edwinbcn 2024 (Part 2) - Books, Books, Books

142. Paris ne finit jamais
Finished reading: 13 June 2024



Review:
I would have preferred to read this in Spanish, but was very happy to pick up a copy in French. Paris ne finit jamais is a love affair with Paris. It is a wonderful book in which Enrique Vila-Matas looks back on his life in Paris and great authors he met there such as Ernest Hemingwey and Marguerite Duras.

Rating:

>142 I love that cover. The outsider looking in

143. Three rings. A tale of exile, narrative, and fate
Finished reading: 13 July 2024



Review:
Three rings. A tale of exile, narrative, and fate is an extended essay. It proposes, explores and demontrates a literary device, which the author calls "three rings" to explain literary works of art. Through this device the author connects history, memoir and fate. Three rings. A tale of exile, narrative, and fate explains literary criticism, and is literary criticism, it explains fate and it is fate, and in explains narrative, and is itself a narrative. This is carried out by writing about Erich Auerbach, Francois Fenelon, and WG Sebald. De narrative of these three writers is interespersed with Mendelsohn's own narrative and fate of the holocaust.

Very elegant, but very erudite.

Rating:

144. Een zachte fluittoon
Finished reading: 13 July 2024



Rating:

>3 edwinbcn: I do like reading and thinking about history and memory, but I'll keep this in mind for a time when all my brain cells are firing. I'm too distracted for "erudite" at the moment.

By the way, Edwin, I am currently trying to read more about Chinese history. I started with the famine of 1958-62 and, having discovered Frank Dikötter through Mao's Great Famine, have since moved on to Dikötter's The Cultural Revolution. I've been collecting recommendations from fellow Club Readers, and would love to know which books you would recommend, being our resident reader-in-the-know. You can see my list, and my progress, here.

145. De woorden die bleven
Finished reading: 13 July 2024



Review:
A short novel with too many ideas. Too contrived.

Rating:

146. Twee koffers vol
Finished reading: 14 July 2024



Rating:

147. A history of my brief body
Finished reading: 14 July 2024



Review:
A litany of an entirely self-centered narcissist. While the whole book hinges on the writer's identity the abbreviation NDN which appears multiple times on every page is never explained.

Rating:

148. De hond
Finished reading: 18 July 2024



Review:
Pretty well done, if you like this type of novel. (By Kerstin Ekman.)

Rating:

149. Hooiberg
Finished reading: 20 July 2024



Review:
Very short stories and essay-like texts, some short poems and notes. Not worthwhile.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Koos van Zomeren:
Otto's oorlog
De lente, een veldslag. Voorjaar in Grindelwald
Het verhaal
Een jaar in scherven

150. Geheel de uwe
Finished reading: 20 July 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by Connie Palmen:
God en vitriool. Interviews met Connie Palmen
Logboek van een onbarmhartig jaar
Jij zegt het
Voornamelijk vrouwen
Het weerzinwekkende lot van de oude filosoof Socrates
De vriendschap
I. M.
Lucifer
De wetten

151. Een mond vol glas
Finished reading: 22 July 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by Henk van Woerden:
Ultramarijn

152. Een Fries huilt niet
Finished reading: 22 July 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by Gerrit Krol:
De zoon van de levende stad
'n Kleintje Krol

153. Het verraad. een ode aan Boudewijn Büch
Finished reading: 26 July 2024



Review:
This is an amusing, short novella, written in the style of Boudewijn Büch about a students who is obsessed with the Dutch author Boudewijn Büch.

Rating:

154. Geen gewoon Indisch meisje
Finished reading: 27 July 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by Marion Bloem:
De V van Venus

Wow, so much interesting reading. Happy to find your new thread. Cheers!

155. Wilde lantaarns
Finished reading: 27 July 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by Theun de Vries:
Het motet voor de kardinaal
De bergreis
De wilde vrouwen van Pella

156. Gras, om languit op te liggen. Buitendagboek
Finished reading: 27 July 2024



Review:
Gras, om languit op te liggen. Buitendagboek is a diary about spending time outdoors. It was specifically written and / or compiled for a bookstore in Schagen that had it published. Most entries are about natural history, partcularly about birding. However, there are texts about other topics, too.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Gerbrand Bakker:
Knecht, alleen
De omweg

157. Avonden op het Landgoed. Op reis met Gerard Reve
Finished reading: 28 July 2024



Review:
In 1997, Erwin Mortier spent eight days staying with Gerard Reve. It wasn't until nearly a decade later, after the death of Reve that he worked out his notes of that stay to this booklet.

Gerard Reve kept up a lively correspondence with dozens of young men that he often lusted after. During his lifetime, Reve was an icon of Dutch literature,soit isn't surprising that manyyoung,aspiring writers, particularly gay writers, would seek or cherish some form of contact with the old author. As did Erwin Mortier.

Avonden op het Landgoed. Op reis met Gerard Reve definitely has biographical value. Even though Reve's decline is well documented, Avonden op het Landgoed. Op reis met Gerard Reve is a more than complementary document to support that biography. It is quite shocking in its disgusting detail.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Erwin Mortier:
Lazuur
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

158. Eclips
Finished reading: 1 August 2024



Review:
Jan Bernlef's signature novels are about brain fog, or struggle with brain damage. This theme comes back in numerous of his novels. If Bernlef's 1993 novel Eclips doesn't eclipse his earlier masterworks such as Hersenschimmen, Meeuwen, Sneeuwor Onder ijsbergen, Eclips is definitely on a par with these great early novels of Bernlef. While in the earlier novels the theme played out subtly, in Eclips the effects and consequences of brain damage after an stroke are very evident. Yet, the novel presents Bernlef's favoured theme in a novel way in his oevre.

Rating:

Other books I have read by J. Bernlef:
Cellojaren
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

159. Beecham stories. Anecdotes, sayings, and impressions of Sir Thomas Beecham
Finished reading: 2 August 2024



Review:
The title says it all. Amusing.

Rating:

160. De junival
Finished reading: 2 August 2024



Review:
De junival, published in 1982, belongs to the late work of Jan Wolkers. It is a short novel, with a quiet, clear writing style. The novel is about a mother figure, and a lot about a cat. It is well known Wolkers adored his cat. In fact, in the novel, the cat seems more important than the mother. The novel largely seems autobiographical, as seen with the name of the cat, Voske.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Jan Wolkers:
Brandende liefde
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?

161. Corydon
Finished reading: 3 August 2024



Review:
It is surprising that this short work, Corydon, by André Gide is so little known. A bit like an essay, and a bit like a pamphlet, is does what many gay and queer magazines of the post 1980s do, namely to offer an apology for homisexuality by deacribing the history of homosexuality and listing all great writers and personalities their achievements in four dialogues.

As such it is still very readable today, and should be much wider known as a gay classic. What is even more remarkable is that this book was first published in 1920.

Rating:

162. Kees de jongen
Finished reading: 5 August 2024



Review:
Kees de jongen was long on my wish list as it is a classic of common people's literature, describing youth in Amsterdam around 1900. It was written by a great educator of that time, Theo Thijssen.

Very enjoyable to read, showing an optimistic view for common people at that time, and offering glimpses of Amsterdam as it was 125 years ago.

Rating:

163. Het kauwgomkind. De verhalen
Finished reading: 6 August 2024



Review:
Last year, I read De hanen en andere verhalen, which is included in this volumeof the collected short stories of Doeschka Meijsing. It took me a while to realize that!

My appreciation of this collection (278 pages is the same as for De hanen en andere verhalen: "This is a collection of early short stories by the Dutch author Doeschka Meijsing. I had often hear about this collection, and while well-written, was disappointed as they have very little substance."

Rating:

Other books I have read by Doeschka Meijsing:
De hanen en andere verhalen
De kat achterna
100% chemie. Een familieverhaal
De tweede man
Utopia, of De geschiedenissen van Thomas
Robinson

164. Applaus. Liefde in tijden van corona
Finished reading: 10 August 2024



Review:
Applaus. Liefde in tijden van corona is a tribute to nursing staff who weathered the storm of the corona pandemic. This short novella describes the fate and recovery of an elderly couple.

