edwinbcn 2023 (Part 2) - Catching up

The first time in many years that I am able to start a second thread.

128. Der letzte Satz
Finished reading: 14 October 2023



Review:
Der letzte Satz (Transl. "The Last Movement") is a novel by the German author Robert Seethaler (1966). The novel picks up the theme of Mann's Death in Venice, where an old man, supposedly Gustav Mahler, eyes a young boy in Venice. Der letzte Satz could be seen as a variation on that movement. The novel describes a kind of mutual, but distant relationship between Gustave Mahler on board a ship, with a young steward. The book breathes the same atmosphere of loneliness, and detachment as Mann's book, but while the young Tadzio seems coy, the yound man in Der letzte Satz seems warm and devoted to the older man, however, in they do not transcend their given roles.

Rating:

129. Kruiden, kokkels en kippen. Wetenschap als ontdekkingsreis
Finished reading: 15 October 2023



Review:
Kruiden, kokkels en kippen. Wetenschap als ontdekkingsreis was published to celebrate the October 2023 month of History. In contains four essays about science and exploration. Its author, the Dutch writer Louise O. Fresco has for years worked at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and subsiquently director of various other organisations in that field. She is also a member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Science (KNAW). However, her novels, and these essays are written in plain style and appreciated by a non-too-academic readership.

While the first essay is introductory, about the significance of science, the second essay focuses on the German botanist Georg Rumphius who explored the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) and compiled a large compendium on the vegetation of Ambon, an island in the Indonesian archipelago. Besides describing his scientific work, the essays points out that Rumphius was appreciated by the local population for the respect he showed them and his sincerity. The second essay is about Christiaan Eijkman's discovery of the role of vitamins in the cure of Beri-Beri.

The introductory and concluding essays describe the history of the practice of science and points at some interesting examples how some of the most important discoveries were stumbled upon, how some scientists were close to formulating insights when other went before them, and how in some cases the work of women was neglegted while the work of men building on their finds was celebrated.

Recommended.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Louise O. Fresco:
De kosmopolieten
Bambusa

130. Een lust voor het oog
Finished reading: 16 October 2023



Review:
Een lust voor het oog is the first novel published in 1977 by Jan Siebelink. His debut was published two yearsearlier in the form of a collection of short stories. The novels and short stories of Siebelink can de roughly divided into two categories: works that center on the strict religious background of his family and their family history, and works about teachers. Een lust voor het oog belongs to this second category.

Siebelinks school centered stories often have elements of the grotesk. The central persona, often a teacher of French language, is often portrayed as a stylish, affluent person, surrounded by caricatures of peculiar or even mad colleages and a weak principal. The development of the story is surrealistisch.

Swijgman starts working as a teacher at a school near his hometown. The school and the small community are a nest of intrigue. His initiation as a teacher takes place in an atmosphere of gossip, jealousy and backstabbing, which becomes as actual act in a play acted out on stage. Thus, life is turned into a absurd play. The best Swijgman can do is walk away.

Rating:

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

Congrats on a second thread, Edwin.

131. Een kleine blonde dood. De oerversie
Finished reading:



Review:
In 1985 Boudewijn Büch published his novel De kleine blonde dood. It is a touching novel about fatherhood. The author, Boudewijn Büch appears as a character in the novel, which seems autobiographical, although reality and the plot are divergent.

The plot consists of two story lines. The first relates of the relationship between Boudewijn and his father, Rainer Büch. The father is portrayed in an extreme and exaggerated fashion, schizophrenic and quite positively mad. In the father's mind, World War II never ended, and the Germans are the eternal enemy. Nonetheless, father and son enjoy a special, truly loving relationship. Despite all and everything, Rainer seems to be a good father to Boudewijn.

In the second story line, Boudewijn is shown to be a good father to his son, Micky. His life-style seems compatible with good fathership. Unfortunately, Micky dies during a weekend Boudewijn is not there, and the child stays with his alcoholic ex-wife. This casts a shadow, and the question arises whether Boudewijn neglected or is to blame for the boy's death.

Een kleine blonde dood. De oerversie is considered the source of that novel. During the years when Boudewijn Büch started his career as a writer, he was fascinated by fatherhood, young children and the death of such young children. This is also evident in his first collection of poetry, Dood kind, published in 1982. Een kleine blonde dood. De oerversie is considered the original material for these later works. It consists of short interlinked stories, which were first published in Propria Cures a satirical student newspaper. These short prose pieces were collected and published by Guus Bauer a Dutch literary figure, a writer himself, who acted as Büch's publisher during his early years, viz. the 1970s en 80s.

Een kleine blonde dood. De oerversie is a very fresh, very readable small book of about 100 pages. It provides background to Büch's later works. The afterword by Guus Bauer gives some biographical details about Büch's early career.

Een kleine blonde dood. De oerversie also first came out in book form in 1982. It is essential reading to the understanding of Büch's novels and novellas.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Boudewijn Büch:
De hel
De kleine blonde dood
Het geheim van Eberwein
De blauwe salon. Berichten omtrent leven en wedervaren van een jongeman. In het licht gegeven door Lothar G. Mantoua

132. Paspoort in duplo
Finished reading: 20 October 2023



Review:
J. Berlef often simply only named Bernlef without a first name or even the initial, was a very productive writer. During the period from 1960 to 2012, he published two books per year. Bernlef was never considered a major writer, but he was a constant presence, with a considerable readership. A theme which often features in his work is forgetfulness, brain fog, mental blockage or the inability to see or realize things.

However, Paspoort in duplo is a somewhat different work. It was published in 1966. The theme of this relatively short novel is adultery. Some years earlier, the main character is the novel has had an adulterous relationship with a young woman. His wife feels neglected and sleeps with another man once. This makes her husband furious.

