Netherlands & Flanders group discussion

Hello, fellow readers! First time poster here!

I fell under the spell of Dutch literature after reading the masterful The Evenings by Gerard Reve, and have since started to explore more Dutch novels by the likes of Willem Frederik Hermans and Margriet de Moor, whose novels I very much enjoyed.

However, I don't know how to proceed from here and I'm looking for recommendations for Dutch novels with a similar feel as The Evenings (which is next to impossible I know because it's such a perfect novel), but I thought I might as well ask you guys.

Any tip on how to proceed from here as I delve deeper into the heart of Dutch literature would be most welcome really!

Looking forward to reading your recommendations.

Thanks!

An author that comes to my mind is Tom Lanoye. Quite different, but equally enjoyable is novels by Harry Mulisch.

Thanks! I'll make sure to check both out.

I forgot to mention that the novels have to available in translation in either English or French. Preferably as ebooks too since my options are limited where I live. Many thanks.

Are you reading in English? The authors you mentioned are all "old" generation. For the newer one, there is Aaron Grunberg, Ilja Pfeijffer, etc.

Johanna wrote: "Are you reading in English? The authors you mentioned are all "old" generation. For the newer one, there is Aaron Grunberg, Ilja Pfeijffer, etc."
Either English or French would be okay.

I'm definitely open to more contemporary authors. Thanks for your recommendations! :)

I haven't read The Evenings (and don't intend to), so I can't help you there, I'm afraid. Sorry...

You did mention Willem Frederik Hermans and Margriet de Moor; I do have books by these authors.

Also translated is In Lucia's Eyes but I have no idea if that's what you're looking for.

In Lucia's Eyes sounds like something I might enjoy. Thanks a lot!

If you don't mind my asking, why not read The Evenings? :)

@Samuel
Gerard Reve doesn't appeal to me 😊

A lot of books by Dutch and Flemish authors have been translated into English and/or French, for instance Hella S. Haasse (The Black Lake, The Tea Lords, The Scarlet City, In a Dark Wood Wandering, and so on), Harry Mulisch (Two Women, The Discovery of Heaven, and so on), Renate Dorrestein (A Heart of Stone), Jan Siebelink (In my Father's Garden), Stefan Brijs (Courrier des tranchées), Margriet de Moor (First Grey, Then White, Then Blue), Willem Frederik Hermans (Beyond Sleep, The Darkroom of Damocles), J. Bernlef (Out of Mind), Erwin Mortier (While the Gods Were Sleeping), Tim Krabbé (Delay), Marga Minco (Bitter Herbs), Karel Glastra van Loon (A Father's Affair), Kader Abdolah (The King, The House of the Mosque), Hugo Claus (The Sorrow of Belgium), Tessa de Loo (The Twins), Dimitri Verhulst (Madame Verona Comes Down the Hill), Tom Lanoye (Tombé du ciel), and so on and so forth. Too many to name really 😃.

There is also a Listopia with translated titles: English translations of Dutch Literature . I don't know if you'd already found it, but have a look there, if you like.

oh my! Thank you so much for these! Shame about Gerard Reve, not that I have read anything else by him. As far as I know none of his other works have been translated, right?

I did find the list and thanks to everyone's recommendations, I think I have my to-read list sorted.

I'll start with Mulisch, Lanoye and Grunberg, then slowly make my way through the rest.

Thanks everyone!

And Samuel, any new Dutch discoveries discoveries since then?

Samuel wrote: "oh my! Thank you so much for these! Shame about Gerard Reve, not that I have read anything else by him. As far as I know none of his other works have been translated, right?

I did find the list an..."

Beyond Sleep (which BLL mentioned) has maybe some comparable elements as The Evenings, The setting is different though. It seems there is happening more....

Only a few stories by Gerard Reve are translated in English: 'In praise of navigation: twentieth century stories from the Dutch' (2007)

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