Rating:

165. Diagonale instituut
Finished reading: 11 August 2024



Review:
Michael Tedja is a Dutch writer and artist. He is a graduate of the art academy and his art work has been on display in various major modern art museums in the Netherlands. Tedja's literary output constitutes a Gesammtkunstwerk. His books are mixtures of various genre, novel, essay and autobiography. Tedja publishes his work through his own publishing house, The DFI Publishers. It offers a platform “for exciting ideas from beyond our own national borders, producing remarkable images, crazy associations in stinging criticisms, stories and poems which it places in an intercultural context"..

Diagonale instituut is a novel about an artist (like) Tedja. The novel must have been written with the exhibition at the Alkmaar Metropolitan Museum on the horizon, because the novel describes Tedja's exhibition alongside that of Lucebert, like Tedja a Dutch writer and artist. Diagonale instituut explores the background of Tedja's work and influences on his work, such as early contacts with other Dutch intellectuals, writers and artists, notably Sybren Polet.

Rating:

Scrolling through your thread, one thing I am struck by is how lovely so many of the covers are. I feel like a lot of books published in the US have very similar and not very attractive covers.

166. Een lied van schijn en wezen
Finished reading: 12 August 2024



Review:
Een lied van schijn en wezen is an experimental and philosophical novel that explores the relation between reality and the imagination.

The earliest works by Cees Nooteboom were experimental novels such as Rituelen and Philip and de anderen that were truly hard to read. In subsequent works he developed an elegant style, with strong and expressive ideas. Een lied van schijn en wezen belongs to this period.

Een lied van schijn en wezen was first published in 1981. It seems to be influenced by the politicized writing of Harry Mulisch of the 1960s.

Rating:

Other books I have read by by Cees Nooteboom:
's Nachts komen de vossen
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. Tropische verhalen
De ridder is gestorven
Rituelen

>28 labfs39:
Books in the Netherlands are really expensive. With few exceptions, there is not really a market for mass paperbacks. Especially over the past 20 years, the market for luxury (cloth bound) and hardbacked books has expanded tremendously.

I think you are right. Dutch publishers probably pay more attention to cover design. Previously, design of post stamps was also very distinguished, but lately no longer.

167. Vijf vrolijke verhalen
Finished reading: 13 August 2024



Review:
Vijf vrolijke verhalen by Adriaan van Dis contains fout short stories and a novella. According to the author, all of his work contains autobiographical references. Unfortunately, many of these autobiographical elements are traumatic or otherwise negative. One of the important recurring story elemets, for instance, is the "crazy" father. Piecemeal information about the history and condition of the father-figure can be found in various stories. Another important element is the setting of Indonesia, where Van Dis was born, and partly grew up, and where the family was put in a concentration camp during the war.

The most interesting in this collection is undoubtedly the reprint of the novella De rat van Arras. This novella had been out of print for a long time, since it first appeared in 1986. (Nearly 38 years.) For the reprint different text versions were compared. De rat van Arras, which is about the author's mother, is by far the most interesting piece. It also hints at a dark element in the family history.

I had the feeling that some of these stories were printed in a different publication, but did not search to verify that. Of the five books that I have read of Adriaan van Dis, this is the one that I liked most. These stories are recognizable, intriguing in an odd sense, and (partly) about familiar places. For example, the setting of Bergen.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Adriaan van Dis:
Casablanca. Schetsen en verhalen
Palmwijn
Het beloofde land. Een tocht door de Karoo
Indische duinen
Nathan Sid

170. Wind/ Pinball. Two Novels
Finished reading:



Review:
Perhaps these two short novels were very modern for Japanese literature in the late 1960s, but to modern readers they are just quite ordinary, except that the reader may be tricked in misreading the introductions, as they seem to be part of the novel, rather than later added on. Understanding of the novels is a bit hampered by this omnibus edition, which truncates the titles of these two novels.

The novels are very readable. They are interconnected, but there is barely a discernable plot. I have not read enough of Murakami to understand how these novels connect to the development of his style, except that they are his first novels.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Haruki Murakami:
Pinball, 1973
Hear the wind sing
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage
What I talk about when I talk about running
1Q84. Books 1, 2 & 3

171. The Blue Hour. A portrait of Jean Rhys
Finished reading: 14 August 2024



Review:
The Blue Hour. A portrait of Jean Rhys is a very uninspiring biography of Jean Rhys. It reads like an expanded homework assignment of a highschool student. The biography seems to heavily rely on Rhys's own Smile Please: An Unfinished Autobiography. Since there are no footnotes, it is hard to see what other material went into the book, or whether the author has done any other research at all.

Well-written biographies can keep readers spellbound for 500 to 1000+ pages, and more often than not can act as an eye-opener, truly revealing a whole range of knowledge and ideas on their subject. However, The Blue Hour. A portrait of Jean Rhys is boring and dry stuff, that is hard to get through.

Rating:

172. Gestolen
Finished reading: 15 August 2024



Rating:

173. Das kontaminierte Museum. Das Kunsthaus Zürich und die Sammlung Bührle
Finished reading: 16 August 2024



Review:
Das kontaminierte Museum. Das Kunsthaus Zürich und die Sammlung Bührle (2021) is the answer to the questions raised in Schwarzbuch Bührle: Raubkunst für das Kunsthaus Zürich?, which was published in 2015. The "The Bührle Black Book" raised the question whether the Bührle art collection consisted of art looted by the Nazis. The answer is a resounding and thundering YES.

From the early 1930 right through the 1970s the Bührle family has deviously slithered its way through history. It relocated its factories to Switzerland in the 1930s and has for ever been selling weapons to every buyer amassing a fortune. Emil Georg Bührle bought art from his Nazi cronies building up the largest collection of impressionist art outside France. Most of the time only about 30% of the collection has been on display in the museum, the less controversial pieces. For decades, up until the present, the Bührle family, curators and other stakeholders have downplayed or hid the fact that many art works in the collection are looted from Jewish people who were persecuted or murdered during the Second World War.

The book Das kontaminierte Museum. Das Kunsthaus Zürich und die Sammlung Bührle is the chronicle of a scandal in plain sight. It is a must read to anyone interested in the issue of looted heritage. The book is also a warning, demonstrating convincingly that since the interests in reputation, and the capital value is so towering, stakeholders, including authorities resort to devious tricks to hide the truth and obstruct justice.

The book is never boring. It reads like a detective.

Rating:

>35 edwinbcn: Sounds fascinating. I can't seem to find an English translation - I hope we get one sometime.

174. Orbital
Finished reading: 16 August 2024



Review:
Orbital has an original structure. The cadence of the story is tranquil and dreamy, but after about 50 pages this wears off, and it becomes boring. The book leaves no impression because there is no plot.

Rating:

175. Familielexicon
Finished reading: 16 August 2024



Rating:

>36 rv1988:
Das kontaminierte Museum. Das Kunsthaus Zürich und die Sammlung Bührle does not seem like the kond of book to be translated, as the main focus is so specifically on this collection and this museum, i.e. Kunsthaus Zürich.

However, many museums in Europe are struggling with issues like this. I suppose the findings from this study might be discussed in another book or the book might be condensed into an article in English.

176. Correspondance (1901-1922)
Finished reading: 20 August 2024



Review:
Correspondance (1901-1922) contains the annotated correspondance between Marcel Proust and Anne De Noailles. It is an enchanting book, with beautiful letters that these two people exchanged.

Anne De Noailles, Countess de Noailles, was a writer in her own right. She wrote three novels, an autobiography, and several volumes of poetry. She was admired and loved by writers and intellectuals of the turn of the century, and Marcel Proust was one of her admirers, besides Colette, André Gide, Frédéric Mistral, Rainer Maria Rilke, Paul Valéry, Jean Cocteau, and Pierre Loti, among others. A reviewer in The New York Times called her "one of the finest poets of present-day France" in 1929.

The correspondance between Marcel Proust and Anne De Noailles takes up about 170 pages in the book., spanning the years 1901 to 1922, the year Prous died.