In some sense the novel is also compatible with Berlef's main themes in his work, namely the inability to see what is going on, and misunderstandings in relationships through lack of communication or "blindness" to the needs of the other.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Bernlef:
Meeuwen
Onder ijsbergen
Buiten is het maandag
Hersenschimmen
Doorgaande reizigers
De witte stad
Meneer Toto-tolk
De pianoman
Verbroken zwijgen
Publiek geheim
Sneeuw

133. Stiller leven
Finished reading: 20 October 2023



Review:
Stiller leven is a profound essay. Désanne van Brederode gives an accurate description of society in our time, and points at some symptoms which define our relationships. The essays is not merely a lament and nostalgia toward the time behind us, although the description an examples of the demise of language, and intrinsic quality, such as in receiving a letter, rather than an email, or holding a paper book, rather than an e-book may seem. Stiller leven does call for mindfulness, and true appreciation of things in life, rather than haste and quantity.

Rating:

134. Waar was ik, o ja. Nieuwe fragmenten en brieven voor Privé-domein. De revisor
Finished reading: 20 October 2023



Review:
Privé-domein is a series of autobiographical writings of both Dutch writers and foreign writers in translation, published by De Arbeiderpers that was started in 1966. Most authors represented in the series are literary authors, though in the beginning some composers and other artists were selected. The works include autobiographies, ego-documents, letters, memoires, etc. Printed on high-quality paper, it is a highly respected series of high-quality books.

De Revisor is a Dutch literary journal or magazine that has been continuously published since 1974. This book, which looks like a volume in the Privé-domein series is actually a volume of De Revisor styled to look like the book. It contains 16 contributions by Dutch and some international writers, of the kind usually published in Privé-domein such as letters, or autobiographical writings.

There are selected letters by Clarice Lispector and contributions by Simone Atangana Bekono, Jan Van Aken and Lize Spit. Although the publication is original, and interesting, it is also rather disappointing. The selection of just 3 letters, on 4 pages cannot convey the merest merit of Lispector's work. It can only serve as a reminder that a selection of Lispector's letters has been published in the Privé-domein series (volume 318). Likewise, other contributions are too short, or they are written by people who have hardly made name as writers. Their writings are not of the usual quality found in the book series, although they may be equivalent to the quality of (new) writing in the magazine.

Rating:

135. Vleugels. Leven en werk van Simeon ten Holt
Finished reading: 24 October 2023



Review:
Vleugels. Leven en werk van Simeon ten Holt is a first, relatively short biography of the Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt. It was published in 2023, which marks the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Simeon Ten Holt (1923 - 2012).

Arie Vuyk is not foremostly a writer of biographies, historical writings or even a literary author. In the afterword, he describes his fascination for Simeon ten Holt but also his hesitation about writing this biography. Arie Vuyk is mainly known as a comedian, a musician, and the writer of song texts and opera librettos. However, with the ianist Annemarie van Efferen he recorded a CD with an adaptation of Ten Holt's most well-known work Canto Ostinato.

This duality and inexperience can be felt in the book. Firstly, during his lifetime Simeon ten Holt never authorised any biographers who were interested in writing about him. It was the composers explicit wish to write his own biography, Het woud en de citadel. Memoires van een componist, which was published in 2009, three years before his death.

Vleugels. Leven en werk van Simeon ten Holt is an ambiguous publication. Alkthough it is said to be a biography, especially at the beginning it is more like a heavily annotated edition of selections from the composer's diary. The annotations, which appear in the text are biographical elucidations of the circumstances surrounding the events described in the diaries. The book also contains large parts of illustrative texts which ought not have been included at such length such as a play written by Simeon ten Holt, extending over more than 10 pages. Although this play illustrates some of the problems in Ten Holt's life, it should have been abbreviated of merely cited rather than including the whole thing.

The title of the book is cleverly chosen. It clearly refers to the time when Ten Holt felt set free, while the concert piano is also the signature instrument for which Ten Holt composed the most (both referred to with the Dutch word "vleugels" (transl. 'wings').

Rating:

136. Het woud en de citadel. Memoires van een componist
Finished reading: 24 October 2023



Review:
During his lifetime Simeon ten Holt never authorised any biographers who were interested in writing about him. It was the composers explicit wish to write his own biography. This had resulted in a book of memoires, Het woud en de citadel. Memoires van een componist, which was published in 2009, three years before his death.

Het woud en de citadel. Memoires van een componist is a hefty book of nearly 400 pages. It consists of many, usually fairly short chapters which relate episodes in the composer's life. It is obvious and a pity that Simeon ten Holt is not such a very good writer. Perhaps he started too late in life to work on a book of memoires such as this.

It is known from other sources that Ten Holt kept a diary throughout his life, but this diary is often characterised as voluminous but relatively uninteresting. Simeon ten Holt wrote his memoires from memory and with the help of his diaries and his wife.

While it is interesting to read about the life of Simeon ten Holt, the quality of the book as a biography is not too high. In the composition of the book, Ten Holt was assisted by Arjen Mulder a publicist who has translated and edited various books and publications. The memoires focus very much on the stages and events in Ten Holt's life, but very little of relations and influences. The chapters are interspersed with chapters describing friends. This might be at the suggestion of the author.

Throughout his life, Simeon ten Holt was mystified by his own idea of Het woud en de citadel, i.e. "the citadel in the forest". This is a religious-mystical idea that both the essence of life and the essence of music are an impregnable fortress, without doors or windows, surrounded by a moat in the thicks of an impenetrable forest. Life consists in a quest to find entrance into the fortress. This important idea is mentioned repeatedly, but never fully explained.

Neither Het woud en de citadel. Memoires van een componist nor the recently published Vleugels. Leven en werk van Simeon ten Holt can be seen as a literary and cultural biography. Both works are descriptions of life, but lack the hand of a professional biographer. However, in the absence of such an intellectual biography, they are the best we can get to read about the life of this great Dutch composer.

