Rasha Peper.

The Dutch word "schaduwweduwe" was first recorded informally in 2005. It refers to a woman whose married lover passed away, therby turning the mistress into a hidden widow. Rasha Peper's story, first published in 2009, seems to pick up on this word usage. Interesting, the short story Op de rug gezien by Margriet de Moor, first published in 1988, so, many years earlier is also about this type of widowhood.

Schaduwweduwe was collected in 2014 in the book Een Siciliaanse lekkernij, containing the ten best short stories by Rasha Peper, who died in 2013.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Rasha Peper:
Verfhuid
Oesters
Dooi

110. Modernismen
Finished reading: 5 June 2024



Review:
Modernismen is the first collection of short stories by Kees van Kooten. These stories are very easy to read. They are about common everyday occurrences and common people. Most stories are also relatively short. As a result, the overall feel is that the book is not very literary.

The author Kees van Kooten was a household name long before he started writing. He was popular as a comedian, particularly impersonating common, ordinary people. However, as a comedian, his work was considered artistic, and critical. This cannot be said of the short stories. Nonetheless, the short stories were also very popular, and several follow-up collections were published in subsequent years.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Kees van Kooten:
De verrekijker. Inclusief de literagenda 2013-2014

111. De mens is een plofkip. Hoe de voedingsindustrie ons ziek maakt
Finished reading: 7 June 2024



Review:
De mens is een plofkip. Hoe de voedingsindustrie ons ziek maakt is a book about the food industry. It's author, Teun van der Keuken is well-known from a TV-programm that critically investigates food products. The book mainly criticizes the food industry. The argument is well-known: How does the food industry make us sick. Van Der Keuken explains how food is produced and processed, what additives and chemicals are added, how consumers are deceived and how profit maximation leads to superfluous, new products that are harmful.

The book is very interesting, and although several such books have been published before, it still contains a number of new revelations about the perfidious practices of the food industry.

De mens is een plofkip. Hoe de voedingsindustrie ons ziek maakt is in the first place critical. Unlike the books by, for instance, Michael Pollan it does not tell us what is good food, or where to find good food. On the other hand, Van Der Keuken does make suggestions how the food industry could improve food for the better health of consumers.

De mens is een plofkip. Hoe de voedingsindustrie ons ziek maakt is a relatively thin book, at just 140 pages, and is never heavy-handed. It is an excellent introduction and explanation of the dangers of processed foods, that can be useful to raise awareness, and be read as a reminder to becoming a critical consumer.

Rating:

112. Raadpleeg de meerval. Sprookjes
Finished reading: 7 June 2024



Review:
Anton Koolhaas is a Dutch writer who mostly writes short stories and novels in which animals take the place of chraracters. The short stories in Raadpleeg de meerval. Sprookjes have the specific designation of being written as (new) "fairytales".

Looking at the title, one would expect that these stories are fairtytales, and, indeed, some of these stories do seem to have a moral message, but this is not clear for all of the stories.Besides, the moral instruction(s) are new too. What is wise in our time is not what was wise or prudent 300 years ago. Like classical fairytales, many of the stories have a cruel element, typical of fairytales.

This collection contains nine short stories, that are amusing, with a touch of seriousness.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Anton Koolhaas:
Een schot in de lucht
Vanwege een tere huid
De hond in het lege huis

113. En steeds is alles er. Over missen en herinneringen
Finished reading: 8 June 2024



Review:
En steeds is alles er. Over missen en herinneringen is a very poetic book, written in short prose fragments. The book is short, just 77 pages, and could be considered prose poetry.

The subtitle is (translated) "About missing and memories" and so the book heavily leans toward Proust. The title of this small book is (translated) "Everything is there all the time." So, while the book is about time and remembrances not lost it talks about many beautiful things that pop in and out of mind: poetry, art, music and literature.

En steeds is alles er. Over missen en herinneringen is presented as a essay. The book was written out of reflections on a deceased loved one.

Marjoleine de Vos is a columnist and editor atone of the major Dutch newspapers, NRC.

Rating:

114. Marguerite Duras
Finished reading: 8 June 2024



Review:
Just Marguerite Duras is the title of the standard biography of Marguerite Duras by Laure Adler in 950 pages. The book offers a tremendous amount of knowledge and insight into the life of the French author. There are actually only eight chapters, so each phase of Duras's life if researched very thoroughly. The first part, about her youth in the Far East was both fascinating and shocking. Shocking because of the revelations with regard to violence and poverty. This part also convincingly reconstructs the background to novels such as L'Amant and L'Amant de la Chine du Nord. The second chapter describes her time back in France. This chapter is a bit boring, because no novels are directly linked to this period. However, homing in an apartment that Duras lived in till old age, activity in the resistance, and developing lifelong friendships, such as with Francois Mitterand, the later President of France, and her first husband, are all extremely interesting at this stage of her life. Each chapter is packed with interesting facts and descriptions. The final chapters are shocking as in the final stage of her life Duras became an alcoholic, and nearly drank herself to death.