Perhaps commendable, is that the text of the correspondance is preceded by less than 20 pages of introduction by the volume's editor, and about 90 pages of notes. Clearly, in this book the texts themselves are more important. The letters are followed by texts written about Marcel Proust by Anne De Noailles. There is a "Portrait of Marcel Proust", which she wrote in 1951, and a "Souvenir de Marcel Proust" she authored in 1931. These texts are followed by several more, shorter reminiscences by her hand.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Marcel Proust:
Mon cher petit. Lettres à Lucien Daudet

177. Veertig
Finished reading: 20 August 2024



Review:
Longer and more serious than the short stories in Modernismen these are three interesting, autobiographical stories by Kees van Kooten. The first story, "L'écrivain"is the longest, with 66 pages. It is a humourous somewhat wry story about a writer named Kees van Kooten. The third story is just 2 pages long.

Rating:

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

178. Kraai
Finished reading: 20 August 2024



Review:
Kraai is another book of lyrical prose by Donald Niedekker. It is a short work of 77 pages, describing crows as they appear in the everyday life of the narrator. The writer describes scenes of his life, practising tai-chi and visiting a theatre in Amsterdam.

The text consists of a series of short vignettes or short texts. Beautifully written.

Rating:

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

179. Garments against women
Finished reading: 20 August 2024



Review:
Garments against women is published by Penguin Books in a series of thought provoking essays. It consists of 16 fragmented texts, sometimes covering only half a page. It would probably easiest to consider these texts as essays, although the text "Garments against women" is considered a poem.

I had expected a coherent argument, of texts related to feminism or transsexuality, because this is where my book seller placed the book. And perhaps most of my disappointment also stems from those unmet expectations. Still, at times I felt the book was poorly written. The argument of "not writing" is immature.

The book is flippant and childish.

Rating:

180. Het jaagpad
Finished reading: 31 August 2024



Review:
Het jaagpad is the debut novel of a Flemish writer, Paul Verrept. The staccato style with short sentences, short paragraphs and short chapters is a bit hypnotizing. The spiraling structure of the novel drives toward an inevitable outcome. The characters are interesting, nonetheless, the story is a bit boring. The development of tension is not well dosed. The story seems cold.

Rating:

181. Het Buurtbos. Natuurdagboek
Finished reading: 1 September 2024



Review:
Het Buurtbos. Natuurdagboek is a natural history journal. From 2007 till 2024, Dik van der Meulen noted down observations. In the early years, he was a novice at natural history, and over time an increasing interest in natural history and environmentalism is noticeable, culminating in descriptions of his participation in demonstrations by Extinction Rebellion.

It is not clear how extensive the original notes were, but this journal presents an edited selection. The selection also mainly presents high-lights, that is to say, these are mostly only observations of rare specimens, particularly rare birds and bigger mammals. Dik van der Meulen, who also wrote a book about the woolf, carefully keeps track of the re-appearance of the woolf in the Netherlands, as it unfolded in the same period.

The book is richly illustrated with water colours by the author.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Dik van der Meulen:
Multatuli. Leven en werk van Eduard Douwes Dekker. Deel 1 & II
Multatuli. Leven en werk van Eduard Douwes Dekker. Deel III
Multatuli. Leven en werk van Eduard Douwes Dekker

182. Van exclusief naar inclusief. Gesprekken over diversiteit en inclusiviteit in de klassieke muziek
Finished reading: 1 September 2024



Review:
Why could classical music not be enjoyed by everyone? The fact remains that concert audiences are largely white, and only very few coloured people find their way to the concert hall. The same is true for classical musicians and singers. Exploring the reasons why, and looking for ways to break down barriers, Stephan Sanders interviewed nine professionals from the world of classical music: Claron McFadden, Aldith Hunkar, Jaap van Zweden, Yannick Hiwat, Paul Scheffer, Orville Breeveld, Tania Kross, Jet Bussemaker and Vinod Subramaniam. They each have their story and views on the question how classical concerts can be made more accessible to a wider audience. The book is a publication of the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Stephan Sanders is an interesting author, and the afterword, which is a reflection of the sharing of ideas of the author and the CEO of the Concertgebouw is as interesting and revealing as the other interviews. The Netherlands is quite far behind in these issues, compared with the United States.

It is an interesting small book, because interviews with musicians about topics other than music are rare.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Stephan Sanders:
Toevalligheden, vingerwijzingen, voorzienigheid. Over katholiek geloven, schaamte en de voorsprong van de homoseksueel
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

183. Paleis op wielen. Een treinreis
Finished reading: 1 September 2024



Review:
Paleis op wielen. Een treinreis is a short travel story. The book deceptively starts as a travelogue, suggesting the narrator is like the idealized traveller who is not a tourist, but who is more like an expat. The foreigner who lives among the local people, not the charter flight, sightseeing nit-wit.

This introduction is deceptive, currying favour with the reader. In fact, the subsequent story is just that of incidental tourists and their exploits while travelling in India on a famous train.

The story is enjoyable if you like the genre, but it is not particularly good. An given the weird introduction, it doesn't at all sound sincere.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Nelleke Noordervliet:
Tine. Het leven van de eerste vrouw van Multatuli
Miss Blanche
Millemorti

184. De kapperszoon
Finished reading: 1 September 2024



Review:
De kapperszoon is Gerbrand Bakker's fourth novel. The novel is about three generations of hair dressers, and the title of the novel, namely "The hair dresser's son" applied both to the middle and to the youngest generation. The narrative is rather unlikely, and a bit muddled. The story as a whole is set against the background of the 1977 Tenerife airport disaster. Although this was the largest and deadliest accident in the history of aviation, it hasn't sparked the imagination of artists and not found it's place in fiction until this novel, De kapperszoon by the Dutch author Gerbrand Bakker. All 248 crew and passengers on board the Dutch KLM plane and 335 of the 396 crew and passengers on board the American Pan Am flight died.

The novel brings many facts and anecdotes surrounding the accident to the fore, as was later done with many other aviation accidents that happened. Many of the technical details of how the accidents happened form the basis of the story. There are anecdotes of people who were miraculously saved because they missed their flight. The narrative is a fictional spin-off of a similar possible story.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Gerbrand Bakker:
Gras, om languit op te liggen. Buitendagboek
Knecht, alleen
De omweg

185. Wokeland
Finished reading: 2 September 2024



Review:
Wokeland purports to be a factual description of all trends and the development of 'wokeism' in the Netherlands. It describes the formation of the most woke political parties, outlines the actions and career of the most woke public figures and relates the most serious incidents that are linked to colonialism, transgenderism and other topics typically associated with woke activism.

However, the author Coen de Jong is heavily biased against wokeism. This is apparent throughout the book in word choice, although the book could still pass muster as relatively objective. However, in the epilogue, Coen de Jong goes full against the woke trend.

If, like me, you have missed the whole development of the trend, or if you wish to inform yourself about the most important actors and figures, and the most spectacular events and movements in wokeism in the Netherlands, than this book can be very informative.

Rating:

186. Beton. Een pamflet tegen onzichtbaarheid
Finished reading: 3 September 2024



Review:
Beton. Een pamflet tegen onzichtbaarheid is a non-fiction pamphlet or protest against current trends, particularly gender issues and climate change. It is a personal account of life in our times.

The small book of just over 100 pages is published in a new series of "Colour Books" (Kleurboeken), launched by the independent, new publisher "Oevers". Beton. Een pamflet tegen onzichtbaarheid was the first book to appear in this series, followed by Lazuur by Erwin Mortier.

Fleur Pierets (1973) is a young Flemish author. Together with her wife, Julian P. Boom, she founded Et Alors? Magazine, featuring conversations with queer musicians, visual artists, writers and performers.

Rating:

187. Zeven sloten. Zes uitstapjes
Finished reading: 8 September 2024



Review:
Eight delightful short stories by Kees van Kooten. So much more enjoyable than Modernismen.
I enjoyed reading these.