Rating:

137. De zomer hou je ook niet tegen
Finished reading: 26 October 2023



Review:
This novella or short novel tells the story of a short journey, presumably an abduction in which a middle-aged man in his late 50s takes his mentally handicapped son to a location in Provence where he met and spent a happy summer with his wife. The story is largely a monologue, as the boy never replies and isn't even shown to register or understand what is being said.

The story is open to various possible interpretations, as too much lies behind the story or isn't explained. The past, the wife, and the man's life are all enigma's, while the interpretation could go anywhere. Are we to see the child symbolically, or is the boy just a mute character. What is the purpose of the journey?

While all these questions are interesting, and sometimes the questions are more important than the answers, the novel as a product is not very satisfactory. Verhulst has a raw style and use of language.

Dimitri Verhulst is not otherwise known as a great Dutch author, so the likelihood that this novella is a masterpiece is slim. The oblique style and raising questions without answering any is more likely a clever new trick the author successfully mastered to create a more intriguing work. In that sense he has been quite successful.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Dimitri Verhulst:
De laatkomer

138. Taal voor de leuk
Finished reading: 26 October 2023



Review:
Taal voor de leuk is Paulien Cornelisse's third volume about language (ab)use. While obviously the first volume was the most original and funniest, Taal voor de leuk collects a large number of funny observations about the way Dutch people use (their) language. Whereas the second volume seemed to withhold some of the funniest, perhaps so as to keep the best for her shows, this third volume contains some real gems. At the same time, this volume seems more researched. The prose fragments are longer and not always funny. Some fragments are not really about language phenomena. Then, too, some samples are only funny when you think more about them. Perhaps the author hadn't noticed them when she wrote the earlier two volumes or at that time did not consider them good enough.

Still, for enthusiasts of language usage, Taal voor de leuk is a must, and whatever criticism, the author deserves applause for her consistent ear to pick out what the man in the street actually says when they speak (Dutch).

Rating:

Other books I have read by Paulien Cornelisse:
Taal is zeg maar echt mijn ding
En dan nog iets

139. De man in het midden
Finished reading: 26 October 2023



Review:
J. Bernlef was a prolific writer, who published two or three books every year between 1960 and 2015. He is best known for some of his earlier and some of the later novels, and his work is often linked to the overall theme of forgetting, forgetfulness, mental disease and distortion of memory.

No doubt such a broad characterization would do injustice to such a productive writer. Even while his main theme would be present in various forms throughout his oevre, there must be many works branching out into different directions.

Bernlef was never considered a widely read of very popular author, although he had a steady base of readers. There is no set of collected works, and many of the less well-known works are out of print, or onlt available from second-hand bookstores.

De man in het midden is one of those works from his middle period, first published in 1976. The book contains two loosely related prose texts: Gebroken wit en Een jongen van veertig. The book title mostly seems to apply to the first part, and is mentioned explicitely on page 43, where the middle is explained as the political mid-spectrum, although that middle is actually very far to the left in the political reality of the Netherlands in the 1970s. The whole fragment is about communism and leftist politics during that decade. In the second fragment, the middle refers to age, or middle age. Here the man of forty should be read as the man born in 1940, about the middle of life. While the first piece is more about the father, the second piece mirrors some of the authors own experience.

De man in het midden is a very different work of Bernlef. Together with Paspoort in duplo it describes aspects of the outlook on life in the 1960s en 70s.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Bernlef:
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

140. Voornamelijk vrouwen
Finished reading: 27 October 2023



Review:
Voornamelijk vrouwen is a collection of essays by the Dutch writer Connie Palmen, about Mostly women. There are 12 essays, ten about women, one about Lola, and one about a masculine author.

Lola? Lola of The Kinks. The essays is about Mara Keisling a transgender activist. The next essay is about Philip Roth, possibly the most misoginistic author.

These choices, actually, like the short essays are less about their portentious subjects than about their author. Only the four last pieces, grouped under the heading The sins of a woman should be regarded as essays, as they are somewhat longer and discuss their subjects in a somewhat wider sense. The first eight essaistic pieces all have personality traits as subtitles that seem to refer more to Palmen than to the female authors she writes about.

Like many of her other books, Voornamelijk vrouwen is another expression of narcissism. The short essays tell us very little about their subject, but all the more about their author.

There are short essays about Philip Roth, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Joan Didion, Vivian Gornick, Janet Malcolm, Olivia Laing, Marilyn Monroe, Marguerite Duras, and Jane Bowles, Patricia Higsmith.

Rating:

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

141. De omweg
Finished reading: 28 October 2023



Review:
De omweg is a traditional novel, in the sense that it has a plot, a clear narrative structure and a story that matters. The story is interesting and both in the development of the story and the relation between the characters there are interesting developments and surprises.

Gerbrand Bakker is a Dutch author with a deeply lived interest in literature, nature and gardening, aspects which all embellish this beautiful novel.

Rating:

142. De eeuwige stad
Finished reading: 5 November 2023



Review:
Although put forward as a novel, it would be more appropriate to describe this work as a novella, about a writer who whiles away his time in Rome. If there is any theme at all, it might be about procrastination, or simply an enjoyable stay in the eternal city.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Nicolaas Matsier:
Onbepaald vertraagd
Gesloten huis. Zelfportret met ouders

143. Huurders en onderhuurders
Finished reading: 6 November 2023



Review:
Huurders en onderhuurders is an early novel by Hella S. Haasse. Given the housing crisis of our time, this novel has a sense of actuality. The novel describes a variety of tenants living as neighbours in a large mansion. Each of these people has a blown-up ego, which gives them a distorted sense of reality as well as of themselves. Still, they manage to impress the others in the house.