This biography of Marguerite Duras packed with information about the author, but also describes the creation of her novels with sufficient detail. I was glad to read about many early novels that was not aware of, and have already seen them in the local French bookstore. Another this that pleased me a lot was the admission that Abahn Sabana David was so poorly written that even its author later on no longer knew what it was (supposed to be) about.

Rating:

115. Duidelijkheid
Finished reading: 10 June 2024



Review:
Duidelijkheid (transl. "Clarity") is a book length essay that offers and analysis of the current political power in the Netherlands. The Netherlands is the first developed western nation where right-extremists won the elections. Tom-Jan Meeus shows what developmentment led to this culmination. Throughout this essay, the author uses Machiavelli as a point of reference. He demonstrates how the roots for this political development can be found in the political situation in the late 1990s, when socialsts and liberals deceived the elctorate. This betrayal caused voters to turn away from the establishment, increasingly opening up roads for ever more radical politicians. Meeus also points out that governments for more than 20 years could not only communicate with the electorate, miscommunication or insufficient communication has also caused several of the biggest scandals over the past 14 years.

Duidelijkheid was published as the essay for the "Month of Philosophy". Applying Machiavelli to the Dutch political scene, Tom-Jan Meeus has written a political analysis that is valid and applicable to the Dutch political landscape for decades, from years in the past, to, unfortunately, as it seems, years into the future.

Rating:

116. Verzamelde gedichten
Finished reading: 10 June 2024



Review:
The poems of Christiaan J. van Geel are mostly very short, often just 2, 3 or 4 lines. They demonstrate a great deal of unity. One characteristic of Geel is his endless tendency to revising his poems. Thus, there are many similar poems, and there are many drafts of poems.

While never explicit, Geel's poetry is clearly recognizable as written in and around the coastal villages near my hometown. Scenes often describe the landscape of the dunes and the meadows behind them. Much of Geel's poetry is about nature.

This edition is the standard edition of the collected works. It provides a wealth of information in footnotes and includes all known variants and drafts of the poems.

The early work seems very serious, while most of the later works are simply very tranquil. Then, in the 1970s, some of the poems become humourous.

Rating:

117. Het leven is vurrukkuluk
Finished reading: 11 June 2024



Review:
Het leven is vurrukkuluk is a kind of picaresque novel, describing the off-side, rebellious life of a group of youngsters in the early 1960s. It is a portrait of youth, the main characters are apparently artists or art students, a jazz pianist and a poet. The novel is set in Amsterdam.

It is unbelievable that this book should still be read, today. Other writers have done this better. Campert is not known for being such an excellent writer, and while Het leven is vurrukkuluk may have been a great book when it first appeared in 1961, it reads like pretty old hat now.

The author suggests that there is a link or relation between Het leven is vurrukkuluk and another book about Amsterdam, nl Kees de jongen, but I fail to see the connection.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Remco Campert:
De zomer van de zwarte jurkjes
Vrienden, vriendinnen en de rest van de wereld
Hôtel du Nord
De Harm en Miepje Kurk story
Een liefde in Parijs

>172 edwinbcn: The Duras biography sounds very interesting, but is quite the commitment at almost 1000 pages.

118. Vlucht
Finished reading: 11 June 2024



Review:
Vlucht reads like a modern "Mieke Maaike"-novel (see Louis Paul Boon's novel Mieke Maaike's obscene jeugd). In a sense the plot is quite original. A young woman flees from Belgium to the neutral Netherlands during World War I. She relocates a few times, and end up prostituting herself.

There are two muddled story lines in a book overcrowded with ideas.

Rating:

119. Stenen halzen
Finished reading: 14 June 2024



Review:
Chaja Polak writes sensitive stories about the devastating experiences of Jewish people during the Second World War. Stenen halzen is a novel about grief. It tells the intertwines stories of four women of different generations. It is a beautiful book, although the story line is not always clear.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Chaja Polak:
Liefdesmeer & andere verhalen
Over de grens
Verloren vrouw

120. De taal van de aarde
Finished reading: 15 June 2024



Review:
De taal van de aarde contains five short stories by the Dutch-Carribean writer Boeli van Leeuwen. Van Leeuwen is a native of Curacao, and island nation that was a colony of the Netherlands and now has the status of a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The works of Van Leeuwen are written in the Dutch language.