Rating:

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

188. De ochtendgave
Finished reading: 9 September 2024



Review:
In recent, and forthcoming years, there is and has been a lot of attention to the year 1672, in Dutch history known as "het rampjaar" (the disaster year). In 2022-23 there was a large exhibition at the Limburg historical museum, ""Orange and the Sun King, showing how the French army, led by Louis IVX, advanced on and attacked Dutch cities in the southern provinces of the Netherlands.

From 1672 to 1674, the Dutch city of Nijmegen was occupied by the French. Eventually, in 1678, the Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen, signed between 1678 and 1679 restored the peace. In 2014, the city of Nijmegen commissioned A. F. Th. van der Heijden to write a novel about this episode in the history of the city.

De ochtendgave is the historical novel that Van der Heijden wrote, published in 2015. Historical fiction is way out of his league, and De ochtendgave is arguably a weak novel. On the other hand, it is a typical novel in the style of its author. The narrative is relatively weak, and particularly the middle part of the novel is boring. The amount of historical detail, and the significance of "de overgave" are hard to understand and follow. However, the first and last parts of the novel, consisting of the racy dialogues between the main characters, Sonmans and his wife, are superb, and very true to the style of Van der Heijden.

While perhaps not his best novel, overall, I think fans of the author will love it, and it is still a must read.

Rating:

Other books I have read by A. F. Th. van der Heijden:
Mooi doodliggen
De helleveeg. De Tandeloze Tijd. Deel 5
Het Schervengericht. Een transatlantische tragedie
Tonio. Een requiemroman
Asbestemming: Een requiem
Uitdorsten. Klein requiem voor mama, mam, ma
Doodverf
De gazellejongen. Het verzameld werk van Patrizio Canaponi
De draaideur
Een gondel in de Herengracht en andere verhalen
Gentse lente
Voetstampwijnen zijn tandknarswijnen
Kruis en kraai. De romankunst na James Joyce
Drijfzand koloniseren
MIM, of De doorstoken globe
Het leven uit een dag
Hier viel Van Gogh flauw
Ik heb je nog veel te melden. De briefwisseling tussen Jean-Paul Franssens en A.F.Th. van der Heijden
Gevouwen woorden
Engelenplaque
De Movo tapes. Een carriere als ander
De sandwich
Advocaat van de hanen. De Tandeloze Tijd. Deel 4
Onder het plaveisel het moeras. De Tandeloze Tijd. Deel 3, Tweede boek
Het hof van barmhartigheid. De Tandeloze Tijd. Deel 3, Eerste Boek
Weerborstels. De Tandeloze Tijd. Een intermezzo
De gevarendriehoek. De Tandeloze Tijd. Deel 2
Vallende ouders. De Tandeloze Tijd. Deel 1
De slag om de Blauwbrug. De Tandeloze Tijd. Proloog
De slag om de Blauwbrug

189. De lange oren van Midas. Het begin van een schrijversschap
Finished reading: 11 September 2024



Review:
De lange oren van Midas was Gerrit Komrij's first novel, never published in his lifetime. De lange oren van Midas. Het begin van een schrijversschap is the first publication of that novel in an extended, posthumous edition.

Written on the Greek island of Crete in 1966, De lange oren van Midas is an autobiographical novel writing just about the stay of the (an) author on Crete. The novel has barery 100 pages, in 60 chapters of about two pages each (with 10 numbered chapters missing, unexplained).

The novel is preceded and followed by journals Komrij wrote in Amsterdam, a journal written in June through July 1965, two journals written during his stay on Crete in 1966. These journals mirror many of the events in the novel.

The end of the book reprints 20 pages from Komrij's novel Hercules, published in 2004, which deal with the same circumstances.

Obviously, this is a book not to be missed by readers interested in Gerrit Komrij. Very readable, and highly recommended.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Gerrit Komrij:
Brieven uit Alvites
Humeuren en temperamenten: een encyclopedie van het gevoel
Over de bergen
Niet te geloven. Een prieelgesprek
De loopjongen
De pagode
Een zakenlunch in Sintra, en andere Portugese verhalen
Vila Pouca. Kroniek van een dorp
Hercules
De klopgeest
Dubbelster
Intimiteiten
De buitenkant
Verwoest Arcadië
Fabeldieren

190. De grootsheid van het al. Een hedendaagse odyssee
Finished reading: 15 September 2024



Review:
Raoul de Jong (1984) is a young, journalistic writer. Most of his early books are either journals or compilations of weekly columns or pieces that were contributed to newspaper. De grootsheid van het al. Een hedendaagse odyssee is a book about an epic journey he undertook on foot from Rotterdam to Marseille, via Antwerpen and Brussels. The book is bubbling over of enthusiasm. It is a very joyful and optimistics book, in which he describes all the helpfulness and friendliness that he encountered on the way.

Rating:

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

191. Julian
Finished reading: 15 September 2024



Review:
Julian by Fleur Pierets is a requiem for the woman she loved. A story of her illness and death. Together, they had founded Et Alors? Magazine, featuring conversations with queer musicians, visual artists, writers and performers. Chapter headings are captions chosen from the magazine. They had intended to marry over and over again in all countries where same-sex marriages are legal, as an art project, but their dream was extinguished. Moving, but a bit too long.

Rating:

Other books I have read by by Fleur Pierets:
Beton. Een pamflet tegen onzichtbaarheid

192. De ziel onder de arm. Over aandachtig leven
Finished reading: 17 September 2024



Review:
Désanne van Brederode is an author with a message, and by and large, I find her ideas matter. Unfortunately, in this collection of essays, her writing style is too meanderous. Like a preacher, each essay begins with a page-long observation, which detracts from the point. I would wish a greater degree of terseness and economy. Besides, the essays collection is dated.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Désanne van Brederode:
Stiller leven

193. Red hen die geen verweer hebben
Finished reading: 18 September 2024



Rating:

194. Wonderlamp
Finished reading: 18 September 2024



Review:
I was first attracted to Désanne van Brederode because she is an author with a message, and by and large, I find her ideas matter. Wonderlamp is a novel about the Palestinian issue, which couldn't be more pressing than as of late. In reality, though, the Palestinian issue is a decades-old problem. Désanne van Brederode is a Dutch author who cares about the Palestinian people. Since 2013, she has been an board member of the Syria Committee (Het Syrische Comité).

Wonderlamp was published in 2019. Reading the first 50 pages, I was gripped, and felt the author was onto something. Then, however, I lost track, and could not follow the narrative.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Désanne van Brederode:
De ziel onder de arm. Over aandachtig leven
Stiller leven

195. Hotel Roma
Finished reading: 21 September 2024



Review:

A few weeks ago, I read Familielexicon in which Natalia Ginzburg writes about Cesare Pavese. Hotel Roma by the French author Pierre Adrian is a novel about Cesare Pavese.

Novels aren't what they used to be. Hotel Roma is an innovative biographical novel, that consists of two parts. The first part consists of biographical fiction. A story that presents us with the final weeks of Pavese's life. The second part of the novel appears as a non-fictional compendium of literary criticism to the first part.

Hotel Roma is a very literary novel, largely set in Italy. Pierre Adrian writes well, and the book is a great pleasure to read.

Rating:

196. Arrête avec tes mensonges
Finished reading: 21 September 2024



Review:
Arrête avec tes mensonges reads like a tender memoir. Looking back, as a well-known author, the main character of the book, remembers his first love.

Rating:

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

197. Vakantiestrip
Finished reading: 21 September 2024



Review:
Liften from the estate, Vakantiestrip is the first, posthumous publication of a short story by Jan Wolkers. The short story is just barely 17 pages long. It is followed by an afterword of the editor, Onno Blom.

Very few short stories are known by Wolkers. It is clearly not a genre in which we can find his masterworks.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Jan Wolkers:
Junival
Brandende liefde
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?

198. Bevroren vuurwerk. Een keuze uit de verhalen van Belcampo
Finished reading: 22 September 2024



Review:
The Dutch writer Belcampo was best known for his absurdist prose. While other authors wrote works of this kind, such as Simon Vestdijk, Belcampo is considered the Dutch master of magic realism and the absurd. His stories are as weird as the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch.