An ibnteresting story, although I would not underwrite the themes and allusions of literary critics to this work.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Hella S. Haasse:
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

144. Kapitalisme zonder remmen. Opkomst en ondergang van het marktfundamentalisme
Finished reading: 6 November 2023



Review:
Maarten van Rossem is an historian specialized in the history of the United States. In this concise book he describes the history of market liberalism and its detrimental effects both on the financial system as well as on society. Despite its brevity, the author provides a long description of the historical background and the history of the economic and financial system that existed before the 1980s when gradually market liberalism was unleashed, and its main actors.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Maarten van Rossem:
Amerika. Een hoorcollege moderne geschiedenis van de VS
Waarom is de burger boos? Over hedendaags populisme

145. Gedundrukt. Verhalen
Finished reading: 8 November 2023



Review:
In about 30 years, Simon Carmiggelt wrote about 10,000 short stories, which were usually published in the Amsterdam daily newspaper Het Parool. This edition by Van Oorschot presents a selection of 100 short stories, each of about two-and-a-half pages long. The earliest story in the selection dates from 1938 and the last from 1980. No stories were written during the second World War, so the first 35 stories are all from the period between 1945 and 1960, and the next 35 stories for the period between 1960 and 1975. The stories are miniatures of real life situations, mainly in Amsterdam. They describe life in those years, showing a life of poverty, hard work, and in later years joy and misery shared in Amsterdam pubs. The detailed descriptions demand careful reading.

In his old age, Carmiggelt would read some of these short stories on national television, in a monotonous voice. Both the stories and their author seemed out of place and out of date. This careful edition brings the broad scope of his stories to the forefront, amd shows with how much care and style each of these stories was crafted.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Simon Carmiggelt:
Een Hollander in Parijs. Articles de Paris

146. Elk boek is een gevaar
Finished reading: 9 November 2023



Review:
Each book is a danger. This title is a reference to an essay written by Andreas Burnier. Upon her death in 2002, it was found that at that time no single work of Burnier was in print, and publishers rushed to reprint some of her works. Also, a compilation of interviews, letters, essays and fragments was compiled, and published under the title Een gevaar dat de ziel in wil. Essays, brieven en interviews 1965-2002: A danger that wants to enter the soul.

As well as both taking their titles from the same source, nl Each book is a danger that wants to enter the soul, these two books are companion volumes, both compilations of interviews, letters, fragments and essays.

Elk boek is een gevaar is published in the prestigious Prive Domein series, a book series which was previously exclusively for ego documents by (dead) authors. While previously the editions could exist of inedited materials, they were usually selected reprints of published ego documents such as diaries or correspondence. However, for the past 25 years, the series includes ego documents of living authors, including diaries which were specifically written for inclusion in the series. Elk boek is een gevaar is a new variant in this genre in the sense that it is a selection made by an external editor, rather than the author, and that the author has not willed or consented to the publication of these materials. Although this does not seem so unusual, the current edition does seem to include a lot of material of very questionable quality. It isn't difficult to imagine that the original author would have second thoughts about publishing these materials.

In the introduction, the editor, Ronit Palache, explains how she dug into and read every scrap of paper in the archive of Andreas Burnier before starting with her selection. This thoroughness suggests that she intended to get to the core, to reveal the essence of Burnier. The selection reads like a toppled archive. It seems to consist of rare and unusual letters and fragments which likely were never intended for publication. Much of the material is extremely boring. This is the selection of someone who was obsessed with her subject, who wanted to prove something (to herself) or who may have been asked to dig up material which was previously unpublished, and had better remained that way. I can, proverbially, imagine the author turning over in her grave.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Andreas Burnier:
Bellettrie 1965-1981
Na de laatste keer
De reis naar Kithira
De huilende libertijn
De verschrikkingen van het noorden
Een tevreden lach
Gesprekken in de nacht. Briefwisseling 1981-1986 met René van Hezewijk en Chris Rutenfrans
Een gevaar dat de ziel in wil. Essays, brieven en interviews 1965-2002
De rondgang der gevangenen. Een essay over goed en kwaad in de vorm van zeven brieven aan de Platoclub
Het jongensuur / De litteraire salon / De trein naar Tarascon
De trein naar Tarascon
De litteraire salon
Het jongensuur

147. De zoete inval
Finished reading: 10 November 2023



Rating:

Other books I have read by L. H. Wiener:
Zeeangst
Haanvroeg

148. Sonny Boy
Finished reading: 10 November 2023



Review:
It is and it isn't hard to understand why Sonny Boy is a best seller, and was chosen as the book of the year for the annual national week of reading. Obviously, the woke topic, of a white slave owner who owns a slave girl, secretely loves and marries her, shields her from injustice, and takes care of all their lives, is just the kind of thing that soothes the national consciousness in the year in which both the prime minister and the King have spoken of their intense regret in view of slavery and offered apologies.

Sonny Boy by the Dutch author Annejet van der Zijl belongs to the genre of creative non-fiction. Unfortunately, the author has apparently overlooked the adjective, and merely thought of writing a non-fictional biography. While her choice is interesting, her skill in handling the material is loathesome. The story lacks even the least creative skill. The writing style isn't much elevated above the level of a high school student writing an project assignment. The characters remain card board and the story fails to take off.

It is obvious that the success of this book is the fortuitious choice of topic, but stylistically this book is a disaster.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Annejet van der Zijl:
Leon & Juliette

>23 edwinbcn: Sounds cringeworthy. I often wonder why some books are heavily-promoted either by prizes or favorable reviews. It’s unhelpful for the cause itself when a book achieves fame solely because of its cause or political point of view.

149. Hou me vast
Finished reading: 21 November 2023



Review:
Written in short sentences, in short fragments, Hou me vast reads swiftly, an interesting story sufficiently complicated to keep the readers'attention. Both the title and the story have the feel of being a movie ripp off, or another sense of familiarity.

Obviously, the story itself is quite universal. An enigmatic teacher at an art university encourages his students to go all the way, and open themselves up, while, as the story progresses it turns out the teacher is holding back, or even hiding something, hiding something personal or something from his past. For most part of the book the teacher appears like a magician, his students seem to be in his thrall. For one of his students this takes the form of a secret love. The novel does not quite deliver on this build-up and the story ends disappointingly.