These five short stories are close to the form of essays. They are spiritual stories about Jesus, Freud, Darwin, Marx and Gabriel Garcia Marquez and many other writers. Each of the stories is about great books and literature, that show how Boeli van Leeuwen was inspired to writing.

Rating:

121. The accidental garden. Gardends, wilderness and the space in between
Finished reading: 15 June 2024



Review:
The accidental garden. Gardends, wilderness and the space in between is a book about nature and gardening. It's author, Richard Mabey is considered one of the great, successful writers of the genre, which is now very popular. Regretfully, this shines through, as the author seems overselfconscious.

Nonetheless, when the author is not talking about himself, there is sufficient space on the pages of this book for wonderful descriptions of gardens and nature, and has been a pleasure to read. By the way, I find the cover very beautiful.

Rating:

122. Modern nature. The journals of Derek Jarman, 1989 - 1990
Finished reading: 16 June 2024



Review:
Modern nature. The journals of Derek Jarman, 1989 - 1990 consists of the diaries that Derek Jarman wrote in 20 months. Terminally ill with AIDS Jarman moved away from London in the late 1980s. At Dungeness he bought a Victorian fisherman's cottage, "Prospect Cottage" on a piece of land consisting mostly of shingle. He renovated the cottage, and around the cottage he started cultivating a garden.

The book describes the construction and development of this garden, in one of the bleakest and harshest landscapes found in Britain. The permanent lethal threat of the nuclear powerplant, the desolate landscape and the harsh, weatherbeaten environment seem to offer very few prospects, mirrorring Jarman's own prospects, perhaps. Still, despite the odds, Jarman develops his garden.

Besides the progress of working in his garden, Jarman also describes observations of nature. Despite the odds, Dungeness is one of the richest environments in terms of British flora and fauna. There is a remarkable variety of wildlife living at Dungeness, with over 600 different types of plants: a third of all those found in Britain. It is one of the best places in Britain to find invertebrates such as moths, bees, beetles, and spiders; many of these are very rare, some found nowhere else in Britain.

Jarman cultivated his garden in the shingle surrounding the cottage, "Prospect Cottage", a mixture of sculptures assembled from driftwood and other flotsam from the beaches of Dungeness, and hardy plants which could survive the coastal weather. For Jarman the garden was like a therapy. Prospect Cottage, its garden and the surrounding nature of Dungeness are heavily featured in Modern nature. The journals of Derek Jarman, 1989 - 1990, which was first published in 1991. They are also the scene of Jarman's art house film "The Garden".

Rating:

123. Over het water
Finished reading: 16 June 2024



Review:
Over het water is a powerful novella that reverberates through its warm story. All motives and story lines are about nostalgia to a time unspoilt. This pure time lies in youth, before World War II. The novella is based on the reminiscences of a man looking back at the time of rowing in boyhood. He is looking back at friendship in a halcyon time. However, the story is also about their trainer. The tenderness of the trainer, not at all erotic, seems to transport the trainer back to some golden days in his past, perhaps friendship in his youth in an unspoilt Germany of years before the 1930s.

Rating:

124. Het verdronken land. Terug naar Japan
Finished reading: 19 June 2024



Review:
In Het verdronken land. Terug naar Japan Detlev van Heest writes about his life in Japan. It seems he fully blended in. Bu while physically in Japan, he mentally seems elsewehere. His thoughts and preoccupations are with his howcountry, and block out growth in the new culture. The book remains a petty memoir.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Detlev van Heest:
Het mislukte leven

125. De dag van gramschap in Pompeij
Finished reading: 21 June 2024



Review:
De dag van gramschap in Pompeij was first published in 1960. Incidental excavations took place in Pompei between 1596 - 1600 and in 1748.

From 1860, excavations became more systematic, with plaster casting which made the remains of the victims gruesomely visible. In recent years, films and documentaries have recreated even more horrific reconstructions of what might have happened on that fateful day, when the volcano erupted.

De dag van gramschap in Pompeij is the result of Bertus Aafjes' visit to Napels and Pompei, and viewing the excavations in progress. Aafjes had visited Rome and studied archaeology there, too. Part of the book is also based on letters of Plinius.

While much of Aaafjes work is now dated, this book is still very readable.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Bertus Aafjes:
De Italiaanse postkoets & Een laars vol rozen

126. Revenge
Finished reading: 21 June 2024



Review:
I have read several other books by Yoko Ogawa with pleasure, but did not enjoy reading Revenge. This is largely due to the structure of the book, where each story tells what went before. However, each story is gruesome in itself, so the book is a reverse cascade of violence, both physical and psychological. To me, basically only the first and second story were interesting, soon after that I could not follow. Reading the book in reverse order probably wouldn't work either.