Rating:

199. De sprong. Vijf monologen
Finished reading: 24 September 2024



Rating:

200. Collected short stories, Vol. 2
Finished reading: 28 September 2024



Review:
Collected short stories, Vol. 2 is the second volume of the collected short stories of W. Somerset Maugham. It is hard to determine when each of the 24 stories in this collection was written, as this Vintage Classics edition does not give that information. A quick scan suggests that the stories are sampled randomly, and not in chronological order. This can also be felt while reading, as one would not expects Malayan stories to appear in a book together with Edwardian and later-style fiction.

Many of the stories were a tedious read. Several of the stories included in this volume exceed 30 or even 40 pages. They are not all that interesting. They might have been more interesting if they were embedded in collections of other stories with similar themes, written around the same time.

This collection is rather lackluster. These stories, or at least not this selection in this collection, do not seem to present the true genius of W. Somerset Maugham.

Rating:

Other books I have read by W. Somerset Maugham:
Cakes and Ale
On a Chinese screen
Ashenden, or, The British agent
The Gentleman in the Parlour
Liza of Lambeth
The narrow corner
The vagrant mood
Points of view
The moon and sixpence
Up at the villa
The painted veil
Of human bondage

201. Gesammelte Maulwürfe
Finished reading: 28 September 2024



Review:
Günter Eich (1907 - 1972) was a German author of poetry and plays. In 1968 he published a collection of very short prose pieces, under the title Maulwürfe. These very short pieces of prose, some would in other countries be considered poetry, have no clear topic. They are neither fiction nor essays (although essays might actually be a good denominator). In 1970, a second collection was published, under the title Ein Tibeter in meinem Büro – 49 Maulwürfe. This Suhrkamp edition combines these two publications, together with similar pieces collected from other sources.

Although seemingly insignificant, the Maulwürfe belong to Eich's defining work, and are characteristic of literary trends of the period they were published.

Rating:

202. De wonderen van de heilbot. Dagboek 1997-2002
Finished reading: 29 September 2024



Review:
Although De wonderen van de heilbot. Dagboek 1997-2002 is presented as a diary that documents the conception and the writing of Oek de Jong's novel Hokwerda’s kind, it is not a technical work of limited interest. In fact, it is a comprehensive diary of these years in which the author also worked on his novel. Only the last 80 pages contain a lot of details on the progress of the writing and publication of his book. Altogether, De wonderen van de heilbot. Dagboek 1997-2002 is an interesting literary diary that gives an interesting glimpse into the literary climate of the late 90s and eary years after the turn of the century.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Oek de Jong:
Opwaaiende zomerjurken

203. Madame Jatzkowa
Finished reading: 30 September 2024



Review:
Although first published in 1941, Madame Jatzkowa remained pupular in E.M. Querido's Salamander series for several decades. Aar van de Werfhorst was mainly active as an author between 1932 and 1956, and his works were particularly popular after the war.

Madame Jatzkowa is a short novel about prostitution. The poetic style and the understated interaction and events, typical of "Nieuwe Zakelijkheid" obscure the main theme, that only slowly filters through.

Rating:

204. Leven in de verbeelding. Hella S. Haasse 1918-2011
Finished reading:



Review:
Leven in de verbeelding. Hella S. Haasse 1918-2011, published in 2022, was immediately recognized as the standard biography of the Dutch grand old lady of letters, Hella S. Haasse (1918 - 2011). Haasse lived an eventful life. It took the literary community a long time to properly value her work, and give her the status and recognition she deserves, while acknowledging that Haasse's life was so much more strebuous, as she aimed to work for herself, develop a career as a writer and also raised a family.

Hella S. Haasse was born in the former colony, the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. Much of her autobiographical work, and several novels, including her debut novella, Oeroeg are set there. World War II broke out while Haasse studied in the motherland, so during the war years, she was separated from her family.
At university, Haasse studied Swedish language and literature. After the was she started publishing poetry, and worked as a text writer for Dutch theatre and cabaret. She as commissioned to write an early novel, Kleren maken de vrouw. From there, she embarked on a career as a novelist, initially writing historical fiction.

Aleid Truijens has thoroughly researched and written this biography. Herself a writer, the Haasse biography is very well-written, and therfore a pleasure to read. There is a very good balance between writing about the life and Haasse's works.

Rating:

205. Wat stilte wil
Finished reading: 6 October 2024



Review:
Wat stilte wil is the eleventh novel by the Dutch writer Arthur Japin. Japin, who turned to writing after a career in the theatre often writes novels and stories about actors, singers or dancers. Wat stilte wil is about the literary circle of the Tachtigers (The Generation of 80) (i.e. 1880), with particular focus on the botched career as a singer of Anna Witsen. This is a very interesting period both in the history and literary sense. Japin has dressed this down, by focusing of a limited number of historical characters, supplemented with two fictional characters, who are historical but whose presence in the plot of the novel is fictional, n.l. Thea Taets and Julius Rontgen. While this move skilfully reduces complexity in the novel, while preserving some of the historical dynamics (e.g. socialism and feminism) which are important themes in the novel, the playing field of the novel is also a bit too limited. The central characters are too few, while the peripheral characters are numerous. As a result the central plot is also a bit too limited, and, unfortunately, not all that interesting.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Arthur Japin:
De klank van sneeuw
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

206. Zo heel jij mij. Troostgedichten
Finished reading: 8 October 2024



Review:
Zo heel jij mij. Troostgedichten is an anthology of 77 poems that offer consolation. One poems is from Emily Dickinson, here translated into Dutch, all other peoms are from Dutch poets. The poems are arranged in alphabetical order of the surname of the poet.

A very broad selection of poets has been made. There are famous poems by famous poets alongside much more recent poems. Almost all major Dutch poets are represented. Most poems take only one page or less than half a page. Few poems are printed on two pages.

Zo heel jij mij. Troostgedichten offers an interesting selection of both classical and moderrn Dutch poetry, although classical means 20th Century.

Rating:

207. Zwijgende man
Finished reading: 8 October 2024



Review:
Zwijgende man is a collection of poetry by the Dutch writer Jan Bernlef. Some of these poems can be traced to his hometown, the polder landscape around Heerhugowaard and Sint Pancras, with its iconic blue heron. When Bernlef wrote these poems, he could still confidently state that starlings were the most common birds, nowadays one rarely sees this bird. Otherwise, most poems are rather dreary.

Rating:

Other books I have read by J. Bernlef:
Eclips
Cellojaren
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

208. Het smelt
Finished reading: 9 October 2024



Review:
It is funny how, entirely against my expectation, a book can turn out to be sooo good! Het smelt by the Dutch author Lize Spit is really that kind of book. Some people, who have read her novella De eerlijke vinder say that these books are similar, and that Het smelt is too big, and should have been shorter. In my opinion, Het smelt is by far superior, and the full length of near 480 pages is really needed to build up the story.

I had to look up the location, Bovenmeer, and misunderstood it to be a village on the eastern border with Germany, but from the language in the book is is understood that it is in Belgium. Then, too, the characterization of the time period, set in the 1980s, is superbly well done. The atmosphere and the dynamic of this group of teenagers is very, very well done, albeit, somewhat extreme, as befits the literary genre. Awful as the outcome if, it is so true, and life-like.

After purchase, I have hesitated, asking myself whether it would be worthwhile to read 500 pages for a book published nearly 10 years ago, but it sure was. I was on the brink of discarding the book unread, but I am very happy to have read it. In fact, it turned out to be a real page turner.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Lize Spit:
De eerlijke vinder

209. Leeftocht. Veertig jaar onderweg
Finished reading: 9 October 2024



Review:
I am not very fond of reading Adriaan van Dis. When I first saw this book it was said to be autobiography. This is true, but in fact, this book is mainly about travel. It seems to bring together a whole lot of unpublished or minor articles that Van Dis wrote over a 40-year period.