Rating:

>16 edwinbcn: I read Gerbrand Bakker's The Twin some years ago, but had a hard time relating to it. I would be willing to try another title and am noting The Detour.

>21 edwinbcn: The selection reads like a toppled archive. This is a great line.

>23 edwinbcn: Sorry you've had a string of lousy reads. Hope the next one is better.

150. Dorst
Finished reading: 22 November 2023



Review:
It is quite astounding to read and difficult to understand how a shitty piece of pulp fiction like this could be shortlisted for the biggest literary price in the Netherlands.

Rating:

151. God in Japan. Een pelgrimslied
Finished reading: 22 November 2023



Review:
While reading God in Japan. Een pelgrimslied one wonders why was this book written. Considering that question, it could be relevant to mention that its author, Willem Melchior has recovered from a life-threatening disease. One could therefore surmise that any book would be a celebration of life. The title suggests that the author sees his travels as a benediction to a divinity that has apparently deemed it right to prolong his life.

However, God in Japan. Een pelgrimslied is not a joyful book. Perhaps misery and complaint are in some way characteristic style elements in the work of Willem Melchior. Then, too, expressing one's disappointment about a travel destination is wholly legitimate for any writer. Louis Couperus famously disliked China.

Willem Melchior has long been on my radar (gaydar), although I was never tempted to actually read any of his books. And once more, Melchior does not deliver. The suggestions of the back cover are a mere lure. Any potential tension of interest, erotic or religious fall flat under the disinterested eye of this cynical observer.

Why was this book written and published. I cannot imagine anyone waiting for this book.

Rating:

I absolutely love your reviews

152. Recitatif
Finished reading: 25 November 2023



Review:
Recitatif is Toni Morrison's only short story. In her excellent introduction, Zadie Smith epitomizes on this fact to emphasize the importance of Recitatif among Morrison's works.

As I pointed out in my review of Hoe het voelt om van kleur te zijn, it seems that African-American writers focus on matters quite different than writers in some other parts of the world. In this instance, I waas not rfeferring to the work of Zora Neale Hurston, but to that of other contributors to that edition, although under the growing influence of wokeism such themes are now spreading to authors in other parts of the world.

World literature includes numerous works of fiction in which, at least initially or for a large part of the work it is not clear whether a protagonist is male of female. Some authors even toy with this element.

Recitatif is a short fictional work in which it is not clear what ethnicity the two girls have. The work is apparently cleverly constructed to obscure any conclusive references, or simply no conclusive clues are given.

Zadie Smith's introduction (37 pages) is almost as long as Morrison's story (45 pages) to describe this. While it may be a special phenomenon in the overall work of Morrison, the fact in itself should not garner that much interest.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Toni Morrison:
The bluest eye
Playing in the dark. Whiteness and the literary imagination
A mercy
Beloved

>24 kjuliff:
I think there was a time, not too long ago, when content of newspapers and magazines, and choices of books for prizes, promotions and selections, were made by editors, who were usually well-educated people. Nowadays, everything is decided by the masses.

>26 labfs39:
I pick up and read too many books from thrift stores and mini libraries. I should be more careful with what I read.

153. De Biezen
Finished reading: 30 November 2023



Review:
De Biezen is a memoir of loosely written and formulated reminiscences of two Dutch writers, Maarten 't Hart and Mensje van Keulen about their friends and fellow author Maarten Biesheuvel and his wife. It is a celebration of personal friendship starting from the early 1970s and looking back on that period with many personal photographs. The book is a joy to read, but not very inmformative.

Rating:

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

154. De fictie van de buitenplaats. Over het komen en gaan van elites
Finished reading: 30 November 2023



Review:
De fictie van de buitenplaats. Over het komen en gaan van elites is a small collection of short essays about mansions and countryhouses. While the essays convey some interesting ideas and notions, the publication is of very limited interest.

The contributers are mostly young writers and essayists. They share a dislike and disgruntlement both for the elites in the past, who built the mansions, and the modern day elites who transform these masions into B&B and resorts to escape modern life.

Most essays are very, very short (just 2 or 3 pages) and contain but fleeting observations. Grunberg's observations about Kleist's Michael Kohlhaas hardly seem to bear on the overall topic of the book.

The short essays by Hanneke Ronnes about Audrey Hepburn and Belle van Zuylen is among the most interesting contributions.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Arnon Grunberg:
Tirza
Fantoompijn

155. In dubious battle
Finished reading: 30 November 2023



Review:
In retrospect, In dubious battle is quite a baffling novel. The novel celebrates the then novel ways of uniting farm hands to stand up for their rights, describing the way Communists and unions organized and supported workers. The book was first published in 1936, at a time few people would have much knowledge about communism or the work of unions in general. It portrays both the policies and the politics of the land owners, the workers and the communists. The novel seems sceptical about all, neither side appears all good or all bad.

In dubious battle is very well-written, with a clear story and a straightforward plot. However, the writing style feels dated, and modern readers may feel uncomfortable about the tone of activism.

Rating:

Other books I have read by John Steinbeck:
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

>31 edwinbcn: Or the publishing houses and advertisers.

>32 edwinbcn: I pick up and read too many books from thrift stores and mini libraries. But at least you read quickly.

>35 edwinbcn: I had not even heard of this Steinbeck. Thanks for the review.

156. Een mooie jonge vrouw
Finished reading: 1 December 2023



Review:
Tommy Wieringa writes well, but especially toward the end it isn't clear where the story is going. It seems there was no overall idea for this novella or how to end it. It remains a simple story about a man who falls in love with a very beautiful woman.

Incidentally, from the post-pandemic perspective it is interesting to note that the main character is a microbiologist, and that suggestions are made about the likelihood of a pandemic.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Tommy Wieringa:
Gedachten over onze tijd
Dit zijn de namen
Joe Speedboot
Alles over Tristan

157. I'm very into you. Correspondence 1995-1996
Finished reading: 6 December 2023



Review:
I'm very into you. Correspondence 1995-1996 is a lousy book. The introduction relates how a reader for a publisher turned the manuscript down on the grounds that it is too personal. While this may not be true, that evaluation may have been a euphemistic statement for overall lack of quality.

