The Following Story
Author | Cees Nooteboom |
---|---|
Original title | Het volgende verhaal |
Translator | Ina Rilke |
Country | Netherlands |
Language | Dutch |
Publisher | De Arbeiderspers |
Publication date | 1991 |
Published in English | 1993 |
Pages | 92 |
ISBN | 90-70066-88-2 |
The Following Story (Dutch: Het volgende verhaal) is a 1991 novel by the Dutch writer Cees Nooteboom. It portrays a former teacher of classical languages, turned writer of travel guides, who has a mysterious experience in which he wakes up in a different city from where he fell asleep.
It won the 1993 European Literary Prize. The novel was published in an English translation in 1993.
Reception[]
Ben Rogers of The Independent (UK) described the novel as "both abstract and particular, poetic and prosaic, surreal and mundane."[1] He wrote that the ideas of the novel will appeal to philosophers and scientists alike, as well as to both classicists and fans of modern literature. Rogers continued:
"Yet beyond the learning so wittily displayed, there is something deeper that might speak to anyone: a voyage around memory and death, myth and disillusionment. By the end, Nooteboom has shown himself a master of ironic wisdom, but also of elated, elegiac feeling. Intricately composed and finely translated, The Following Story will still be delivering after many readings - and on the first it is funny as well as affecting."[1]
The novel won the 1993 European Literary Prize.
See also[]
- 1991 in literature
- Dutch literature
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Rogers, Ben (1994-01-02). "Socrates goes Dutch". The Independent. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
- 1991 novels
- Dutch-language novels
- Dutch novels
- Novels by Cees Nooteboom
- 1990s novel stubs