The articles are grouped in 10 sections, but only a few sections are very clear, such as "Africa" "the Indies" (the Dutch colony, nowadays Indonesia) and three articles about his hometown, Bergen aan Zee.

Van Dis's lifelong interest and history with colonialism is strongly reflected in this book, with essays about Indonesia, Colonial History, Colonialism, Africa, South Africa, and Afrikaans, a language Van Dis studied at university.

Travel writing is both dated and timeless, and so it is with these articles. They do tell us something about the author, but it would be more accurate to describe this as a travel book.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Adriaan van Dis:
Vijf vrolijke verhalen
Casablanca. Schetsen en verhalen
Palmwijn
Het beloofde land. Een tocht door de Karoo
Indische duinen
Nathan Sid

210. Que reviennent ceux qui sont loin
Finished reading: 11 October 2024



Review:
Another book about Bretagne. Pierre Adrian is a new, already quite successful French author. Que reviennent ceux qui sont loin has the tone of a memoir, reminiscences of sommers in youth spent on the coast of Bretagne. Pierre Adrian was born in 1991. The book is almost free from any temporal markers, that could clearly situate the book in any era, goes to show that young author can write timeless and wonderful reminiscences that fit in neatly with great literature of established writers about such places. Pierre Adrian 's interest in Bretagne goes deeper than mere holiday and youth memories.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Pierre Adrian:
Hotel Roma

211. Typee. A peep at Polynesian life
Finished reading: 12 October 2024



Review:
I was a bit disappointed by this, probably because I had expected quite a different work. In fact, the work does seem to hinge between a romance and an anthropological description. Either way, it seems a bit too long and the writing a bit too boring. Then, too, its descriptions of nature and landscape are often very beautiful.

As a classic it is very well worth reading, anyway. The descriptive narrative forecasts the writing of Moby Dick. As a anthropological travelogue, the book can also hold its stand between the later works of Robert Louis Stevenson and French authors such as Bougainville. Melville's book is still quite early, and references to James Cook and his experience with islanders in the South Seas are still fresh.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Herman Melville:
Moby-Dick, or The whale
The piazza tales
"Billy Budd, sailor" and other stories

212. La chair fraîche et autres textes
Finished reading: 12 October 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by Hervé Guibert:
Mon valet et moi. Roman cocasse
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

213. Sire, er zijn geen Belgen
Finished reading: 16 October 2024



Review:
in a humorous tone, Jeroen Brouwers describes the linguistics history of Flemish and Dutch language, showing that Flemish nationalists turned Flemish language into an anachronism, which is now so different from Dutch that even modern readers in Belgium can no longer understand the Flemish that was used an created by some of Belium's greatest writers.

Rating:

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

214. Chantage op het leven
Finished reading: 18 October 2024



Review:
Chantage op het leven contains two early stories by the Dutch writer Harry Mulisch written in 1951. The second story is more coherent than the first and it set in Haarlem, where the author then lived.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Harry Mulisch:
Bericht aan de rattenkoning
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

215. The hole
Finished reading: 18 October 2024



Review:
I am not a fan of magic realism. The hole by the Japanese novelist Hiroko Oyamada has some characteristics of magic realism or absurdism. However, it is also possible that some weirdness of the novel stems from translation.

I was disappointed by this novel through my expectations, but is must me said that my expectations were very much based on the western literary tradition. Oyamada defies those traditions. It seems much more likely that the story does not make much sense to me, because, in spite of an (presumed) accurate translation, the readers needs a Japanese focus to understand the situation of the novel.

While animation movies are quite clear, western audiences often dislike the visual output as the conventions of such movies are all based on Japanese culture. Likewise, it seems The hole cannot be really understood without a deep sense of Japanese culture.

Rating:

216. Zij. Episoden van onbehagen
Finished reading: 19 October 2024



Review:
They: A Sequence of Unease is a dystopian novel by the British novelist Kay Dick. The novel is set at an era and a place, likely Britain, where arts and crafts are threatened and artists hold out against the mob. The outlook of the novelis very bleak, but descriptions of nature are vibrant and forceful.

A remarkably good novel.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Kay Dick:
The shelf

217. De bananengeneratie
Finished reading:



Review:
Pete Wu (1985) is a Dutch journalist and writer of Chinese descent. In De bananengeneratie ("The Banana Generation") he brings together interviews with 32 young people, all from Chinese descent, who talk about their experience of growing up in the Netherlands. Beside cultural and racial issues, sexuality, particularly the difficulty of growing up gay in this socio-cultural setting is an important theme. In De bananengeneratie Wu is not simply the interviewer, in fact, the book is mostly about himself, and the interviews with the others are more dialogues, mirrors for Wu to find himself.

The book is a bit too long (278 pages) and too repetitive, as the stories of many people are very similar, and Wu time an again inserts his own story. It is quite remarkable how well Wu''s parents are integrated and deal with his identity, while Wu seems to struggle nonetheless. It seems Wu seems to want to create an identity from a fully integrated background, thereby placing himself and his generation apart, instead of inside society. This duality is also seen in their reactions to potential lovers, as they are looking for partners who take them who they are, not with a specific racial preference.

The interviewees are aged between 21 and 50, with most between the ages 32-42. In the Chinese community in the Netherlands, most descend from Chinese parents who came from Wenzhou and run Chinese restaurants.
The book was also used as the basis for a theatre production.

Rating:

218. Lennaert Nijgh verbeeld. Hommage aan een echte Haarlemmer
Finished reading: 23 October 2024



Review:
Lennaert Nijgh verbeeld. Hommage aan een echte Haarlemmer is a commemorative edition of columns and articles by and about Lennaert Nijgh. Nijgh (1945 - 2002) lived virtually all his life in Haarlem. He wrote columns about his life and all he encountered in the city for the local newspaper. Nijgh was a song writer, most famously for the Dutch singer Boudewijn de Groot.

This small book contains some articles about Lennaert Nijgh, and the efforts to erect a memorial for the writer in Haarlem. But most importantly it reprints some of Nijgh's columns about Haarlem, together with some of his most famous song texts, such as "Het Spaarne stroomt".

Rating:

219. Ernstvuurwerk
Finished reading: 29 October 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by F.B. Hotz:
Dood weermiddel, en andere verhalen

220. What belongs to you
Finished reading: 30 October 2024



Review:
The structure of this novel, and the second part of the plot seem to suggest that the author struggled to rework existing material into a new novel. I would be very interested to read Greenwell's earlier novella Mitko assuming that that novella contains the basic story that form the basis for What belongs to you, however, Mitko is out of print.

What belongs to you is an interesting novel in which an expat, foreign teacher, develops a kind of relationship with a rent boy. The mid-section and the second part of the novel seem not quite succesfull to prepare for the theme of longing and belonging. However, even in its raw form the novel is moving and convincing.

Rating:

221. Clock without hands
Finished reading: 30 October 2024



Review:
Clock without hands is obviously a masterpiece that is still very relevant today. The issue of perception and self-perception and view, both in the historical setting, howver still very actual today, make this a must read.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Carson McCullers:
The mortgaged heart
Reflections in a golden eye
The ballad of the sad café and other stories

222. Weasels in the attic
Finished reading: 30 October 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by Hiroko Oyamada:
The hole

223. Als stilte steekt. Het effect van collectief zwijgen over misstanden en wandaden
Finished reading: 30 October 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by Désanne van Brederode:
Wonderlamp
De ziel onder de arm. Over aandachtig leven
Stiller leven

224. Down there on a visit
Finished reading: 30 October 2024



Review:
Christopher Isherwood's novel Down there on a visit basically plays out Isherwood's life, and as with his biography, the time in Germany, before the war, seems to be somewhat exciting, while the later years are murky and uninteresting. It is the same for the novel: the beginning reads easily, but the latter part is boring.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Christopher Isherwood:
Kathleen and Frank
Lions and Shadows. An education in the Twenties
All the conspirators
The condor and the cows. A South American travel diary
A single man
Christopher and his kind 1929 - 1939
A meeting by the river
Prater Violet
The memorial

225. Truth & Dare. Contes
Finished reading: 30 October 2024



Review:
Very poor writing.