Nonetheless, the author(s) have pushed on to publication. The book consists of the email correspondance between two postmodernist writers. It is hard to say (see) whether all emails are included, but as some are very short, it could well be.

It seems so far no one has dared to evaluate or comment on the relative value of email correspondence. Computer writing has made novel writing longer. Many of these emails seem to have been dashed off.

Although the authors claim that this was a love affair, they were literally worlds apart. The phrase included in the title: I am very into you does not seem very passionate. As for an exchange of ideas, it seems there is quite a lot of namesdropping, but no very clear acknowledgement that both writers have thoroughly read or understood these thinkers, although Acker seems the more thoughtful, while Wark (Mckenzie Wark) seems the more infatuated and less knoledgeable.

While reading, I have also thought whether this book could give clues to the origin or the rise of the Queer movement. The authors are clearly very versatile. So, even while the correspondence it itself seems of little value, it could be that it is of interest on a different plain, especially when read in a wider context.

This was my first book to read anything by Kathy Acker of whom I had previously not even heard, but it has sparked my interest.

Rating:

158. Knecht, alleen
Finished reading: 9 December 2023



Review:
Knecht, alleen is the second volume of autobiography by Gerbrand Bakker published in the prestigious Prive Domein series, a book series which was previously exclusively for ego documents by (dead) authors. While previously the editions could exist of inedited materials, they were usually selected reprints of published ego documents such as diaries or correspondence. However, for the past 25 years, the series includes ego documents of living authors, including diaries which were specifically written for inclusion in the series. In fact, the author writes about that on page 254, where he reports a discussion with Arjen Visser, who objects that present-day volumes in the Prive Domein series claiming authors write them for publication, and that they are therefore not as good as before. Elsewhere, they point out that this was first the case with A.F.Th. van der Heijden's volume Engelenplaque, and in my opinion, similarly Japin's diaries, which were both very substandard publications, particularly within the Prive Domein series.

On page 155 Bakker writes that he hasn't written a novel in 10 years'time. One of the main themes of Knecht, alleen is that the author has been depressed and is on permanent medication to suppress his depression. It is quite remarkable, even in his own observation, that he manages to keep doing some work, which on page 155 he describes as dabbling. This seems to accurately qualify this book.

Knecht, alleen is not a cheerful book. Bakker writes it could be better understood after reading the first volume. In spite of his depression, Knecht, alleen offers a comprehensive look into the author's working life and the Dutch literary scene. At the same time, large parts of the book are rather uninteresting fillers, such as the descriptions of Bakker's second home in the German Eiffel region.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Gerbrand Bakker:
De omweg

159. Hedendaags feminisme
Finished reading: 9 December 2023



Review:
Renate Rubinstein writes very well and in 1979, when this book was published, it gave all the top of the bill arguments in favour of emancipation and feminism.

Rating:

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

160. Liefst verliefd
Finished reading: 12 December 2023



Review:
Renate Rubinstein writes better than most about relationships. Usually written from her own experience and her own point of view, her observations are of interest to a wide readership.

Rating:

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

161. Verfhuid
Finished reading: 15 December 2023



Review:
Verfhuid is a novel that starts off on an interesting story, which looses steam half-way through the book, and ends with a predictable anti-climax. It seems the author (had) lost interest in the story, or could not develop a more interesting conclusion.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Rasha Peper:
Oesters
Dooi

162. Memoires van een biograaf. In de voetsporen van Jan Wolkers
Finished reading: 22 December 2023



Review:
In 2017, Onno Blom published the biography of Jan Wolkers, in the tome Het litteken van de dood biografie Jan Wolkers. Since then, the author published a number of spin-off publications, apparently redistributing scrap materials from his degree projects, such as Zo is het genoeg. Het laatste jaar van Jan Wolkers, published in 2008, De Tarzan van de schapen. Jan Wolkers & Texel., in 2012 and Marszwart & titaanwit : het beeldend werk van Jan Wolkers, 2008, about Wolkers' painting.

Memoires van een biograaf. In de voetsporen van Jan Wolkers is truly a scrap book, consisting of notes made by the biographer about visits to Wolkers, their many contact moments, and his search as a biographer for his materials. It contains notes about his thoughts and feelings while working on the biography. Blom warns readers that they will find many ideas and facts which can also be found in the biography.

In the introduction Blom outlines how in his view he was the anointed, destined biographer of Wolkers, the chosen, who spent many years following Wolkers through all his motions an meanderings as a friend and as a pupil. He tries to insert himself in a tradition of biographers with a life-long dedication to an author. Then, too, Blom describes how as an editor for a publisher he also met other authors, about whom he is now writing, as, for instance, in De wondergrijsaard, claiming an early connection to Harry Mulisch, another great Dutch author whose biography remains as yet unwritten.

The prestigious Prive Domein series used to be a book series which was previously exclusively for ego documents by (dead) authors. While previously the editions could exist of inedited materials, they were usually selected reprints of published ego documents such as diaries or correspondence. However, for the past 25 years, the series includes ego documents of living authors, including diaries which were specifically written for inclusion in the series. Memoires van een biograaf. In de voetsporen van Jan Wolkers is a new variant in this genre in the sense that it is a scrap book of notes by a living author about another author. The publisher must have been aware of the parasitic nature of the publication, because this volume was set at the price of just 14.49 euro, which might well be the lowest price for any volume in the series.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Onno Blom:
Zo is het genoeg. Het laatste jaar van Jan Wolkers

163. De markiezin
Finished reading: 23 December 2023



Review:

De markiezin is a collection of short prose pieces or vignettes that in other countries might be classified as poetry. While some individual fragments are beautiful, it is not very clear how they are organized and whether they tell a story.

