L. H. Wiener

Zeeangst by the Dutch author L. H. Wiener is a log book, really. A diary of a voyage along the west coast of the Netherlands, the south coast of the island of Britain, and the Isle of Whight. It is both very good, and still slightly disappointing. By this I mean, it could easily have become a much better book.

In the opening sections, the author describes how, as a 14-year-old boy, he nearly drowned, while out at sea. Following the accident, they also had to wait long for rescue, so the whole experience saddled him up with a lifelong fear of the sea. Paradoxically, sailing hasd become (or remained) the passion of his life. In the first sections of the book the author also describes how he acquaired the ship and named it Argos. With his wife on board, and their cat, they then set sail on this voyage.

Early in his career, Wiener was a teacher of English at a high school. Thus, his interest and extensive knowledge of English literature and his love for the UK are easily understood. References to English and American writers appear aplenty throughout the book.

The book has a somewhat mundane character as it describes mooring in various harbours and the usual banter with other people on the water. The episode about bringing the cat into the UK is hilarious, although fear rather than sarcasm is the overall emotion in this passage. I think the book includes too much specialist terminology about sailing and parts of the ship, and although a glossary is included this distracts from the rest of the text which is simple and straightforward.

L. H. Wiener is a writer who appeared rather unsuccesful for a long time, and only recently has broken through to a wider readership, no doubt through the years of persistence.

In the context of Dutch literature, Zeeangst is definitely an innovation of the genre, as for a nation whose history is so closely linked with the sea, there are very few travelogues in the form of descriptions of voyages, especially in modern times. However, in recent years there is a tremendous growth in the interest of sail boats, particularly with restored old ship, and many historical cities organize fleet shows, inviting tall ships and historical vessels to visit their harbours.

Zeeangst is a welcome book for readers who are interested in sailing and sail boats.… (más)

Deze selectie uit de brieven van L.H. Wiener aan A.L. Snijders en de keuze uit de zkv's van A.L. Snijders werden ingeleid door Wim Noordhoek en bezorgd door Huug Schipper.
"Ik kon de hand leggen op een niet afgedrukt kattebelletje, gedateerd woensdag 19 juli 2000. Daarin schrijft Snijders 'Beste Lodewijk er zit altijd iets dreigends in je brieven, ik ben een beetje bang voor je, net als voor (...)'. Volgt een rijtje schrijvers, van Hermans tot Brouwers. Schrijvers die – zover ik kan zien – net als Wiener vinden 'dat ze beter verdiend hadden'." (uit het blog van Wim Noordhoek van 29 maart 2007: https://www.avondlog.nl/tags/lh-wiener)… (más)

Een indrukwekkende bundeling brieven, gekozen en (summier) geduid door L.H. Wiener zelf. Over het schrijven, over zijn boeken, over de liefde, over het onderwijs, over vogels en zeilen, over Willem Frederik Hermans, over Van Oorschot. Wiener schrijft onder meer aan R.A. Basart, Jeroen Brouwers, A.L. Snijders, Merijn de Boer, Marko Fondse, Peter Verstegen, Geerten Meijsing, Pieter Waterdrinker, Dimitri Verhulst. Hoewel, of beter: doordat Wiener hier zelf aan de knoppen zit, biedt het boek een totaalbeeld, dat niet alleen een dieper inzicht biedt in de man en zijn oeuvre, maar er ook integraal deel van uitmaakt.… (más)