The idea probably works well with the title, as revenge stems from retribution for things that have gone before, but to me the story-line became too blurred.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Yoko Ogawa:
The Housekeeper and the Professor
Hotel Iris
The diving pool

127. Wachten op de schemering
Finished reading: 22 June 2024



Review:
Wachten op de schemering is a requiem for her son, who died in 2006. Chaja Polak is mostly known for writing stories and novels about the holocaust, books full of grief, and often helplessness. Wachten op de schemering is also about grief and helplessness, but unlike her other books, this story is told with vehemence and passion.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Chaja Polak:
Stenen halzen
Liefdesmeer & andere verhalen
Over de grens
Verloren vrouw

128. Mon valet et moi. Roman cocasse
Finished reading: 22 June 2024



Review:
Mon valet et moi. Roman cocasse is a novella or short novel by the French author, Hervé Guibert. The story seems familiar, one immediately thinks of Pinter or the like, and it seems there must be other stories in which a character becomes entirely dependent on a valet. However, Mon valet et moi. Roman cocasse is still a very original and deeply moving story, of a valet who takes on surprising roles in the life of his very rich employer. Highly recommended.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Hervé Guibert:
Le protocole compassionnel
Le mausolée des amants. Journal 1976 - 1991
Le Paradis
Lettres à Eugène. Correspondance 1977-1987
La Mort propagande et autres textes de jeunesse
Mes parents
À l'ami qui ne m'a pas sauvé la vie
L'homme au chapeau rouge

129. Een dagje in de stad
Finished reading: 22 June 2024



Rating:

130. Fenrir. Een lang weekend in de Ardennen
Finished reading: 23 June 2024



Review:
Fenrir. Een lang weekend in de Ardennen suggests that Hella S. Haasse imagined several trends long before they happened. Central to the story is the rise of neo-fascist, extremist groups, and their cult-like gathering. This story is intertwined with the return of the wolf to the ecosystem of northwest Europe.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Hella S. Haasse:
Ik stuur deze brief maar op goed geluk weg. Brieven 1939-1950
Kleren maken de vrouw
Anna Blaman
Huurders en onderhuurders
Irundina
Het tuinhuis
Een handvol achtergrond. 'Parang sawat', autobiografische teksten
Sleuteloog
Mevrouw Bentinck. Onverenigbaarheid van karakter & De groten der aarde
De groten der aarde, of Bentinck tegen Bentinck
Mevrouw Bentinck of Onverenigbaarheid van karakter
Uitgesproken, opgeschreven. Essays over achttiende-eeuwse vrouwen, een bosgezicht, verlichte geesten, vorstenlot, satire, de pers en Vestdijks Avondrood
Lezen achter de letters
Dat weet ik zelf niet. Jonge mensen in boek en verhaal
Ogenblikken in Valois
De meermin
De wegen der verbeelding
Cider voor arme mensen
Het dieptelood van de herinnering
Transit
Een gevaarlijke verhouding, of Daal-en-Bergse brieven
Een doolhof van relaties
De Meester van de Neerdaling
Een nieuwer testament
Berichten van het Blauwe Huis
De tuinen van Bomarzo
Oeroeg
De verborgen bron
Zwanen schieten

131. Vastgenageld aan de rand van het niets. Herinneringen en opinies van Hanny Michaelis
Finished reading: 23 June 2024



Review:
Hanny Michaelis is a minor Dutch author, known to a very limited audience, whose work mostly appeared between 1949 and 1971. From 1987 to 2005, a number of selections of her older work were published, and particularly after her death in 2007, between 2007 and 2022 a large number of works were published posthumously, including her war diaries. Hanny Michaelis was widely known for having been married to Gerard van het Reve.

Vastgenageld aan de rand van het niets. Herinneringen en opinies van Hanny Michaelis is a kind of scrap book of the remaining text fragments of prose texts by Michaelis which would not merit separate other forms of publication. The book has no ISBN number and has been compiled with comment by the renowned literary editor Nop Maas. In the introduction, Maas writes that plans for a biography could not be realised and instead, a lot of material to that purpose was collected in this volume. Still, this book is neither a biography not an autobiography. Then, too, it does contain a lot of biographical texts,particluarly about Gerard Reve. Besides, the book contains notes by Michaelis about other people or ideas. These notes cannot be called essays, as they are too short and too fragmented.

Comments by the editor are interleaved in a different font.

Vastgenageld aan de rand van het niets. Herinneringen en opinies van Hanny Michaelis will be of interest to readers with an interest in Hanny Michaelis, but, even more so for people with an interest in Gerard Reve.

Rating:

132. Bleeker's zomer
Finished reading: 23 June 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by Mensje van Keulen:
De spiegel