Rating:

164. Doodstil
Finished reading: 23 December 2023



Review:
Jan Mulder is a soccer player who also works as a publicist. Besides collections of newspaper columns, he has published a large number of other books, among others with Remco Campert about the theatre.

Doodstil is an essay, puiblished on the occassion of the promotion of the spiritual book. Mulder describes how he moved back to Groningen, the mostly rural province where he was born. In an aside, he explains that Doodstil, which was also chosen as the title of the book is a toponym. It does not mean "death silent" but is refers to a place, explaining the etymology as "the til(le) of Dood".

Supposedly, publishers and editors leave authors free in the execution of their assignment. Doodstil has no bearing or clear connection with spirituality. Mulder's observations about the quietness of the countryside are at the level of a factual observation. It seems whatever idea Mulder might have had to write about, he lost it, or decided to fill the pages leisurely.

Rating:

165. Mevrouw mijn moeder
Finished reading: 25 December 2023



Review:
Mevrouw mijn moeder is a written portrait of her mother by the Dutch author Yvonne Keuls. To some extent, is is also a biography of Yvonne Keuls, herself. Their family is of Dutch-Indonesian descent. The writings about the Dutch-Indonesian historical past, and fiction by Dutch authors who were born in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia, are still very popular. People of Dutch-Indian descent are found everywhere in the arts, particularly a number of prominent writers.

However, Mevrouw mijn moeder is not a book for people who like wallowing in colonial nostalgia. The book is much more a description of an elderly lady growing very, very old, and all problems associated with living to such a high age, such as declining mental and physical health.

Mevrouw mijn moeder is largely very funny, because the mother appears as a somewhat tyrannical person, who insists to the very last to remain independent, and do as many things as possible by herself. The despair is often more with the (grown-up) children, than with the old lady herself.

Set against the colonial past of the Dutch East Indies, this just gives the book a different, other, dimension, and possibly, not many books of this kind have been written about this group of people, which is literally disappearing into the shrouds of history.

I liked this book much more than I had expected. This new edition came out in November 2022, when Mevrouw mijn moeder was selected for the National Reading Week, Nederland Leest. It was published with a foreword by Susan Smit.

Rating:

166. Boto Banja, of Het geheim genootschap der dansende schrijvers
Finished reading: 26 December 2023



Review:
Boto Banja, of Het geheim genootschap der dansende schrijvers by the young Dutch author Raoul de Jong is an essay with characteristics of a travelogue and literary criticism. Raoul de Jong's first book, Jaguarman was a similarly surprising book consisting of a journey in search of his own cultural roots and the identity of his father. This essay seems a further exploration.

Raoul de Jong's roots lie in Surinam, and the history of his father's side of the family is tied with the colonial history of the Netherlands and Surinam, and the slave trade. In Boto Banja, of Het geheim genootschap der dansende schrijvers De Jong describes how coloured sailors preserved a dance that they performed on vessels, the Boto Banjo. This dance is related to voodoo practice and goes back to the cultural roots in Africa. However, there are also moments in the essay where the author seems to suggest steps of the dance are related to the gait of sailors on the high seas, as a boat would rock on the waves.

The dance, and a (musical ?) instrument, the banja, are also tied to a novel, Banjo, published in 1929 by the Jamaican writer Claude McKay. The novel describes a band of sailors who while away their time making music and dancing. From this trail, De Jong describes his discovery that there was a worldwide network of coloured writers who sang and danced, as the title suggests Boto Banja, of Het geheim genootschap der dansende schrijvers: a secret society of dancing writers. He goes on to suggest that Anton de Kom, one of the foremost Surinam poets and writers, had a dancing school.

The author's attempts to sail in a catamaran from Haiti to Venezuela or Surinam is a third thread in this curious book.

Rating:

167. Huismusea van Amsterdam. Visiting historic houses
Finished reading: 26 December 2023



Review:
As the bilingual title shows, Huismusea van Amsterdam. Visiting historic houses is an entirely bilingual travel guide to 40 historic houses and small museums in Amsterdam. The book, which came out in late 2022, is richly illustrated with very many colour photographs.

Amsterdam is home to a Society for the Preservation of Historic Homes and Buildings, Hendrik de Keyser, and some of the stately canal houses were donated to this foundation as early as in the late Nineteenth Century. Most of the grand canal houses which have been preserved in their original style, together with their furnishings and art collections served as homes for mayors of Amsterdam in the past. This includes the stately home which now serves as the traditional home of the Mayor of Amsterdam. While that is only open to visitors on special days, the other are run as small museums and can be visited by tourists.

Only a small number of the museums in the book are in historic canal houses. There are a number of writer's and other artist's residences and museums such as the Anne Frank House, the Multatuli Museum, the Theo Thijsse Museum, and the residence of the late Harry Mulisch which is to be opened as a museum.
Furthermore, there are introductions and descriptions to a variety of other small museums, such as the Rembrandt House, some small churches, etc.

The texts are very readable, and when focussing on one language version, either English or Dutch, the total number of pages to read is less than a hundred (the book has about 300 pages). For each museum there is clear and up-to-date information about admission, although it is advisable to check with their web sites for opening hours and reservations (although many museums are now dropping that requirement).

Highly recommended, especially also to Dutch people living in the Netherlands: The book is a treasure trove.

Rating:

168. Het komplot
Finished reading: 27 December 2023



Review:
The works that Bernlef is remembered for most are but a small selection from the vast number of novels he wrote during his lifetime. There is no doubt that those are his masterpieces, novels such as Hersenschimmen, and Meeuwen. His main theme of forgetting, or not seeing the entirety in the mind, including one's own personality, such as in De pianoman are also part of many of his other novels and short stories.

Still, Bernlef wrote many more novels and short stories, some picking up on political times of the 60s and 70s, as in De man in het midden or the sexual revolution in the 1960s, as in Paspoort in duplo.