Rating:

226. Mesjogge bezitsdrang. Brieven van twee boekenverzamelaars
Finished reading: 31 October 2024



Review:
Mesjogge bezitsdrang. Brieven van twee boekenverzamelaars consists of 22 letters written between Dik van der Meulen and Alexander Reeuwijk. Both are Dutch writers. Dik van der Meulen is a biographer, but he also writes about natural history in the Netherlands. Alexander Reeuwijk is also a biographer, and mainly writes about historical naturalists such as Darwin, Audubon and Russell Wallace, and exotic natural history. Besides their professional interests, both authors share a passion for collecting old books. Reeuwijk is the more high-brow collectionneur, buying books mainly from auction houses, while Van Der Meulen likes browsing all kinds of places, ranging from antiquarian bookstores and book markets to thriftstores, second-hand bookstores and actions. They write about their passion of collecting books.

De Walburg Pers is a publisher specialised in history books. This edition is printed on high-quality paper with many colourful illustrations.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Dik van der Meulen:
Het Buurtbos. Natuurdagboek
Multatuli. Leven en werk van Eduard Douwes Dekker
Multatuli. Leven en werk van Eduard Douwes Dekker. Deel III
Multatuli. Leven en werk van Eduard Douwes Dekker. Deel 1 & II

227. Meisjes uit het dorp
Finished reading: 1 November 2024



Review:
While the book closely resembles the style of Bloem's debut novel, Geen gewoon Indisch meisje, this novel reads like a huge unedited pile of notes. A scrapbook of her youth.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Marion Bloem:
Geen gewoon Indisch meisje
De V van Venus

228. Blackouts
Finished reading: 2 November 2024



Review:
The extensive footnotes suggest that Justin Torres tried to pull off something serious and profound, but doesn't quite succeed. The novel tries to weave various queer narratives together, but it is confusing who is telling which story. With a time span of almost a century and confusing name variants that suggest but deny equal identity the novel is quite an unclear story. Still, attempting to read gives some satisfaction, as the novel appeals to some common shared queer narratives and experience.

Rating:

229. Recollections of my non-existence
Finished reading: 3 November 2024



Rating:

230. M Train
Finished reading: 3 November 2024



Review:
I very much enjoyed reading Just Kids but this book was not at all like that book. M Train is just endless name dropping, no substance at all.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Patti Smith:
Just Kids

231. The Rich House
Finished reading: 3 November 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by Stella Gibbons:
The charmers
Ticky
Conference at Cold Comfort Farm
Cold Comfort Farm

232. Doe je best. Lof van het ongrijpbare leven.
Finished reading: 5 November 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by Marjoleine de Vos:
En steeds is alles er. Over missen en herinneringen

You’re busy today! Bummer about M Train and Blackouts. Interesting about Typee and Clock Without Hands.

233. The position of spoons, and other intimacies
Finished reading: 9 November 2024



Review:
The position of spoons, and other intimacies looks very nice. At first glance. And that's about it. It is a book with very, very short essay-like writings, about literature, mostly. However, it is all very superficial. What can be said about Colette in three pages? Describing her first husband as a perverse and corrupt bon viveur who signed her early novels as his own. In fact, Henry Gauthier-Villars was the first in Europe to recognize the genius of Mark Twain and publish a biography of Mark Twain in 1884 under his own name. Henry Gauthier-Villars, who used the name Willy to publish the novels of Colette was a very interesting person in his own right. The use of the name "Willy" should be more correctly understood as a trade mark.

The next mini-essay on Marguerite Duras is also just four pages. And that's the way of this book. Short pieces of blaring superficiality. "Bon viveur" or "bon vivant", Deborah Levy prefers the first, it shows.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Deborah Levy:
Beautiful mutants, and Swallowing geography
Swimming home

234. Kolonialisme! De vloek van de geschiedenis
Finished reading: 9 November 2024



Review:
There is much more to be said about colonialism. Martin Bossenbroek barely scratches the surface. The two introductory chapters of barely 50 pages give a very scant introduction to the topic. The author heavily leans on De kolonie mept terug, by Adriaan van Dis, a much more poignent analysis, by a Dutch novelist. The next sic chapters are devoted to suppression of national minorities in several modern nation states, such as China and Russia. These chapters are all very general and superficial. Both the preface and the afterword have the same title: "oogkleppen", which translates as "blinders", the expression viz. turning a blind eye is not quite equal to it. Very disappointing. Much better read: De kolonie mept terug

Rating:

235. Omtrent liefde en dood. Een afscheid
Finished reading: 10 November 2024



Review:
Omtrent liefde en dood. Een afscheid fits in the genre of requims, books to lament the death of a friend or loved one. And like Avonden op het Landgoed. Op reis met Gerard Reve, another book by Mortier, the author shows that he was friends with some of the greatest Dutch writers in Belgium and the Netherlands, who were both much older than Mortier.

Both books are small memento's to literary and personal friendships, and, in the case of Omtrent liefde en dood. Een afscheid, a farewell to Jeff Last.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Erwin Mortier:
Avonden op het Landgoed. Op reis met Gerard Reve
Lazuur
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

236. A time to keep silence
Finished reading: 16 November 2024



Review:
Three great essays about medieval monasteries in France and Turkey.

Rating:

237. Naar zachtheid en een warm omhelzen
Finished reading: 16 November 2024



Review:
Naar zachtheid en een warm omhelzen shows that an author may need decades to mature. As the title also expresses, this novel is all about warmth in family, a theme that the author seems to have waited to take up for 40 years. Although the particular background of the author is still a part of the story, universality makes this book much more appealing.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Adriaan van Dis:
Leeftocht. Veertig jaar onderweg
Vijf vrolijke verhalen
Casablanca. Schetsen en verhalen
Palmwijn
Het beloofde land. Een tocht door de Karoo
Indische duinen
Nathan Sid

238. The Alice behind Wonderland
Finished reading: 16 November 2024



Review:
The Alice behind Wonderland by Simon Winchester is a wonderful book that tells us a lot about Lewis Carroll and Alice Liddell, and the Victorian era, but in the end I found the book was too much about the technical details of the emerging technique of photography.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Simon Winchester:
The man who loved China. The fantastic story of the eccentric scientist who unlocked the mysteries of the Middle Kingdom
Simon Winchester's Calcutta
Atlantic. Great sea battles, heroic discoveries, titanic storms, and a vast ocean of a million stories
Korea. A walk through the land of miracles
Pacific nightmare. How Japan starts World War III
The map that changed the world. A tale of rocks, ruin and redemption
Outposts
The meaning of everything. The story of the Oxford English Dictionary
A crack in the edge of the world. America and the great California earthquake of 1906
Krakatoa. The day the world exploded. August 27, 1883

239. De kolonie mept terug. Over witte arrogantie en voortschrijdend inzicht . Een denkoefening en leesreis
Finished reading: 17 November 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by Adriaan van Dis:
Naar zachtheid en een warm omhelzen
Leeftocht. Veertig jaar onderweg
Vijf vrolijke verhalen
Casablanca. Schetsen en verhalen
Palmwijn
Het beloofde land. Een tocht door de Karoo
Indische duinen
Nathan Sid

240. Zilver
Finished reading: 17 November 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by Adriaan van Dis:
De kolonie mept terug. Over witte arrogantie en voortschrijdend inzicht . Een denkoefening en leesreis
Naar zachtheid en een warm omhelzen
Leeftocht. Veertig jaar onderweg
Vijf vrolijke verhalen
Casablanca. Schetsen en verhalen
Palmwijn
Het beloofde land. Een tocht door de Karoo
Indische duinen
Nathan Sid

241. Komijnsplitsers. Gedichten
Finished reading: 22 November 2024



Review:
True genius.

Eva moest Eva worden en Adam bleef Adam,

niemand twijfelde of het niet andersom moest zijn.

Transl.:
Eva had to become Eva and Adam remained Adam,

and no-one doubted whether it ought to be the other way around.