Het Komplot in the edition of the Dar pocket, a pun on the name of the publisher, with its bright yellow cover, consists of a selection of short stories taken from other publications by Bernlef. This book contains six short stories liften from Rondom een gat (1971), De schaduw van een vlek (1967) and De verdwijning van Kim Miller (1969).

The short story Het komplot is the longest and the most impressive. As the title suggests, it is about a man who sees all events as conspired against him. He also thinks he can predict them. It is a surrealist story, which fits in a tradition of surrealist writing in Dutch literature. However, the story does not contain elements of absurdism. In some ways the story is related to Bernlef's main theme of being out of mind in one's perception of reality.


Rating:

Other books I have read by J. Bernlef:
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

169. La passion suspendue. Entretiens avec Léopoldina Pallotta della Torre
Finished reading: 28 December 2023



Review:
La passion suspendue. Entretiens avec Léopoldina Pallotta della Torre is a volume of transcribed interviews with Marguerite Duras. The interviews have been edited for clarity of text, and questions are grouped in thematic chapters or sections. There are such sections as "Childhood", "The Years in Paris", "A Career in Writing", "Text Analysis", "Literature", "Criticism", "The Cinema", "The Theatre" and "Places" (to name most, but not all).

The formulation of some of the questions seems long and convoluted, while some of the answers of Duras seem short. It is not clear whether questions belonging to a section were drawn together from multiple sessions of whether they occurred in this order during one long interview.

Although a lot can be learnt about Marguerite Duras from this book, it was not altogether pleasant reading, a bit heavy handed. Perhaps Duras was not so interested in all these questions. Les lieux de Marguerite Duras, which is also referred to in this book, is much more readable. In the introduction by the translator it is also said that some of the finesses of expression may have been lost in re-translation. While the original interviews were conducted in French, the book was first published in Italian in 1989, and then translated back into French.

Rating:

170. Het jongensmeisje
Finished reading: 29 December 2023



Review:
Het jongensmeisje (1998) does not belong to the early work of Joost Zwagerman, still some of the stories seem to be written in the style of one of his first novels, Gimmick!. I had previously read two of these short stories in a special edition, Winnie en de onschuld, published in 2006, nl "Winnie en de onschuld" and "White Palace". When I read these stories in 2013, I wrote:

The title story "Winnie en de onschuld" tells an episode out of the life of a students in the Amsterdam of the 1980s. "White Palace" is a similar story about life of the wild side in Amsterdam in the 1990s.

The two stories offer entertaining reading, but little in the sense of depth or theme.

I am more positive in my appreciation of the eleven stories, but essentially my criticism still stands.

Rating:

Other books I have read by Joost Zwagerman:
Chaos en rumoer
Winnie en de onschuld
Duel
Gimmick!
Vals licht

171. Anna Blaman
Finished reading: 30 December 2023



Review:
Two lectures or essays about the Dutch author Anna Blaman(1905 - 1960) by two other Dutch authors, Hella S. Haasse and Alfred Kossmann. This publication of 48 pages appeared after these two lectures were given on 22 November 1960, the year Blaman died. She had died in July of that year.

During her lifetime, Anna Blaman twice received high literary rewards. She was the first author to receive the P.C. Hooft Prijs for her entire oeuvre in 1956. Nonetheless, (queer) erotic passages in her work drew criticism, and the reception of her works suffered a setback from merciless criticism by fellow writers.

These two essays, by writers who were young, then, gives a fair assessment of the significance of Blaman's work. Haasse sees Blaman's three major novels essentially as three parts of a total conception.

Rating:

172. Dood meisje
Finished reading: 31 December 2023



Review:
Geerten Meijsing is a Dutch writer whose work falls into different categories, written using different author's names. Particularly his early work was written and published by a collective names Joyce & Co. The most important co-author of that collective goes by the single name ""Kanger". Works written by this collective almost all belong to the Erwin-trilogie and some works related to this work. These novels are very erudite in a snobbish way. Other works are written under the author's own name, and it is particularly with these works that he has been fairly successful, although less in recent years. For the past ten years, Geerten Meijsing has moved to Italy, and is financially propped up by a club of fans, who support him by way of crowdfunding. Especially the recent works written in Italy are poorly received.

Under his own name, Geerten Meijsing writes a varied style of novels, often with in an easy style, which either is very intellectual in a sneering way, or pokes fun of supposedly intellectual people.

Dood meisje is such a loosely large novel with a loose structure, and a simple story that mocks an older professor. Essentially, the story is fairly simple, namely an older professor attempts to take care of a prostitute, as their sexual service relationship morphes into a relation that hangs between a fatherly-daughter and lovers'relation. Obviously, since the girl is a sex worker this costs him a lot of money. Besides, he cannot really control the girl, and the latter part of the novel reads like a rescue mission in which he tries to save her from doom.

The story is somewhat confusing as the professor uses alternating names, and is sometimes referred to as Provenier and sometimes Hovenier. Possibly, the novel hinges on references to other works, but I was not that interested to explore such developments in the story.

It was definitely an enjoyable read, but my preference for Meijsing's work is still with the more serious work written collectively as Joyce & Co.

Rating:

Other books I have read Geerten Meijsing:
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

173. Gestameld liedboek. Moedergetijden
Finished reading: 31 December 2023



Review:
In Gestameld liedboek. Moedergetijden the Belgian writer Erwin Mortier has written a loving portrait of his mother's final years of aging and suffering from Alzheimer and dementia. Almost all of Mortier's early work is devoted to writing about his childhood and the early years of family life. Although this is not what interests me so much, Mortier's exquisite style of writing makes these books wonderfully poetic. Morier has a fine eye for the natural world and longingly writes about past times, traditions and a lifestyle that has all but passed.

Rating:

Other books I have read Erwin Mortier:
Alle dagen samen
De spiegelingen
Godenslaap
Marcel