Komijnsplitsers. Gedichten is the debut collection of poetry by Marieke Lucal Rijneveld, mostly prose-like poetry. It is all there for the careful reader.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld:
Het warmtefort

242. Small rain
Finished reading: 23 November 2024



Review:
Small rain does not feel right at all. It is much too long, and fails to engage. The author has strayed too far from what he can handle and tell with sincerity. This novel is a total failure.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Garth Greenwell:
What belongs to you

243. Mos
Finished reading: 23 November 2024



Rating:

244. De avond is ongemak
Finished reading: 26 November 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld:
Komijnsplitsers. Gedichten
Het warmtefort

245. De wondergrijsaard. Portret van Harry Mulisch
Finished reading: 27 November 2024



Review:
De wondergrijsaard. Portret van Harry Mulisch is a short biography of the Dutch writer Harry Mulisch who died in 2010. The author, Onno Blom, was recently appointed to write the official, or at least, large biography of Mulisch. De wondergrijsaard. Portret van Harry Mulisch lacks a lot of detail. It presents a nice balance with description of Mulisch's life and his work. It is a very light read, enjoyable.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Onno Blom:
Memoires van een biograaf. In de voetsporen van Jan Wolkers
Zo is het genoeg. Het laatste jaar van Jan Wolkers

246. Moeder, na vader
Finished reading: 1 December 2024



Review:
Moeder, na vader is a pleasure to read, after Knecht, alleen which was marred by Bakker's depression. This third volume of autobiography is much more optimistic, and although scenes are largely the same, the author's second home in the Eifel region of Germany and his native home in the northern part of North Holland, the book has a much lighter tone than the previous volume. There is a lot to read about the literary scene in the Netherlands, and about Bakker's interests, which are nature, gardening and literature.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Gerbrand Bakker:
De kapperszoon
Gras, om languit op te liggen. Buitendagboek
Knecht, alleen
De omweg

247. Bear
Finished reading: 5 December 2024



Review:
It is great that Bear (1976) by Marian Engel is available again in a new edition by Daunt Books (2021). The basic story of Bear is somewhat similar to Byatt's novel Possession. A scholar spends several weeks in a mansion on a small island to catalogue a library which has been left to the institute she works. While the collection is of interest, none of the books are spectacularly valuable. Working on the books, she discovers that many books contain slips of paper in them with notes about bears.

The owners of the mansion had a clear interest in bears. In fact, a bear is chained to a hut in the garden. The animal is pretty much neglected, and the woman starts taking care of the animal. A bond grows between them, and the animal takes to her as she takes to the animal.

First published in 1976, Engel's book Bear has met with a storm of criticism. The story is gross, grotesk, but very well told. Plausible is the wrong word, but it can be imagined, perhaps all too well. Read in the spirit of the 1970s, it depends on the reader, whether they think it is mostly literary or how close it comes to pornography. It is all in the imagination.

Rating:

248. De smaak van ijzer
Finished reading: 6 December 2024



Rating:

249. De perfecte storm. Op zoek naar een nieuwe balans
Finished reading: 6 December 2024



Review:
Jan Rotmans is an expert in climate change. He advocates 10 transitions, beside the energy transition to free our economic chain from carbon emission, Rotmans argues that life needs to change completely to meet the needs of future generations and save the planet. The author presents himself as a visionary, and while he is at it, a very optimistic one. While his previous book, Omarm de chaos (Transl.: "Embrace chaos") writes more about the details, and presents his ideas about the 10 transitions, his new book, De perfecte storm. Op zoek naar een nieuwe balans presents very few new ideas or facts. It seems to be a pamphlet, aimed at stirring up confidence and optimism about the (near) future, and the challenges we face.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Jan Rotmans :
Omarm de chaos

250. Het samenspel tussen Dr. Jekyll en Mr. Hyde. Over acteren
Finished reading: 6 December 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by Eric de Kuyper:
Het teruggevonden kind
Grand Hotel Solitude. Taferelen uit de adolescentiejaren
In de zon uit de schaduw
De hoed van tante Jeannot. Taferelen uit de kinderjaren in Brussel
Aan zee. Taferelen uit de kinderjaren
Bruxelles, here I come. Nieuwe taferelen uit de Antwerpse en Brusselse tijd
Mowgli's tranen
Aantekeningen van een voyeur

260. Ontmoeting met Djuna Barnes
Finished reading: 7 December 2024



Review:
One of the things that transpires from this little book (the text runs for only 24 pages) is that Djuna Barnes was very unapproachable.

The author of this text was Michèle Causse (1939 - 2010) was born in France, subsequently lived in Tunesia, Rome, where she studied Chinese, Martinique, the US and Canada. Her last years she lived in France. Causse was a radical queer activist, who was critical of the women's movement. She published many books and articles as well as multimedia productions.

Ontmoeting met Djuna Barnes first appeared as a 21-page contribution in L'almanach des dames, (Ed. Flammarion, Paris, 1982, Amsterdam), in French as Rencontre avec Djuna Barnes. It seems there is no separate book publication of this text in neither French nor English, besides the Dutch translation which I read.

The interview between Michèle Causse and Djuna Barnes on February 13, 1981. The conversation seems strained. Barnes appears as un unpleasant and unwilling interlocutor. Causse is provocative. Although she wonders why Barnes agreed to the interview with her, having remained in seclusian for years denying many other interviewers, Caussee's obstinacy may have just been the right thing. She does ask a number of interesting questions and cues, and from the interview readers learn quite something about Barnes and her contemporaries, and Barnes ideas about women.

The Dutch book edition comes with four and a half pages of notes and a short introduction by Rosa Pollé

Rating:

>112 edwinbcn: Always amazed at your reading. Bear has been high on my all time list ever since I first read it. Interesting comparison with Byatt.

>117 SassyLassy:
I read a lot, and I pick up books in many places. This way I have found many very interesting books.

This year my reading has gone through the roof. I spend a lot of time on trains, and reading in my native language (Dutch) there's a tremendous uptick in the number of books I finish reading.

261. Een beetje gek
Finished reading: 8 December 2024



Review:
Very seriously traumatised, the father of Dutch author Adriaan van Dis had a streak of madness. Regularly, he would throw his plate with food against the wall. This madness in turn has stark impressed the young author and traumatised him in turn.

Scenes of moments of madness of the father recurr regularly in the novels of Van Dis. In Een beetje gek many such scenes are brought together. This small book, just 52 pages, explains and displays many such scenes. Yet, the book is not heavy-handed. I wasn't able to discern whether the fragments were liften from previously published books or whether the compilation was edited and / or rewritten.

A very interesting small book to better understand the work of Adriaan van Dis.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Adriaan van Dis:
Zilver
De kolonie mept terug. Over witte arrogantie en voortschrijdend inzicht . Een denkoefening en leesreis
Naar zachtheid en een warm omhelzen
Leeftocht. Veertig jaar onderweg
Vijf vrolijke verhalen
Casablanca. Schetsen en verhalen
Palmwijn
Het beloofde land. Een tocht door de Karoo
Indische duinen
Nathan Sid

262. Rode regen
Finished reading: 14 December 2024



Review:
Rode regen is a memoir in which Dutch author Cees Nooteboom looks back on his travels over the past 40 years, starting from around 1960. The essence of Nooteboom is his early exposure to Spain, which culminated in the publication of his major work De omweg naar Santiago (1992). In Rode regen he goes back to the early roots of his fascination with Spain, in a number of articles about various trips and experiences in Spain. Unlike in previous work, there is a lot more attention to finer details and vegetation. Stylistically, it is very well written. Rode regen is clearly an important and beautiful book among the later works of Cees Nooteboom.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Cees Nooteboom:
Een lied van schijn en wezen
's Nachts komen de vossen
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. Tropische verhalen
De ridder is gestorven
Rituelen

263. Dagboek van een poes
Finished reading: 14 December 2024



Rating:

Other books I have read by Remco Campert:
Het leven is vurrukkuluk
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

>118 edwinbcn: Your reading is impressive, both for it's quality and quantity. Although I don't always comment, I do read all of your reviews.